Need help with suspension bushings

[json]

I have one of my forks apart and I'm checking the bushings.

I found this pick of similar bushings and I'm not sure if any of these are worn:

http://easterndirt.com/one_page/seal...%20seal_17.jpg

My seals look like the bottom most seal and the top most seal. The thicker/taller sided seal has all it's teflon on the outside, but shows wear on the inside. The thinner/narrow surfaced seal has all it's teflon on the inside, and is copper on the outside.

Are any of the seals in that pic worn?

[tirebiter]

The seals in the pic look ok.
The copper side doesn't do anything, it's the teflon side you should check for wear..

[MXtras]

These things are pretty cheap. The ones pictured don't necessarily look bad but if they have been installed and used, they are likely worn - that's what they do, they wear. You could put them back in and order a replacement set for next time.

I replace these parts everytime I rebuild a set of forks. They get replaced along with the seals and dust wipers.

Scott

[Woody_393]

I'm currently subscribing to the every 2 years cycle for bushing replacement. I can never really tell either. Though on my '03 CRF450, I could not get the oil seals to stop leaking (replaced 3 times in about 10 hours) so I finally replaced all the bushings and they guy I sold it to has over 50 hours on it since buying it and has not had a lick of trouble with the fork seals.

Pivot works sells an entire kit (seals, wipers, bushings, and all the O-rings) for about $60-70 and that's what I used with great success.

So in short IMOP, if your bike is older than 2 years, I'd do it.

[tirebiter]

Originally Posted by Woody_393

I'm currently subscribing to the every 2 years cycle for bushing replacement. I can never really tell either. Though on my '03 CRF450, I could not get the oil seals to stop leaking (replaced 3 times in about 10 hours) so I finally replaced all the bushings and they guy I sold it to has over 50 hours on it since buying it and has not had a lick of trouble with the fork seals.

Pivot works sells an entire kit (seals, wipers, bushings, and all the O-rings) for about $60-70 and that's what I used with great success.

So in short IMOP, if your bike is older than 2 years, I'd do it.

Yep, Pivot works takes the hassle & expense, wads it up in a little ball and throws it out the window- good stuff for a fraction of the OEM cost.
Went thru a kit yesterday, took me longer to separate the parts from the shrink wrap than acually doing the job- Plastic sucks!!

[Woody_393]

ha ha, that's funny. I thought the same thing. I spent 20minutes just looking for an O-ring that went flying when I was trying to free the parts from plastic prison.

[json]

I bit the bullet and ordered all Race Tech stuff from Rocky Mountain. The seals that are on there now are NOK, but I don't know what "brand" they are. I'm not sure how old my bushings are, but the bike is 13 years old.

If those pivot works kits work well for you guys, I'll try that next time. It would have saved me $30. I was going to try the Tusk fork seals, but the Race Tech pushed me over $100 total so I got to use my $10 off coupon and get free shipping. It was almost the exact same price to go all Race Tech stuff with free shipping as it was to get the Tusks and pay $7 shipping, with no coupon.

I work for a company that makes all kinds of seals, including a few for a very common/popular name (can't say) seal that is resold by several companies as crankshaft seals. Unfortunately, we don't make fork seals at the moment...

[Woody_393]

The race-tech stuff should be fine , but yeah, @ 13 years, chances of the bushings being pretty worn are pretty good.