Fork oil seals

[Drummie]

Hi all, I've been trying to change the oil seals on my 66 royal star. after getting the oil seal holders off I noticed the new seals are bigger than the old ones. new seal has an external diameter of 46.83mm with the internal diameter being 33.3mm. while the old seal has the same internal diameter the external is 44mm. I have managed to destroy one new seal trying to fit it as its very tight where as the old one can be pushed into place with my fingers. not sure seals can shrink as much as this. Any help in identifying the correct ones would be much appreciated, also tips for fitting them. Thanks Drummie.

[AWJDThumper]

The external dimension specified for fork seal 65-5451 is 1.83" or 46.5mm so there appears to be nothing wrong with the new seals you have. In general, fork seals can be a very tight in the seal holders and ideally need a drift of the correct size to force them into position. I've certainly had seals which were very hard to insert. A bit of lubrication might help and, if all else fails, you can probably rub down the outside with a bit of emery paper to reduce their diameter.

[JulianS]

You can usually press the seal 9nto the threaded section of the holder using thumbs, then screw the holder and seal back onto the fork leg which will seat the seal in the plain section of the holder.

[Bess]

Hi,
     I leave the seals in the freezer overnight and warm the holders, along with some lub and Julians thumbs you should be okay.

Best wishes...

[Drummie]

Hi Guys. First of all, sorry for the late reply. The bikes oil seal repair had been placed on the back burner for a while due to unforeseen circumstances. I have now fitted them and in the end I rubbed them down to fit, as AWJDThumper suggested. So far so good. Thanks for all your suggestions and help again. Drummie.