Bushings for nc31

[iggypup]

Hi people,im on a flying visit to this sight as im trying to repair my girl friends leaking fork on her 93 nc31. Shes twice had new oil seals installed only for them to leak again,ive been told that i should put in new bushings so would be grateful for advice on this-do i need both inner and outer bushing [guide] and where can i get them.

Cheers Andy

[Mansie]

The bushings are plastic (teflon?) coated cupper cylindrical rings that actually guide the sliding of the stanchions in the fork bottoms. If you take out the stanchions there is a risk of peeling off the plastic protective layer a bit (on mine it did) so as a precaution you could replace the bushings too when you replace the seals. You have to determine whether the bushings have worn out first. Can the stanchions rock sideways in the fork bottoms? Is there something like a rattling noice when they slide?

Your fork oil seals can easily get leaky for different reasons:
- corrosion or pitting on the stancion where the seal slides
- bad mounting (e.g. hammered in with a srewdriver)
- using poor quality non OEM replacements

But anyway, if you must get the bushes,
See Wemoto:
http://shop.wemoto.com/index.dyn?oid=25 ... SUSPENSION" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Part numbers:
Outer/Upper bush 51414-KCR-003
Inner/lower bush: 51415-KCR-003

Also try David Silver or any Honda dealer

Cheers, Mansie

[iggypup]

Hi Mansie thanks very much for a well useful and comprehensive reply,i think youre right about the bushings being damaged and i'll check them out and replace with the new seals. Having the part numbers is excellent! :D

Thanks again and cheers from Andy

[Ensie 27]

I havn't stripped any SF forks but the ones I have done are usualy really hard when it comes to removing the stantion from the fork leg. What I do is take out the inners , then take the fork to a garage to get them to pull it apart. Make sure you remove all traces of the previous fork oil when rebuilding and when you slide the new seal onto the stantion, stick some fork oil on it first.

[Mansie]

I second that, they can be hard to separate, mainly because sometimes the upper outer bushing is stuck. Sometimes people have also trouble with the bottom lock bolt. But getting the forks back together can also be hard. Make sure you have thought of a way of stamping the upper outer bushing back in. There are special tools for that and maybe worth purchasing. I spend hours trying to bang the bushing in, trying not to damage the stanchions in the process.

[Ensie 27]

When I take my forks to be pulled apart, they sometimes heat the end of the fork leg up to help a bit. I reworked the USD forks that I have on the RD a while back, they were even worse and you couldn't apply much heat as the outers are annodised and would dis-colour. No way could I have done them on my own. I tried, but pulled the vice along with the workbench out of the wall. If you do them yourself OP, you'll need a good sturdy vice I just bung the guy at the garage a fiver for doing two forks but he's sort of an aquantance too and I get a bit of a ribbing when I turn up with two fork legs cos they're a pain to do.
Having said all that, if the bushes are worn, it's a well worthwhile job, you'll notice the difference and get loads more confidence on fast bumpy bends - tyres and rear shock permiting of course.

[iggypup]

Thanks for the advice guys, im in for some fun and games with this job i can tell! Ah well, everytime i manage to complete some maintenance task its a buzz, and helps stop cash migrating to the dealers!.

Cheers Andy