Left fork tube stuck

[aaawood]

hey all,

Haven't posted in a while. My 80 Special keeps running great. I am trying to replace the left fork seal (OEM) and the tube is freakin stuck - it won't budge in any direction. All pinch bolts loose, I have little slot screw drivers tapped into the pinch bolt structures to open them a tad more, used spray etc. I've tried soft padded wood clamps but can't get a grip on the tube. I have no idea if it has ever been removed before. Kinda worried as I think these things should just spin out - nothing looks bend or out of whack.

Any thoughts or homemade tool suggestions??

Thanks, Steve

[tinman905]

Just curious how many pinch bolts to you loosen? It might need a good shot of WD40 .

[tw1980]

One bolt on top clamp two on the bottom(remove the bolts completely).Spread the clamps a bit with a screwdriver,shot of wd40.It should fall out by it self.Did the PO put lock tight or stud and bearing mount on the fork clamps?Also don't make the same dumb mistake I made.The standard and special have different fork seals. Terry

[bikerphil]

You'll probably have to tap on the fork tube cap somehow and smack it downwards. Mabye find a socket to fit over the air cap, but remove the valve first. Could also use a block of wood to tap on. PB blaster on it might help.

[Dragon Tamer]

Steve,

I just had the forks off of the Fire Dragon and had the same problem. They do develop a little rust under the clamps. A little soaking with the PB Blaster or similar and a bit of tapping on the cap with a wood block being hit with a plastic mallet did the trick. As Phil has pointed out, it is a very good idea to remove the air valves FIRST.
After getting the tubes out I cleaned them up with a bit of Scotch Brite pad and all is better now. Can't say the same about the seals I replaced. Being unable to locate any OEM seals in a timely manner I settled for a set of Vesrah seals. These were an extremely tight fit and one got a very slight kink or some sort of bad boo-boo in it while being installed and now sprays oil everywhere at the slightest bump in the road so it had to come back apart again. There went my Memorial day ride!

[wingnut]

Packs of 3

Yep they should sell fork seals in packs of 3. The chances of messing one up while installing is pretty good. One way I found to keep the pounding of the seal to a minimum during install is to take the lowers and soak them in the hottest water you can get from your tap. That aluminum will expand about .003 and the seals will almost drop in. Dry it all off with air and its ready to slide on the tube. Oh and it works real well for getting the old seals out too

[Dragon Tamer]

The tubes were already heated with a soft rosebud type tip to get the old seals out, were almost too warm to touch putting the new ones in. Even using my seal installation tool the right one was a couple of thousands bigger than the other and just went in too hard. I was left with a small "kink" on the upper lip. Didn't look too bad but obviously I was wrong in thinking that! Oh Well, Live and hopefully learn!!!

[Dragon Tamer]

One other point that is confusing me is the seal washer/spacer. My Yamaha service manual indicates that it should be on top of the seal. The parts diagram in Bike Bandit shows it under the seal. I have seen a thread on this forum somewhere where is was stated (by TC if memory serves) that it should be under the seal.
When I took the forks apart one was over and the other was under!! You can see why I might be confused. Not that it is so hard for confuse me but this has really got me going this morning. As I have to do it all over again I might as well put it back together correctly.

[wingnut]

The spacers both go Under

[aaawood]

Thanks guys, thats gives me some ideas to press on. Just wanted make sure I didn't muck up anything by giving them a whack from above.

I am using OEM seals. part number - 3j6-23145-00. I am surprised what my local has sometimes - they even had a clutch arm spring on the shelf!

[Dragon Tamer]

Thanks here also, don't know why the factory service manual shows the washer on the top when all else shows/tells me it goes on the bottom. However this is not the first time I have found errors in the manual.

Don't mean to hijack this thread but this is what I found when I pulled it apart this morning:

[IMG][/IMG]

I hope the new seals get here in time for next weekend as I had a long ride planned.

[aaawood]

Thanks all for the advice. Go the fork tube out and managed to get the OEM seal in without too much grief. I am no longer a seal replacement virgin! After about 100km, all seems to be well. It rides much better.

A couple of observations on vibrations (from this neophyte biker). When the season started, I had some new vibes across the whole range. It seems they dissapeared little by little after the following in sequence,

1. Went to BP plugs from BPR.
2. Sealed up a small exhaust leak in #3 (at the manifold)
3. Replaced fork seal ensuring equal oil/air in both legs

I don't know if this holds water, but it has smoothed out considerably.

Does anyone know if the E-Bay seat covers ($39) I have seen referenced on this site are reasonable quality?

Thanks again, Steve

[CatatonicBug]

I don't know if this holds water,

It's not supposed to hold WATER, just oil and air!

[cywelchjr]

It's not supposed to hold WATER, just oil and air!

Ahh, but it is supposed to hold water, OUT!

If it doesn't hold water out, the oil gets contaminated.

[John]

Does anyone know if the E-Bay seat covers ($39) I have seen referenced on this site are reasonable quality?

Thanks again, Steve

$39? What would you expect for $39? A good quality seat cover will cost you about $75-80. There is a company here in Hurst Tx , B&H Specialties that makes a very high quality cover for that price.