How do I remove fork tubes....

[planedick]

I bought a set of forks from Andreass but they need new seals. I followed the instructions in my Clymers, but I am unable to remove the bolt from the bottom of the slider. On another one of my old ones I was able to get the bolt out, but the tube still won't come out of the slider. GGrrrrr..... Anyone able to help me. The left side slider I got from Andreass has a 3/8"-16 allen bolt in one side which destroyed the threads and the stud in the other hole is stretched to almost breaking, so I thought I would use the good slider I have and just put in the fork tube, but I am unable to extract the fork tube from either slider. HELP....

[prometheus578]

"Damned mechanics!"

Ok, those hex bolts at the bottom of the forks. Some manuals call for putting "loctite lock and seal" on those. I've never ran into that stuff... but I know some boobs put regular Loctite on those bolts... and they never come out!
Other people will write in about using a broomstick and such(which I've never tried, so I'll leave that for them)
Ok... first remove the rubber dust cap. Underneath that is a snap ring which must be removed. (Snap ring holds the oil seal in place)
Turn the tube up side down. (This is easier if you have an zap gun/air ratchet/air hammer, etc)But can be down with just the correct size o' allen wrench.
Put all your weight(or use a hefty neighbor) and press down on the fork tube, compressing it. This compresses the spring against the damper rod, preventing it from turning as you try to turn the hex bolt.
Once you get the bolt out, turn the forks right side up(over a drain pan, as the fluid will come out)
Once it stops draining, grab the fork tube and repeatedly try to jerk them apart. might take some time, but eventually, the tubes will seperate, with the inner guts pulling the oil seal out with them. Remember, that snap ring above the seal must be removed first, or you're wasting your time.

[planedick]

Thought of ...

I did put the spring and cap bolt back on and set it for the highest load, but the nut or whatever is inside continues to turn with the bolt. I did get the bolt out in the set with the bent tube and removed the snap ring, but still unable to pull it apart. I wanted to change the seals, but now I want to use my slider as it's in better shape. The other side of my original set is OK. I'll try to find a way to compress the spring so I can remove the bolt and put the spring back in the old one to help with pulling it apart. First thing tomorrow that is.

[DiverRay]

As Prom said, (all bow to the gurus), use an air tool if at all possible. You don't have one?, take the tubes, and the allen bit on a 1/2" fitting to a local mechanic or tire shop. Pay them $10, or a sixpack, to use the gun and break the bolts loose. They WILL spin if trying to get them out with hand tools!!!!
Ray

[prometheus578]

'What Ray said."

Yeah... if someone wanted to do his own work and brought in just the tubes, I'd zap them for free, just to avoid me having to do a fork-job for him. Messy, nasty work. (Have an old Suzuki, fork seals/steering bearings, waiting for me at work tomorrow. Both jobs time consuming)

[Pat Kelly]

Broomstick inserted from the top does work for holding the valve assy. while loosening (or tightening) the allen bolt underneath.

[oseaghdha]

On my MX bike the trick was to thread a long bolt thru the drain which would then lock the damper from turning.
Don't know if this will work on these forks or not. Have not got there yet.

[randy]

OK, one more version.

What I did was grip the slider with a vice. The bolt came out without a hitch. Grip it in the area of the headlight ear so if you do scratch it the scratch won't be in the seal conact area.Use rubber protection when doing this to prevent marring the slider.

Come to think of it, always use rubber protection when doing anything delicate....

[skids]

Oh yeah, you must protect the slider! Yuk, yuk!

Originally posted by randy
OK, one more version.
Use rubber protection when doing this to prevent marring the slider.
Come to think of it, always use rubber protection when doing anything delicate....

[Radiation]

I had the same problem.

I went to replace my seals and ran into the same problem on one of them. I tried the broom handle, didn't work. I then read in here about the bolt hole on the other end of the damper rod. Went to a mechanic friends place and tried that. NOT! mine didn't have anything on the other end. We ended up using a very large extractor fitting. What a pain.

[planedick]

Here's the trick....

I was able to get one apart with the impact wrench and then I was able to see the trick. The top of the damper rod has a 12 point socket that is 3/4" just the same as your socket set. A long 1/2-13 nut fits inside the top of the damper rod and a few extensions with a 3/4" socket allows one to hold the damper rod while you take out the screw from the other end. I have a pic, but was unable to log on to photodump to post it here. If you really need it I can send it to you by e-mail. Was easy when you know the secret.

[Ken Talbot]

Finally, somebody has stumbled across a procedure that very closely resembles the one contained here in our own repairs section . Granted, this tip is kind of buried in an 'other' section instead of the 'wheels and suspension' section.

[planedick]

That's why...

Ken,
I wondered why there wasn't any info about how it's done. It did seem strange that no-one here had run into that problem yet. My clymers manual had no pointers on how to do that, just says remove the bolt and pull the fork out of the slider.... yeah, right..

[LoHo]

I am in the middle of doing this, and I knew about the "19mm bolt" solution to the spinning damper. I used a length of threaded rod with pairs of nuts torqued together on each end, forming a long, skinny barbell. I held the fork in a padded vice, the allen wrench in the bolt, and the bolt/rod assembly with a socket, and all came loose easy as pie. Except I failed to remove one of the wire keepers and had a hell of a time getting the old seal (with keeper) out of the tube. Now to find the RIGHT seals, as Bike Bandit just informed me that they are out.

[LoHo]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by randy
OK, one more version.
Use rubber protection when doing this to prevent marring the slider.
Come to think of it, always use rubber protection when doing anything delicate.... [QUOTE]

Yeah, but what if it's the only bike you ride and you've ridden it for a long time and you're pretty sure that you're the only one who rides it...is the rubber protection really necessary?