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Reason to do a walk around before a ride.
I found a small amount of oil, teaspoon maybe, had leaked on to the disc, wheel and tire, with a little stain on the garage floor
Does anyone know the why or how of an oil leak at the bottom of the fork pipe (that's what Honda calls it) where it goes into the casting that holds the axle, caliper bracket and compression adjuster? These are USD forks from an RC51 SP1. The leak is not coming from the fork seal.
I was hoping that there was a seal involved, but the parts diagram shows the tube and casting as one part. I'm assuming that it is some sort of press fit arrangement. It would be better if there was a seal between the two.
Also the part numbers for the tube is different for each of the first two and only years (2000-2001) for the SP1. Later years are different yet. Wondering if there is any interchangeability between the years.
Most forks have an allen bolt holding the cartridge to the base of the leg. That bolt uses a copper crush washer. It could be leaking or worse, missing, from an incompetent technician.
Thanks for the response.
The oil seems to be coming from the indicated point in the photo. I noticed a very small amount a few years ago when I did the fork swap. Not sure what, if anything that means.
I'm going to contact the resident expert Jamie. Maybe he can shed some light on the leak.
Thanks for the response.
The oil seems to be coming from the indicated point in the photo. I noticed a very small amount a few years ago when I did the fork swap. Not sure what, if anything that means.
I'm going to contact the resident expert Jamie. Maybe he can shed some light on the leak.
Oh, definitely not a good place for leakage. Are you positive it’s not coming from the seal? That’s not a typical place to leak. Have these forks been in an accident?
Oh, definitely not a good place for leakage. Are you positive it’s not coming from the seal? That’s not a typical place to leak. Have these forks been in an accident?
Understatement on it not being a good place.
No oil on the tube above the indicated junction. As far as I know the forks have not been crashed. There is no visible signs of damage.
I purchased them from inderocker when he parted out the 2005 he had done a fork swap on.
I think I've knackered the pads on that side. Must have leaked enough before, and I didn't notice. A while back I did notice a spot of oil on the floor, but I thought it was from my floor jack. Now there is a dark band on that rotor.
My kitchen is stripped to the studs and I have scorpions getting into my house. What next??
Thanks for the response.
The oil seems to be coming from the indicated point in the photo. I noticed a very small amount a few years ago when I did the fork swap. Not sure what, if anything that means.
I'm going to contact the resident expert Jamie. Maybe he can shed some light on the leak.
I'd say it's probably not coming from there but rather from the mail seals above. It's possible to leak in the area of your arrow, but that's only if 1) the forks were badly bent and straightened 2) someone bodged up a stanchion tube replacement or 3) some other unnatural event.
I'd pop the dust seal down and check for oil behind it. The area between the oil and dust seal should be bone dry, if not that's your problem.
I'd say it's probably not coming from there but rather from the mail seals above. It's possible to leak in the area of your arrow, but that's only if 1) the forks were badly bent and straightened 2) someone bodged up a stanchion tube replacement or 3) some other unnatural event.
I'd pop the dust seal down and check for oil behind it. The area between the oil and dust seal should be bone dry, if not that's your problem.
Thanks for the input Jamie.
I have been keeping a close watch on the area of interest and much to my mis-diagnoses of the leak, I have determined that it is a common, ordinary seal leak.
Since I have much on my plate at the moment I'm going to try the clear the seal with a thin piece of plastic technique, or maybe some other method that someone might suggest and see if I can put off replacement for a couple of months.
That’s actually good news. A leak where you pointed to would be expensive.
Sealmates (or similar) do work. Carefully pry the dust seal down and use it on the oil seal. Be careful because if you open up that gap, fluid will flow. After swiping around, cycle the fork in and out several times and repeat step 2. Lol. Good luck.
That’s actually good news. A leak where you pointed to would be expensive.
Sealmates (or similar) do work. Carefully pry the dust seal down and use it on the oil seal. Be careful because if you open up that gap, fluid will flow. After swiping around, cycle the fork in and out several times and repeat step 2. Lol. Good luck.
I've used the Sealmates several times, they do a good job. In the old days, I used a feeler gauge, works too, but doesn't have that little hooky thing to drag out stuff.
...I'm going to try the clear the seal with a thin piece of plastic technique, or maybe some other method that someone might suggest and see if I can put off replacement for a couple of months.
Don't expect too much from this approach. It's an old trick for motocross bikes where you ride through dirt/mud/sand but I'm guessing you haven't done that.
You'll want to look closely at the stanchion tubes for any damage, no matter how tiny. This is the most common reason fork seals start leaking: damage to the rubber from dings or rust pits on the stanchions. Don't just blindly clean or replace seals without identifying the source of the problem - otherwise you'll be doing the job again soon.
Don't expect too much from this approach. It's an old trick for motocross bikes where you ride through dirt/mud/sand but I'm guessing you haven't done that.
You'll want to look closely at the stanchion tubes for any damage, no matter how tiny. This is the most common reason fork seals start leaking: damage to the rubber from dings or rust pits on the stanchions. Don't just blindly clean or replace seals without identifying the source of the problem - otherwise you'll be doing the job again soon.
Thanks for the info. I really don’t expect it to work. Don’t know how much oil will be lost as I haven’t done this before. Maybe I’ll just wait until I’m ready to get more serious about the fix.
Don't expect too much from this approach. It's an old trick for motocross bikes where you ride through dirt/mud/sand but I'm guessing you haven't done that.
You'll want to look closely at the stanchion tubes for any damage, no matter how tiny. This is the most common reason fork seals start leaking: damage to the rubber from dings or rust pits on the stanchions. Don't just blindly clean or replace seals without identifying the source of the problem - otherwise you'll be doing the job again soon.
In the old days we cut a piece of 35 mm film in the shape of a Sealsaver.
I use a vinyl treatment on a microfiber towel cut into a long 2 inch wide strip and "spit polish" the tubes after every ride.
When I rebuild forks I spend a lot of time burnishing flush any nicks and polishing the chrome tubes...
Tried a fork seal cleaner from Motion Pro. Seemed as though it worked, then started leaking again, maybe more. Going to replace the seals as soon as the fluid arrives
35mm what? LOL. Canisters were very nice for storing....ahem...medical herbs too...
Yeah I still use 35 mm film, 120 and 4 by 5 cut film for my 1948 Royal Graphic.
Are you old enough to remember when 35 mm film cans and other sizes were made from aluminum?!
I've been both an amateur and then semi professional since 1965. I still have all my dark room equipment and also developed color movie film. I moved to digital when they 1st came out. I remember the SD memory cards were like 15mb? I still enjoy film photography.
And yes besides a good container for small parts and liquids they can be used to store AAM*.
Aluminum...yep. Lost a lot of 1000 speed film from the 24 Hours of LeMans a lifetime ago going through DeGaulle airport. Had to put the canisters in a special tray. Got pulled aside for a search..metal in my leg set off alarms. Flustered and left without it...Damn...
Yeah I still use 35 mm film, 120 and 4 by 5 cut film for my 1948 Royal Graphic.
Are you old enough to remember when 35 mm film cans and other sizes were made from aluminum?!
I've been both an amateur and then semi professional since 1965. I still have all my dark room equipment and also developed color movie film. I moved to digital when they 1st came out. I remember the SD memory cards were like 15mb? I still enjoy film photography.
And yes besides a good container for small parts and liquids they can be used to store AAM*.
*Attitude Adjustment Material
I still have an aluminum 35mm can around somewhere. Orange lid, maybe Kodachrome?
Worked for a small photo lab in Honolulu that catered to the local pros. Processed many, many hundreds of rolls of Kodacolor and Ektachrome and countless color prints and internegs.
Center sharpness on an 8x10 negative was something.
