USD seal maintenance

Questions and comments about converting to beefier forks..
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canyncarvr
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USD seal maintenance

Post by canyncarvr »

I've read a few threads that indicate it's common for some to regularly take the dust boots off, clean underneath them, pack them with grease, put 'em back on.

I don't understand why you would want grease there. Yeah...I guess it might keep dirt from getting to the seal (the first stroke)..but wouldn't it also make a mess of the downtube?..which in turn would give the seals a headache?

I'm regularly missing most things of late. What am I missing about this deal?


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Post by KDXGarage »

I read one today where the guy put cotton between the two seals.

I would think that the dust seal is supposed to keep dust and dirt out. I would hope it would seal better than grease. I don't really see how it could help a lot, but some fols will swear by anything.

Eye wood think any grease that was to help out would have to be touching the fork tube. Dirt could only get in between the dust seal and tube, right? Any grease on the outer edges would never get dirty.

I can't say that I have heard of packing them with grease from any major company's website.
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Post by IdahoCharley »

I'm of the thinking of you two. I have never really understood why people would want to pack the dust-cover-to-seal-void with grease. Never read of any major players which did this.

One guy use to write repeatedly about buying a mop and then cutting off a few of the cotton strings and covering them with gease and packing it in the void area. I thought this might be have some merit initially, but never did try it myself. Sound similiar to the stuff it with cotton approach.
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Post by KDXGarage »

Eye wood think anything fibrous wood be a no-no.
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Post by skipro3 »

FWIW, dealing with this topic on a broader scale:
Anything that can trap dirt, and then slide up and down your fork tube is bad. Grease up under the dust boot is going to hold.....hang onto your hats, ladies.....dust!!!! It will be like liquid sandpaper rubbing up and down the fork tube.
On that same thought, and after looking a Inda's seal skins, and how tight they fit, I'm of the opinion that those things will get dirt under them and then it will also act like sandpaper, working away at the fork leg. Just how does that seal skin supposed to work? It seems to me the dust boot is supposed to wipe the tube clear of dirt and protect the seal. Is the seal skin supposed to wipe off the dirt so the dust boot can....can what? The seal skin just took over it's job!
Anyway, like I said at the beginning, it seems that packing anything up under that boot is going to be bad for the fork leg and the seal skin isn't any better.
My opinion, FWIW, etc.

P.S. I know! put a zerk fitting on the dust boot so you can keep fresh grease under there and flush out the old, dirty grease! (Just kidding!) I'm not kidding about the fork skins. Does anyone else think dirt could get trapped up under there and abrade the fork?
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Post by KDXGarage »

"P.S. I know! put a zerk fitting on the dust boot so you can keep fresh grease under there and flush out the old, dirty grease! (Just kidding!)"

AHHH! :lol: :mrgreen:

" I'm not kidding about the fork skins. Does anyone else think dirt could get trapped up under there and abrade the fork?"

It sounds like it. You make a dang interesting point.

My 1994 KDX200 USD forks have the plastic guards, but they are more of an L shape whereas most older KX guards seem to be more of a straight piece that protects only the front. I have seen some newer ones that are rounded, but seemed to be narrow at the top.


HOLY SH*&!! This is just the thing we needed to resurrect that old infomerical / product -

The triple edge wiper!

:lol:
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Post by Indawoods »

OK... I think the grease, mop strings etc.. is hog wash! The seals are designed just fine IMO.
The only reason I put the seal savers on is to keep rocks from pitting my tubes and MUD outta my seals. Any seal problems I have had in the past has involved mud getting past the seals. Mud can creep in much easier than dry dirt found on a MX track.
And add water to any abrasive there is and it becomes twice as bad.
The seal savers do not fit tight on the tubes... just tight enough to run interference to keep mud from getting on the first 5 inches of stroke. I still think it will help a great deal IMO.
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Post by skipro3 »

Hey Inda, Can you roll the seal back from the lower tube and inspect / clean it? Seems that should be possible and might be a routine part of cleaning up the bike. That way, if anything did find it's way up under there, it wouldn't cause problems over the long haul.
Jerry

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Post by Indawoods »

I'm a firm believer in "Better life through chemicals"

There has to be a way to treat the forks before you ride each time to keep dirt and mud from sticking to the forks in the first place. First, if riding in dusty conditions... what harm would come of you using Static Guard on your tubes? It should repel the dust...right? That's the first thing I notice when I get in a dusty area...dust just covers my tubes. Or, negatively charge the tubes to ofset the the static charge caused by the wipers going over the tubes. I mean if you want to truely address the issues.... address them! :grin:
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Post by Indawoods »

Speaking of all this... has anyone given any thought to putting fork boots on the lowers to keep the muck off of the tubes? Remove the guards, keep the guides to secure the boots and provide a cable guide. Granted that youd proly have to buy KTM RSU fork boots but they should do the trick. The only drawback I can see is that they may tear a lot easier being low....

Just consider them a wear item! A hell of a lot cheaper than replacing damaged tubes and contantly changing seals. Being woods riders... we gotta think outside the box when we upgrade these KDX's with new technology not designed for our kind of abuse.

Just a thought! :roll:
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