How many hours of shop time should I pay for to replace my fork seals?
Yep KTM360mx I never changed the fork oil because I didn't think the fork seals were leaking. Sorry I'm not a mechanic and I thought it was still okay to ride as long as the fork oil wasn't leaking. Are the fork seals starting to leak now? P.S. I don't know how helpfull this thread is but it might be worth checking.How did it turn out? I am going to R&R my forks over thanksgiving or christmas as the oil has never been changed (according to the former owner). So I'm going to freshen up the oil and change the fork seals anyway. I do the work myself, but was curious about your labor costs.
Get yourself some nose plugs. The original fork oil is seriously foul smelling stuff. With that many miles on it, the bushings should be looked at and maybe replaced. They have a coating (Teflon, maybe?) that makes it pretty obvious when they wear. It's worth completely disassembling the forks just to clean out the sludge that collects at the bottom.I am going to R&R my forks over thanksgiving or christmas as the oil has never been changed
Anytime I go through the effort to remove the forks for an oil change, I replace the fork seals and the upper/lower bushings (what your guy is calling "crush washers" I assume). It doesn't take much time since the forks are already apart and is a good idea to keep them in top shape.i take them off and take them to my local private guy who does work at his house. even around 99K he asked me to get what he calls "crush washers", they are copper slides inside that wear
The bike is great! And no worries. Usually you don't change fork oil until the seals leak. I just figured that with 150k on the clock, might be a good idea. The bike is tight and rides great! We love it!Yep KTM360mx I never changed the fork oil because I didn't think the fork seals were leaking. Sorry I'm not a mechanic and I thought it was still okay to ride as long as the fork oil wasn't leaking. Are the fork seals starting to leak now? P.S. I don't know how helpfull this thread is but it might be worth checking.
http://www.nt-owners.org/forums/showthread.php?10311-Fork-Oil-Flush-Recommendation
P.S. KTM360mx That bikes engine, final drive, and important things were maintained. I just neglected the suspension and washing the bike everything else should be good.
I'll be interested in hearing your opinion after you do it!Will the oil smell? Sure, really bad? Nah.
Plus 1 to that. I'm always amazed at how nasty the fork oil is when it comes out.You'll be amazed at the grunge that accumulates in the bottom of the slider!
I was one of the ones who drilled a hole in the bottom of my forks and installed a drain plug on the old C10. It facilitad a fluid change, but wasn't a substitute for disassembly and re-building and repairing.The early Concours had a fork plug at the bottom which could be removed to drain the oil from the fork. Kawasaki changed the fork design in '94 and omitted that plug, but a quite a few people performed a modification which added a drain plug. I don't know if that improved things as far as fork seals and bushings went, but they argued that it was easier to clean the forks if you could drain from the bottom.
I don't know if such a plug could be added to the NT or if it would be an improvement or not -- any opinions?
I wondered about that. When we rebuilt the forks on my Connies that didn't have drain plugs, there was lots of grunge and we had to flush diligently to get it all out.the accumulated grunge in the bottom often made them ineffective for draining.