RD400 fork seal depth

[Membername]

Do the fork seals need to go all the way down in the fork or just enough to make room for the washer and clip?  I drove them in with a 35mm socket and they will now fit the washer and clip, but are not all the way down to the lip below.  If they do need to go all the way, are there any hints to make them go in easier? 

Thanks,
Karen

[Organicjedi]

They just need to go far enough to get the washer and clip on. A few taps like you did with a socket should seat them just fine. Just make sure the seal is sitting level all the way around.

Coat the sealing surfaces and the lower part of the fork tube with a little fork oil before putting the tubes through.

[RDryan]

Great to read this as I had the same concern, just how far? Wish I had coated things a bit prior to install, ironically it seems like the slightest bit of oil passes thru as evidenced by a faint ring indicating fork travel but it's not leaking. If that makes sense. I mean I get the same faint ring on the inner tubes for both the changed seal and the one that wasn't leaking. I also left just enough room for the washer and retaining clip as that's how I found it but further it made sense because it seems like if you ever need to go and change the seal in the future you will need that clearance for a tool to pry it out with. I used an adj. wrench to do this and it wasn't all that easy at first. I actually used that in combination with heating up the outside of the fork tube with a propane torch. Took a minute or two but I think that relaxed the fit enough to make progress with the prying. And you gotta just take baby steps so you don't damage gouge the outer tube in the process.   Seems like there is a quite a press fit combined with old age in how the seals seat there.