Installing Fork Seals: Substitute for the right tool?

(PeteCresswell) said:

Has anybody successfully replaced seals without the special tool?

Looks like the right way to do it is to use a bullet-shaped piece of metal made
for the purpose and a mallet to push the seal into place.

I vaguely recall a workaround strategy that involved freezing the seal.

Pete,

Three weeks of trying to replace the seal = three weeks of not riding
that bike.

Either you have the patience of a saint or your an obsessed technical
maniac. I would have given up after the first hour and riding that bike
five days later.

--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

Ride-A-Lot said:

(PeteCresswell) said:

Has anybody successfully replaced seals without the special tool?
Looks like the right way to do it is to use a bullet-shaped piece of
metal made
for the purpose and a mallet to push the seal into place.
I vaguely recall a workaround strategy that involved freezing the seal.

Pete,

Three weeks of trying to replace the seal = three weeks of not riding
that bike.

Either you have the patience of a saint or your an obsessed technical
maniac. I would have given up after the first hour and riding that bike
five days later.

LOL

Per Ride-A-Lot:

Quoted message said:

Three weeks of trying to replace the seal = three weeks of not riding
that bike.

Either you have the patience of a saint or your an obsessed technical
maniac.

I *am* a little obsessive- willing to go though quite a bit just to finally know
something.

Been obsessing about a new surf ski for months now. Some guy out in CA finally
threw down the gauntlet - and I'm flying out to Oakland next week for 3 days
just to say I've tried a half-dozen of the most popular skis and to actually
*know* something about the various design tradeoffs. Work is slow right now,
the guy's gonna put me up for two nites, and the airfare is less than four
hundred bucks... but still...I'll admit to being a little obsessive.

But for the fork, it's also nothing like continuous effort. When I was
building a boat once, I read this "How-To" book and the author cited an easy
chair and small 'fridge full of beer as two essential tools of the trade. The
spiel was that there often comes a time when, instead of taking further action,
you should just sit down, pop open a cold one, and relax for awhile - maybe even
think about overnite. Being a little prone to getting crazed to begin with, I
continue to embrace the author's basic idea - to my benefit.

Bike availability is not an issue. I built my HT and FS with an eye to parts
interchangeability and it's just the HT that's down for this little exercise...
having swapped it's fork out onto the FS... and the FS is my bread-and-butter
ride.
--
PeteCresswell

Per Ride-A-Lot:

Quoted message said:

Either you have the patience of a saint or your an obsessed technical
maniac.

I'm also a computer application developer - although not a particularly gifted
one... But there's definitely an element of persistence there that transfers to
other endeavors.
--
PeteCresswell

(PeteCresswell) said:

Per Ride-A-Lot:

Quoted message said:

Either you have the patience of a saint or your an obsessed technical
maniac.

I'm also a computer application developer - although not a particularly gifted
one... But there's definitely an element of persistence there that transfers to
other endeavors.

All computer geeks are gifted 😉. You just got to learn how to throw on
the fluff about your skills and not be so negative about them.

C++? Java? Not that I know of openings, but you never know.

--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

Per Ride-A-Lot:

Quoted message said:

C++? Java? Not that I know of openings, but you never know.

No. MS Access front ends against SQL Server and JET back ends.

IT managers spit on me... but I get plenty of work, the users generally love me,
and my applications seem to have a fairly long life (like 5-7 years).

Couple years back I was trying to figure out what it was that I actually had to
offer and came up with "I deliver stuff faster than IT (*much* faster), cheaper
than IT (*much* cheaper) and (I think this is probably the most important from
the client's perspective) I give the client a huge degree of minute-to-minute
control over the development cycle.".

Basically, I don't sell programming; I sell happiness... You want? I give.

It's a pretty good gig for my particular personality and I like the varied pace
- but can be a [censored] when several clients at once need to be kept happy.
--
PeteCresswell

"(PeteCresswell)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Has anybody successfully replaced seals without the special tool?

Looks like the right way to do it is to use a bullet-shaped piece of metal
made
for the purpose and a mallet to push the seal into place.

I vaguely recall a workaround strategy that involved freezing the seal.

Did it with a Marzocchi - screwed it the hell up first time. Second time, I
measure the shock's relevent parts, same with the seals, drew them up in a
CAD programme, got some plastic stock bar, gave drawing and plastic bar to
my BIL, who turned me a seal press out of it - add a mallet and a careful
hand, good eye = excellent home made seal press = no fux0red seals or
stanchions.

Shaun aRe