Time for Seals

Have been noticing that my 77' KZ1000A has been leaking fork oil under the left fork when parked. Thought originally it was the allen head bolt crush washer at the bottom of the outer fork leg that holds the inner cylinder, but after lifting the fork leg rubber dust shield I noticed a lot of fork oil puddling on top of the fork seal. So I'm sure it was seeping thru the rubber dust shield and dripping onto the ground below.

So now onto taking the forks apart and replacing the seals. I've read a lot of Posts loosening the allen head bolt below. I have an air impact. Hopefully it will loosen without having to hold the inner damper rod from turning . I read that someone used a Gator Grip socket to do this.

Besides the seals, is there anything else I should order ? The fork wipers or dust shield are in good shape.


Also, what seals are you guys using ? K&L or Kawasaki OEM ( or whoever makes them ) ? Some venders All Balls claim there aftermarket ones are better than OEM and have less friction ?

Do you know what size copper crush washers are used ? I'm wondering if my copper crush washers on my brake banjo bolts would work ?

All Balls seals are good, maybe easier to get. I've never had to replace the washer for the Allen bolts.
Steve

Copper washer for the allen bolt on the bottom and OEM Kawasaki seals I'd say.

I've never tried all balls, but they are probably Chinese. For sure aftermarket seals are a crapshoot. If the originals are still available that is always the best option. Air impact should easilly remove and reinstall the allen. I never replaced a washer in 40yrs and never had a leak from the bottom bolt. Use a decent impact allen socket or it may strip out the head of the bolt. Good luck. An easy job with air impact tools.

When I did mine 9 years ago I used genuine Kawasaki seals and new genuine copper washers. I've had no problems since. In fact, the original seals were not leaking when I replaced them. I only did that because I was installing NOS fork legs for appearance reasons. Ed

Thanks Guys. I was going to leave the forks mounted in the bike, then use the air impact on the bottom allen head bolt. I thought I read that the top fork cap had to be loosened before the air impact used, but that doesn't make sense ?

I figured with the forks assembled and mounted, the inner cartridge held on by the allen bolt, would be tensioned by the fork spring and held in place more making the allen head bolt easier to remove. Am I on the right track ?

Partzilla seems to have a discounted price on the OEM parts but I will call the Kawasaki Dealer and see how they compares with Partzilla's price.

What do you Guys find that works best in removing the seals ? I've read a seal puller or even a claw hammer ? Of course you would have to have something across the outer fork top to prevent it from being damaged.

Pulled everything apart and went pretty well . Air impact worked great, just left the forks assembled and mounted on the bike.

Purchased a seal puller at O-reiley's and walked the seal out without to much difficulty. I slightly scratched the inside of the fork tube with the pointed end of the seal puller when removing the seal. Used a little scotch pad and polished the inside of the seal race, so hopefully the scratch won't cause an issue.

It was suggested to purchase a Gator Grip socket to fit down inside the inner fork to grab the top if the inside dampning rod, but the outside diameter of the socket is slightly too big to slide inside the fork tube ? So that was a drag for I thought that would be the set-up . I did find that a 1/2" 6-point socket can be rounded out on the inside of 2 flat sides and the opposite 2 flat sides, so that now you have a socket that resembles the top side of the dampening rod. Fit pretty decent, so may try this modified socket to hold the dampening rod while tightening the outside allen head bolt. I believe it call for 25 ft-lbs. of torque ?

How does the above idea sound to you Tech Guys :whistle: ?

Ordered the Kawasaki OEM seals from Partzilla. The copper crush washers at the bottom of the allen head bolts looked fine.

I've had no problem tightening the bolt with the forks assembled.
Steve

Steve, I was going to try that first before using the modified socket I made. I'm assuming I would have to use my air impact first to at least start the bolt ? Didn't want to over tighten the bolt with the air impact even though I could set it at the lowest setting. Do you think I would still be able to torque the bolts correctly ?

It should thread in easily then you can tighten it down to spec.
Steve