Need help dust boot

I have a 1981 XJ750 Seca. I went to change the fork oil seals. I bought a Haynes shop manual and it says to slide the dust cover up to expose the circlip holding the fork oil seal in. I tryed to pry the dust boot up and thought it was stuck so I ended up digging it out bit by bit and it looks like it was machine pressed in to place. It has a cast metal ring inside the boot that wont budge. Can anyone help me with this? How do I remove them? How do I replace them? Here are pics of the one I dug out and the one I have not touched yet. Thanks.

 

Take the forks apart - it'll be way easier to remove all the parts when their apart.

 

The forks are off the bike but I cant seperate the upper and lower untill I remove the boot and oil seal, even with the dampner assembly removed.

 

*confused*
Somethings wrong there -- you need to separate the tubes first before removing & replacing the seals. If you can't separate them yet, you've missed something I'm afraid....

 

I would love to seperate them if you can tell me how.

 

Can anyone help me with this?

 

You've removed the bolt from the bottom holding the two pieces together, yes?

 

Yes. When you remove that bolt it allows the dampner rod to fall out when you tip it over. It slides out the top ove the upper fork leg. But the upper wont slide out of the lower. The shop manual I have says I need to remove a circlip below the dust boot and above the oil seal.

 

So you have the spring out and the bolt on the bottom of the fork tube housing out? If that is the case, the slider should just pull right out. You remove the circlip to get the seal out, but that isn't until you remove the slider.

 

PghXJ is right - that circlip you refer to just holds the seal in -- it's got nothing to do with holding the slider tube in. If you've removed the bolt at the bottom, the inner tubes should be free to remove.

 

PghXJ, I disagree with your comment, you need to remove the circlip before you will be able to get the inner fork tube out. The inner tube has a bushing on the lower end that won't slip past the bushing that's just below the fork seal without the circlip and seal removed.

CMMnCMH, do you have any better pictures of the fork dust seal, I tried to blow up and enhance your picture but can't get good details of the area.

The Yamaha original dust seal is a press fit into the top of the lower fork tube. There should be a defined edge between the outer diameter of the rubber seal and metal of the fork housing. Get something in between the two items and pry apart. Some aftermarket dust seals press over the lower fork tube. Look for the end of the rubber material and the start of the metal tube and pry or lift up on the rubber seal.

 

The XJ750 must be different than my 550 then. I removed the circlip and seal after removing the fork tube. How are you supposed to remove the seal with the tube still in there. That would be rather difficult.

Nick knows better as he has a 750, so listen to him.

Sorry for the misinformation.

 

Thanks guys. I think Nick is right. I ordered new dust seals so I could see how they install and therfore how they remove. Do you think I need a special tool to install a new one? Maybe just a piece of pipe the right size and pound it down in?

 

Sorry, I had to go to work after my last post this morning.

Once the circlip is out, I used the inner tube as a slide hammer to pull the top bushing and oil seal out. Just be carefull that you don't have to beat it to death, that bushing can get damaged this way. If you have to dig the old oil seal out, you have to be carefull also that you don't score the inner tube and cause a problem for the new seal to seal against.

Go look in my gallery, I made some tools out of sch 40 pvc pipe to drive the top bushing in and the fork seal in place.

You can't see any sign of where the metal ends and the rubber of the dust seal begins?

 

You have to remove the COMPLETE Inner workings of the Fork before you take out the SEAL.

Using the Upper Tube as a "Slide Hammer" may work but is NOT recommended. The Lower Slider shouldn't be exposed to such a force.

There is a good chance that it will deform at the edges ... causing that Fork Tube to be a candidate for "Sticking" and ruining the smooth operation of the Front Suspension.

If you are having trouble getting the Fork Seal Out ... Cannibalize it out of there.

Protect the finish of the Top Tube with several wraps of Masking tape.
Followed by a layer or two of Vinyl electrical tape.
Followed by some Heavy-Duty Duct tape.

Then, go after that stuck-in-there seal with some "Rip-it-out" tools.
Grind a needle point on a big nail and tap it through the seal ... close to the OUTSIDE edge of the Lower Tubes INSIDE Diameter.

Rip it out in chunks.
Needle nose, Vice Grips, Screwdriver, Ice Pick ...
Just grab a piece and rip it out.

When you get enough of it out of there ... the Upper Tube will be released.

If you "Slide Hammered" ... Inspect the Upper Edge of the LOWER Slide.
Remove any deformed looking portion of the Upper Edge with 800 and 1000 Finishing Paper.

(Shimming the Lower Slide)

You can fabricate a "Shim" to fit behind the Lower Slide by "Crushing" a piece of PlastiGuage in a Micrometer to .002ths, or .003ths and wrapping the Lower Tube with it ... beneath the Slide.

Trial and error for the smoothest operation without shudder will generally take less than a half hour per side.

 

Thanks a lot for your help guys.

I haven’t had a chance to work on it anymore yet. I should get my new oil seals tomorrow that will be this weekend’s project. As I read the shop manual, there are several types of forks. The manual says on some of the models, to heat the upper part of the lower fork tube with a torch and then use the upper as a slide hammer to force out the upper bushing. On mine I should be able to remove the upper once I have removed the guts and the circlip below the dust boot. Have you guys taken apart this exact model of fork? Its 1981 750RH seca

Rick, what’s the fork shim for?

 

Taking-out any gitter and making sure the Slide is actually sliding along the inside of the lower tube and not just being there.

If the Lower Slide has a nice smooth action ... you don't need it. But if there is a spot where the Lower Tube has any free play and feels too loose ... you either need to replace the Lower Slide (Recommended EVERY time you do the Forks ... or, Shim the Lower Slide to have a nice, firm, non-vibrating travel throughout its entire Up / Down travel.

(Special Tuning)

 

I think the forks are in good shape, very smooth. At least for now, we’ll see how much damage I do replacing the oil seals.
When you say replace the lower slide, do you mean the entire lower fork, or is that one of the internal pieces?
What came out when I removed the bolt at the bottom and tipped it over, the shop manual calls the dampener assembly. Is it one of those pieces?

 

No.

The Slide is a split bushing that fits into a recessed band at the lower end of the fork. It's a piece that prevents the tube from scratching the inside diameter of the lower fork as it moves up and down.

The lower Slide is on the bottom end of the inner fork tube. The Upper Slide is seated at the Upper end of the Lower Tube.

The Upper Slide is more-or-less a guide. The LOWER Slide is the workhorse.
That Lower Slide is dancing up and down ... and there is an area where it travels that might be worn from hard riding or lots of miles.
If if is worn ... and the Lower Slide is loose it will cause the handlebars to vibrate and cause riding fatigue.
The trick is to replace that lower slide and "Test" it for wiggling around.
If it DOES shimmy around a little bit. There are a number of ways to place a shim behind the slide.
None simpler than making your own custom shim by flattening out a strip of Red PlasitGuage and wrapping the lower fork to make the Slider ... a "Slider"