Fork oil plug
 

i have been having a few issues with changing my fork seals, springs and oil. i have it all done now (with the MASSIVE aid of a friend (well he did it for me really!!)), however when he went to do the 2nd fork (left one). the plug wouldn't come out. just went round and round. so decided to just drain it via turning it upside down, got the seal changed and the new oil and spring in (tried to unscrew the plug again with everything out and could hear the cartridge that the bolt screws into just turning inside), great..........ooorrr not. got everything back onto the bike and then noticed a slight leak coming from the bottom of the fork!! try tightening the plug bolt, but as before it just goes round and round and the leak continues (it is a very, very slow dripping leak).

so does anyone know what i can do to try and stop this leak or what the problem might be and hopefully how i can fix it?

ps. the forks took rather a lot more oild than expected, but hey they feel sooooooooooooo much better than before. just riding home i had sooooo much more confidence and feel in the front end!!

thanks

Chris

Re: Fork oil plug
 

Those aren't really drain screws, they're just there to hold the damper rod in place... They have crush washer in them so if you loosen then tighten them again they might not seal properly.

Re: Fork oil plug
 

+1

You can make a holding tool to tighten the bottom bolt properly, or with the springs and caps in place then IIRC it's held a lot tighter.

Re: Fork oil plug
 

A holding tool - commonly disguised as a broom handle.


Honest - it works.

Re: Fork oil plug
 

I do mine with a broom handle. Make sure the end is nicely rounded off then feed it down the fork leg and give it a good tap. Take it out again and there will be an imprint on the end the size of the recess. A little work with a stanley knife to trim the excess (make it slightly oversize) and you have just the tool. Put the end of the boom handle in the vice, put the leg over it and push down hard whilst turning the bolt, has worked every time for me.

Re: Fork oil plug
 

so you're saying take the fork leg out again, remove all the oil, shove a broom handle or similar down the fork leg (with spring out i presume), hold it firm and then try and take the bolt out. have a look at it, make sure the washer is there and then put everything back in and tighten using the broom handle?

Re: Fork oil plug
 

As Andy says, that's NOT a drain bolt and shouldn't be disturbed unless you need to dismantle the fork, he's also right about the problem you now have and the likely fix - tighten the bolt.
Searching this forum will find all the info you need to get the fork apart, and the use of a broom pole as a holding tool if needed.
However you may be a lucky boy and the simply the fork having been reassembled will provide all the restraint the damper rod needs for the bolt to be tightened. Prop the bike up and remove the front spindle, try tightening the bolt, you might be lucky and that's all you need to do. Of course if more than a trace of oil has been lost you'll need to remove the fork so that it may be held upright and the oil level reset correctly.