Hi all, instead of forking out for the proper seals, I put a set of SKF seals from splatshop in my forks a few weeks ago but they have slowly leaked most of the fork oil out. Has anyone else used them and found the same or have I had some dodgy ones?? Or are they just poor quality anyway?

more likely that top fork bushes worn out.

They can't be that bad. Looks like the new Beta has them fitted to:

http://www.trialscentral.com/headline-stories/15288-2014-beta-evo-2t-first-pictures

They worked fine on my bike.

Repair books say that they can take some time to seat, and one should work the forks up and down to bed them in.

I've never experienced this, but I suppose it's possible.

How did you install them?

I didnt know the fork legs had top bushes. Can they be changed?? I replaced both the oil seals and the dust seals so I thought id be alright but they leak almost as badly as the old ones. I installed them by removing the forks from the bike, removing the dust seals then cleaned around the oil seals before removing them, then put in the new ones. Including new oil seal retaining clips.

Did you dismantle the forks? ie take the sliders off the legs?

Have you checked the fork legs for burrs or damage - even the slightest sharp edge or mark can cut a seal lip.

As a previous poster says are the sliders top bushes worn - unlikely on a 2009

Common error is not to drive new seals in squarely. I always use a driver made on a lathe that pushes them in dead square. I also lubricate the outer circumference of the seal with the mereest trace of Hylomar (NOT silicone) to help them slide in and seal. The fork leg also needs to be thoroughly coated with a thin film of oll before the seal contacts it.

Cheers

I drive them in with a piece of PVC the proper diameter.

I also put the old seals on top of the new so I don't damage them.

I've done dozens this way.

And...yeah...any dings in the tubes will cause leaking. I fill them with CYA (super glue) and sand the repair smooth.

We use dozens of SKF seals at the shop I work at and never had a problem

The quality is good, sometimes a light cross hatch on the fork tube will help the seal work in

Im pretty sure the sliders were fine but ill double check them tonight anyway. The black coating is slightly worn off in places tho could that affect it?

I never dismantled the legs tho I didnt know they came apart, I just slid the seals over the top of the sliders. Is that a better way to do it? By removing the sliders first?

Im beginning to think you have damaged the forks if you got the old seals out without removing the leg from the fork tube. If you take the bolt out of the bottom part of the fork and then clamp the spindle housing in a vice (protect with wood or cloth) you then use the tube as a slide hammer to remove seal.

Well I disassembled my front forks and gave them a thorough inspection today only to find that the legs have a couple of nice big gouges in them

Is there any way of making a repair or will I have to start thinking about a new set of forks? Also how can you tell if the top bushes are worn?

Have heard of superglue being used to fill in grooves, the high spots at the edge of the groove need removing as that's what will be damaging the seals. New tubes aren't cheap but you may be able to pick up a set of forks out of a stripped bike on ebay

If you look at the bushes & any of the black coating on the inside is gone then the bushes are shot, the bush actually forms the first barrier to oil escaping, worn bushes are more likely to have leaking new seals than new bushes & old seals together. Hop that makes sense

When you say "legs" do you mean tubes?

But you wouldn't need to disassemble the forks to check the tubes.

The tubes go inside the legs.

If it's tubes...yeah...sand, file or otherwise grind off the high spots, fill the divots with super glue and sand it smooth.

Don't sand/smooth inside the gouge...you want some roughness for a strong mechanical bond as there's no chemical bond between CyA and metal.

I've had this last for years and it probably can be considered a permanent fix.

I mean the black tubes that slide inside the legs.

I took of the burrs on the outside of the grooves the other day and sanded the outside smooth and it definately leaked less at todays trial.

Ill try that repair with superglue this week and see how it gets on at the weekend.