Leaking fork seal

So noticed a leak in my right fork the only thing I can notice is the spring around the bottom of the seal is stretched out its stretched out enough to the point where it falls to the bottom of the fork could this be the problem?

Think that might be the dust seal, #9>


I got some mud in my fork seal a couple days ago and it leaked all over my brake rotor, caliper, rim, tire and the brake pads. I never noticed and just kept riding, after that the front brake didn't work, so I used a credit card to clean the dirt out of the seal. Cleaned up all the oil and sanded the pads but it still doesn't stop like it used to, so someone said I would need to get new pads since they were soaked in oil.

Did the seal stop leaking? I tried cleaning up under it and it didn't look to dirty I'm currious if that spring is a big part of the seal

Bent a credit card to match the curved shape of the fork and carefully worked it passed (between tube and seal) and around the seal until no more sand/grit came out. After that it stopped the leak, but I will probably do a fork oil change in the near future and replace the seals. I think the spring is part of the dust seal not the oil seal(#7 on diagram) that keeps the oil in the tube...

Some recommend a business card, water bottle or a thin feeler gauge....