One fork leg leaking after new seals - wrong way round?

[iancp5]

Aside from seal fitting issues it's really worth fitting those neoprene booties. They considerably lengthen seal life.

[stay_upright]

I would but I don't want to damage the lower fork coating...

[GMP]

Forget the booties, they just trap grit. Old trick I've used for years is a piece of nylon cord packed with seal grease wrapped around the tube under the dust wiper. This will catch anything that gets past the wiper and can be eaisly cleaned. Seems to extend seal life IMO.

stayupright,

When you removed the seal from the tube to reverse it, did you wrap the tube with tape as well?

[stay_upright]

Yes used the tape this time as well

[iancp5]

Originally Posted by stay_upright

I would but I don't want to damage the lower fork coating...

They do do that. But aside from aesthetics I couldn't tell the difference. Whatever GMP says I had a host of seal and muck problems until I started using the boots and since I have not had one leaking seal and they are always clean as a whistle when I have serviced forks on both Gas Gas and KTM.

[GMP]

Are you using "shorty" neoprene seal saver type boots, where the edge fits snug and rides on the tube, or full length sealed boots clamped on the top and bottom? Full length boots work well on conventional forks, they are on my wife's Pampera, but you will bottom the USDs on the booty and pinch it.

I just finnished rebuilding my friends WP 43s, including buffing/polishing some long vertical scratches out of the tubes caused by trapped grit under shorty boots. Scratches bad enough to trash a couple sets of new seals. Results may depend on how much sand is in the dirt that gets trapped, and if you clean them constantly. For us they are not worth it, but if your happy, good for you.

What I find working on my own and all my friends forks, is that after a season of muddy riding (and we always have some mud) on a set of seals you are on borrow time. This is true of Zokes and WPs. It pays to change seals in the off season to avoid mid summer hassles and ruined rides. By this time the wipers are starting to get a little worn/loose, and more dirt can be seen underneath.

[iancp5]

I'm using the full length ones. I was going to try shorties next but maybe I wont now. Been using the long ones on USDs with no problems other than it removes the nitride coating. Not sure if it wears the chrome much, not enough so far to worry me at least.

I ride plenty of mud and wet sand too. I was getting a leak every 2 rides on average before the gaiters. So whatever the downsides it is preferable.

[GMP]

If the long, fully sealed ones survive thats great. I tried them once and pinched/cut them in one ride. Patched them up and next time a stick ripped a hole in one. Great idea just not durable enough, but they do seem to work well on the conventional forks where they are higher and less prone to damage. The coating will wear off the tubes eventually anyway. The problem with the short boots is that they are not tight enough on the edge to completely scrape the dirt off the fork like the wiper, and it builds up underneath. Now you have a snug piece of wet sandpaper working on the fork tube.