Front fork Leakage or ???

[Red Rock]

Ok, now I am asking everyone here for some help. I have read my mtn bike maintanence book and it has nothing here on leaking oil from the front fork area. I looked at Sheldon Brown's website and did not know enough as to where to look.

1. Do I just need to turn the bike over?

2. Do I need to the bike back to the shop and have them fix this?

My bike is currently standing upright and oil has been found just under the dropouts on the floor 2 mornings in a row. Something is not right here.

I will be with family most of today so checking in will probably be late at night so please forgive me. Thankyou.

Red Rock

[OakLeaf]

til Deb gets here - I only know oil-damped motorcycle forks, so my opinion is probably worthless :rolleyes: But anyway, on standard m/c forks, replacing fork seals isn't technically difficult, but it's fairly involved. So you may want to let the shop take care of it. Keeping the inner fork legs clean and free of rust will help seals last longer. If you notice any rust or pitting on the forks, smooth it off with Scotch-Brite and a little WD-40.


EDIT/correction:

I got curious and started looking at seal installation manuals, there are several manuals available online. The particular procedure (as with anything) depends on your fork manufacturer and may also depend on what brand of seals you buy, but the general procedures should be the same for most manufacturers on standard forks, so you can look at some manuals and decide whether it's something you want to attempt. Upside-down cartridge forks may be somewhat more difficult to service.

[Red Rock]

Oakleaf thankyou for your help. I also put a call out to my brother since he has the same type of fork. He has given me suggestions too as far as a rebuild is concerned. I still think the or a shop should do this. Now that I can ride the bike without any major difficulty, also since it is very cold outside, maybe the thing to do is to take it to the shop-not the same one-and have them look over everything and check out the front fork. Let me know what is happening and then do it. Whatever that is. Just like taking the car in for repairs.:(

Would it be worth looking at other forks for replacement?

If so what would be a good replacement? I think FOX are the best but what runs below that for quality and workability? I am still getting into the mtb lingo, even though I have been doing a lot of reading I could not tell you what is the best vs. what is second rate.

Thankyou,
Red Rock

[ridebikeme]

AS others have mentioned, it may not be too difficult to replace seals. However, I agree that you should take it to your LBS... when replacing seals, that isn't the only thing to look for... scarring on the stanchions(legs) etc.. if things like that aren't checked it could cost you more money in the long run. Your LBS will also know what type of seals to use, AND ones that may be having issues. Some forks also recommend that you have an installation tool to replace the seals. And if you are using it in the winter, perhaps you'll want a lighter weight oil as well. Hopefully it is as simple as replacing seals.

[ridebikeme]

AS others have mentioned, it may not be too difficult to replace seals. However, I agree that you should take it to your LBS... when replacing seals, that isn't the only thing to look for... scarring on the stanchions(legs) etc.. if things like that aren't checked it could cost you more money in the long run. Your LBS will also know what type of seals to use, AND ones that may be having issues. Some forks also recommend that you have an installation tool to replace the seals. And if you are using it in the winter, perhaps you'll want a lighter weight oil as well. Hopefully it is as simple as replacing seals.

[ridebikeme]

AS others have mentioned, it may not be too difficult to replace seals. However, I agree that you should take it to your LBS... when replacing seals, that isn't the only thing to look for... scarring on the stanchions(legs) etc.. if things like that aren't checked it could cost you more money in the long run. Your LBS will also know what type of seals to use, AND ones that may be having issues. Some forks also recommend that you have an installation tool to replace the seals. And if you are using it in the winter, perhaps you'll want a lighter weight oil as well. Hopefully it is as simple as replacing seals.