Disassembling the forks -- issue & solution

Over the weekend i finally finished my front forks. They now have new seals, new wipers, Hyperpro springs/fluid, and full length accordion fork boots. In retrospect, i should have pulled the old seals using the sheet metal screw method, rather then full disassembly, but I wanted to have them totally clean inside as the old fluid was 'really funky'.   

The issue was that the bolt on the bottom of each fork leg that screws into the damper piston. The piston was turning and even my electric impact wrench could not pop them loose. I solved this by draining the forks and removing the stock springs. This gave access to the tubular shaped damper piston. i then hammered a wooden dowel into the top of the damper piston. This allowed me to grip the dowel with lock pliers which was enough holding power to remove the bolt. The dowel was just slightly larger then the damper inside diameter, so the wood compressed as it was forced in. i then had to cut off the dowel and drill a hole down the center to remove the bit of dowel from the damper. Though labor intensive, this worked well.

Pretty much the same thing that I did - posted my method on this forum. In retrospect, I would never remove that bottom screw again unless I needod to to pull/place the oil seals as in was a PITA to get it back together and there was nothing that needed replacing except my oil seals and dust seals.

Dimond wrote:

Pretty much the same thing that I did - posted my method on this forum.  In retrospect, I would never remove that bottom screw again unless I needod to to pull/place the oil seals as in was a PITA to get it back together and there was nothing that needed replacing except my oil seals and dust seals.

Great minds think alike, right? Anyway, I'm with you on this as I will not pull the forks apart again unless I need to replace something internal. The springs and fluid only need the top cap removed to replace. I accidentally reinstalled an old seal and was really P.O'ed. I was not about to disassemble it all again, so I figured out how to pull the seal with the fork intact. This procedure was adapted from a posting on a forum for dual spot bikes.

• Make sure the seal retainer clip is removed. Cut the side out of a pop can so you have a sheet of aluminum. Slip it around the fork tube, against the seal, and secure with a tape.
  
• Using 3 long, thin sheet metal type screws (I used drywall screws), force them into the top of the seal, equally spaced. Do not allow the screw to touch the fork tube as it could scratch or gouge it. The pop can guards against the screw head from scratching the tube but make sure the screw end is not touching the fork tube. I used a small hammer and tapped the end of the screwdriver, while turning, to force the screws into the seal.
  
• Clamp locking pliers just below the screw head. Then tap upward on the underside to the pliers near the screw head. Do this just a bit on each screw to pull pull the seal up gradually.
  

The seal popped out within just a few minutes with no damage to the fork tube or fork leg.    I will be using this procedure again soon on my wife's Burgman 400 and my Yamaha XT600, as both need a fluid change and seals.

Thank to the two of you. I have been thinking I could do this, now I am sure I can. Thank You.

Papa Ritch wrote:

Thank to the two of you. I have been thinking I could do this, now I am sure I can. Thank You.

My pleasure. I wish my situation was such I could do a good job of photo documentation as I always appreciate others well done how-to postings.

ScooterBJ wrote:

Over the weekend i finally finished my front forks. They now have new seals, new wipers, Hyperpro springs/fluid, and full length accordion fork boots.<>

Hmmm...Full length fork boots? Where did you find those, how did you secure them to 'triple tree' and the fork tube? Several folks here have used wrap around fork gaiters, but I don't think anyone has figured out how to attach accordion boots. Inquiring minds want to know.

Tim

Fork boots--full length----Try Hippo Hands in Canada-----go on no take apart....and work!! On my new SilverWing and work fine on my TU250

Hippo Hands Fork Gaiters are currently out of stock from the manufacturer.

http://www.hippohands.com/PRODUCTS%20DESCRIPTION.htm

Cosmic_Jumper wrote:

Hmmm...Full length fork boots? Where did you find those, how did you secure them to 'triple tree' and the fork tube? Several folks here have used wrap around fork gaiters, but I don't think anyone has figured out how to attach accordion boots. Inquiring minds want to know.

Tim

Well they do seem to work fine, but then it is not yet on the road, so I feel it best to not post the info until I see if they present any issues in riding. I did save the brand/part number of the boots for posting purposes. I am hoping to have it rideable in the next couple of weeks (odd how making a living gets in the way of my fun).