Twas going so well, took forks apart no worries. Followed each step of the Youtube yank, even bought a roll of tissue to lay the parts on.

The problem came when inserting the seal, just wont go in with my makeshift pvc pipe, i tried allsorts. In the end the seal ended all messed up. So i tried the other seal i had an followed knackereds way, all went well, until tryin to get the final bush on, just couldn`t get it to spread enough to go over fork leg - doesnt seem to be enough room within outer fork leg, an ive ended up scrapin a bit of the teflon coatin, which really peed me off!

Also, on the first attempt, the loose seal housing came away, which is no big deal, o ring still looks good.

So im gonna have to buy some more seals, thinkin gettin a scaffoldin pole an splittin it in 2, or it may be easier just buyin the proper seal tool.
Does warmin it up help or anythin? Im gettin fed up

I assemble all the bushes and seals on the shaft as they were when it was disassembled.
I cut one side of the old seal the fit it onto the shaft and use this to drive the new seal into the fork tube. Tapping it home with a soft mallet
It works for me but new seals are really expensive

I tried this method, dunno if i was hittin it too hard. Trouble is, one side jumps out when hittin the other side.

How much of the old seal do you use? Like half of it, or less?

Im only usin cheap seals, 8 quid a pair, might not last long but its not gonna be the most over used bike in the history of trail riding

I use all of the old seal only, cutting it in one place so that it can be twisted onto the forks.
I push the new seal in, it slides into the space that the dust seal sits in the tube.
Push the old seal on on top as far as possible, this then locates in the dust seal area as well and then tap in with a soft mallet.
The old seal then lifts out with a screw driver. The circlip and dust seal can then be fitted.

Ok, cheers, i`ll give it another bash when the new seals arrive.

Im also guessin you pull the bottom fork tube out till the thinnest part of the fork tube has the seal on, i wasnt doin this at first. Im gonna be a fork seal master after all this.

Still cheaper than takin it to the shop, an im just lovin the late nights in the shed!

twistednuts wrote:Ok, cheers, i`ll give it another bash when the new seals arrive.

Im also guessin you pull the bottom fork tube out till the thinnest part of the fork tube has the seal on, i wasnt doin this at first. Im gonna be a fork seal master after all this.

Still cheaper than takin it to the shop, an im just lovin the late nights in the shed!

No don't bash it, tap it gently
And either tape, or cling film the top of the tube before sliding the new seal on, and yes, warming the seal in a cup of "hot" water will make it more pliable.
A nylon hammer, or wooden mallet will inflict less damage.
I found the " All Balls" seals a doddle to put on, as they seem quite loose, but haven't leaked yet.
Mike

Right, done one!!! Hahaa. Pretty easy really. Even made a sucker tube to measure out the fluid, used a big syringe thingy that chemist sell for givin medicine to kids... hope mine dont need it again....

I found out what i did wrong. First time round i didnt knock the bush in first, so when i was tappin the seal in there was a lot of resistance cos it was pushin the bush in too. Silly Billy.

Only thing im not too happy about is the clip that holds the seal in. It didnt jump in on its own, i kinda had to push it in with screwdriver. The seal wouldnt go down any further, i knocked an tapped, an hammered for ages. Anyone else had to do this? I woulda thought it should almost jump in the groove all by itself.

Right, i`ll do the other side now, should only take another week...

Well done, it could be your "pattern" seals are slightly thicker than the genuine seals.
Do you have a set of Verniers to measure with? and if not, you should get some, as with your new found mechanical expertise, I can feel engine rebuilds, bearing replacements, and all manner of mechanical mayhem being let loose in your workshop/shed .
Mike