Earlier this year I replaced one Long Roadholder stanchion on my '56 19S. The old stanchion had one very small area where the chrome had pitted, so oil was leaking past the seal. New top & bottom bushes along with a new seal were fitted at the same time. The leg was refilled with 1/4 pint of SAE 20, as per the Maintenance Manual. 500 miles later (maybe not even that much) and the same leg is leaking again. When the seal was fitted I smeared a little red rubber grease on the working surface to help the seal to slide down the stanchion. On dismantling today I noticed that the grease was still present. This made me wonder if the oil might be be escaping between the outer case of the seal and the fork slider, rather than from between seal and stanchion. Has anyone experienced this? Does anyone apply Loctite or similar to the outside of the seal on assembly? I am concerned that getting the seal out next time might be difficult.
Cheers, Ian McD
Another Bodge
I agree with Permalink, you will probably have to fix the damaged hard chrome, even just smooth it with emery but I bodge I have used successfully in the past, and it is a bit hard to explain, but remove the spring from the seal and find the join. Untwist the spring at the join then cut 3 coils from the spring then twist it back together and put it back in the seal with plenty of oil or grease.
Worth a try.
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Seals with a bare steel…
Seals with a bare steel outer are prone to leaking at the outer joint so I use a loctite sealer here or use a seal with a rubber coating. On the Commando there is a thin paper washer put into the seal housing first which provides an oil seal of sorts to the OD but I do not rely on it.
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Had a similar problem…
Had a similar problem. Fitted two paper gaskets smeared with Hylomar. I don't remember if I used PTFE tape or thread sealant on the seal holder thread. Anyway no leak now.
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New stanchion is undamaged...
..so the epoxy suggestion does not apply in this case, although it might help to reclaim the stanchion that was replaced.
The new (bare steel outer) seal presses in very easily using a thick wall aluminium tube gripped in both hands. No hammer needed. To me this fits with John's comment that the seals can leak past the outer joint. If I can't locate a seal with a polymer outer layer (any suggestions for a source?) I will reassemble with Loctite. I assume that heat will be needed to release the seal next time.
A few year ago I replaced fork seals on a 250 Kawasaki. These were the type with a polymer outer and required substantially more force to insert, to the extent that I needed the use of a friend's hydraulic press.
Many thanks for your suggestions.
Ian McD
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Seal holders
I like the Manx seal holders with drilled holes. Easy to tighten and loosen with a special tool. Have drilled holes on all my fork seal holders.
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I would use...
... wellseal as it doesn't set hard. It should easily cope with a poorly fitting outer seal dimension.
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Wellseal sounds right
I hadn't considered Wellseal but it should right for this application, will reassemble with that. Before Dan's post I was already looking at the Loctite product range - spoilt for choice. It would have to be something from the sealant range rather than the retaining range.
Cheers, Ian McD
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Hi Ian,
Probably not the answer you want to hear but I damaged the hard chrome on one of my new stanchions 21 years ago, while seating the oil seal. (The hammer slipped) Rather than buy a new one; I filled the damaged area with araldite and rubbed it down to perfection. You can't see the damage under the covers and no oil leaks or new seals needed to date.