Just tore down my forks to replace seals. The seals and washers underneath the seals were both put on different by po. One of the seals, the writing was facing up, one was facing down. Same with the washer, the flat part was up on one down on the other.
With the washers I haven't ever found it to really matter so long as they are free of damage/burrs, but the seals are certainly uni-directional. The large side of the seal (with the writing stamped on it) should face the dry side of the fork. I -think- the service manual has an illustration of which they should go.... did you check in the front fork section for that?
It's hard for me to find how to explain it, but almost all shaft oil seals in this type of application have seal faces that are asymmetrical... you can see which side would be better for wiping (cleaning the shaft), and which side would be better at holding fluid pressure (sealing) by the way the face of the seal, erm, "faces", and the direction of the taper off the face of the seal.
Rub your finger over the edge of the washer, youll feel a sharp edge on one side and a rounded off side on the other. The sharp edge always goes against the seal, and the the rounded off part always goes towards the tube.
As for the seal I dont have one infront of me to look at. Hopefully someone can chime in.
I did not catch that in the service manual. After looking at the seals more closely, I can see what your talking about. I'm putting them back together today, if you think of any other tips tricks, please let me know.
Thanks for your reply.
I reused mine. It seems most people reuse unless their damaged. I just finished mine up using the write up and service manual ect and all is well so far
The washers don't really matter, but the 'sharp' side is marginally flatter and supports the seal better if you want to be pedantic. But the seal's orientation is critical, the 'open' side of the seal (as mentioned previously, one side has all the no's etc on it, the other is hollow, or open) must go towards the pressure side (inside the fork), it expands the seal against, in this case, the fork leg, and helps it seal against the pressure trying to escape past the sealing lip(s).
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Kawasaki ZX-10R Forum
2.1M posts
128.9K members
Since 2003
A forum community dedicated to Kawaski ZX-10R superbike owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, racing, riding tips, modifications, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!