Topic: Funky forks: part 2

[emlupi]

Evening all,

OK, so I went to begin breaking down the fork legs for maintenance and, whattaya know? The hex bolt in the bottom of the fork slider is frozen in there and somebody before me completely rounded it off. I have a screw extractor set but my drill bits will not even begin to cut into the bolt. I left it in my workshop soaking in Kroil.

Any tips on the best methods for extraction? Do I need a certain type of drill bit to cut into this bolt in order to use the screw extractors? Any help with this emergency surgery will be appreciated.

BTW, when I loosened the drain screw in the slider to drain out the old fork oil, hardly anything came out. I hope that this is not a sign of things to come.

[754]

Just buy a real jobber name brand drill, the allen is not that hard..or sharpen the drill you are using.
Actually if its early forks and you got tube. Out...you need not pull the damper unless there is a replaceable part on it.

[emlupi]

Thanks 754,

I just remembered that I have some good sharp HSS bits in my shop drawer, I will have another go at it tomorrow. For tonight, I will just let the bolt soak in Kroil.

[754]

Make sure it needs to come out..no need to wake the sleeping bear...

[BomberMann650]

Not much came out of my forks drain bolt either.

I had to remove that fussy allen with an impact drill, the fork assembled, and my weight pressing down against the leg to hold the damper tight inside the fork.

If it had been any harder I would've brought out the whiskey and chicken feet then started a bonfire in the middle of a 9 pointed star.

[jamesw]

This is more for future reference once you get the forks apart and are in the process of rebuilding them.

Be sure to install the new fork seals with the letters/numbers facing UP. I'm referring to OEM fork seals in particular.

I installed mind upside down after following Hackaweek's cb750 build, and unfortunately he mixed it up, so I had to buy new fork seals again to replace the upside down ones.

[754]

Bomber your forks are not like his..you have to pull the rods.

[BomberMann650]

Bomber your forks are not like his..you have to pull the rods.

Oh 750's derp - so what keeps the lowers and stanchion together on those?

[754]

Snapring and washer..

[BomberMann650]

Snapring and washer..

Ah, right.

[emlupi]

My bike has the later style forks on it with the damper rod and the oil lock in the bottom. I have to remove the bolt to get the sliders off.

[DaveBarbier]

If you have good drill bits (and you're sure the bolt must come out) I would avoid using the screw extractors. You'll end up breaking the extractor in the bolt head and now you have hardened steel stuck in there. Just completely drill the head off and remove the piece from the top and deal with it in a vice with heat and maybe welding a nut on it or something. Just be careful not to damage the crush washer sealing surface when you're drilling.

Extractors work well in wood, not with steel seized into aluminum.

[emlupi]

Hi folks,

I had success with removing the bolt from the fork slider using a method suggested to me by a co-worker who is also an auto mechanic.

First I set up a wood block and drilled a 1-3/8" hole in it to slide the fork tube down and butt the slider against it to have something to hammer against and clamped it in my work bench. Then I used a T45 Torx socket and drove it into the mangled hex drive head with a manual impact driver until it was good and wedged in there. I then took the whole works over to my bench vise and secured it with some leather wrapped around to avoid scratches. I tried to turn the Torx socket with a ratchet handle but that was not working (the ratchet was about to strip from the pressure). So I put a breaker bar on it and it turned and came right out. Hopefully this tip will help someone else in my situation down the road.

Very relieved to not have to resort to drilling.

[754]

I dont know if it ever took more than 10 minutes to drill one..

[emlupi]

Why take the chance of possibly damaging the aluminum slider if you don't have to? It only took 15-20 minutes to do it this way including drilling out the wood. Besides, once the head was drilled off I would still have to take it to the vise and remove the rest of the bolt from the fork innards.

[754]

It usually comes out with your fingers..
You may want to look at your drills, if you cant drill a bolt....
 Sooner or later, you have to drill a bolt out.. Cant hurt the slider, with right size drill, the head of bolt comes off and just spins.

 Its just one of the tricks in the working on bikes toolbox..