Fork Oil Leak (February 28, 2013)

The slow oil leak that has surrounded my fork oil caps decided to expand yesterday.  Went for a ride & noticed I was having trouble braking … figured it was just old brake pads.  Went out this morning to go to the pobox & noticed oil on the ground by my front tire.  Yep, oil dripping down from the fork seals onto the rim, then onto the brake pads.  Nothing wrong with the pads, just that they have oil on them.

Found this nice tool online called SealMate (and it is not for seals) that you can insert into your fork seal, rotate around the tire (be careful not to crimp the tool), pump the handlebars about 10 times to reseat the seals & problem solved.  This works really well if your fork seal is not damaged, just if it is dirty.  What it does is pull the dirt out from under the seal so when you pump the handlebars the seal is reseated – no more leak.  Have since learned that you can use one as a template & cut more as you need them from 2-liter or 3-liter soda bottles.  1-liter bottles probably work well too.

20130228_forkoilleak_1828