Topic: No luck getting lower forks apart.Ears off forks.

[siter81]

 >:(After much ado trying to get the headlight/fork ears loose from the lower steering stem? I ask if anyone has a better way than pb blaster then hammer then heat.i dont want to destroy the ears if possible.And yes i have taken out the pinch bolts and expanded the gap there.Rust sucks.The poor bike had been sitting out side for seven years.YUCK.HELP PLEASE.OH FORGOT TO MENTION I AM TRYIN TO GET THE FORKS LOOSE FROM LOWER STEM.

Thanks to all replys.

 ED

[Gordon]

Okay, maybe I'm misunderstanding you here, but are you trying to get the headlight ears off before you have the forks removed? 

[78 k550]

What are you trying to accoplish here? There shouldnt be that much rust in there. If so There probably shot from the inside out. If your trying to remove the headlight bucket ears, you need to remove the upper portion of the forks. The ears are held in with a top and bottom rubber piece. If that piece has been leaking it could be very difficult. If the forks are not off yet are you trying to slide them both out of the triple tree's?

[clarkjh]

The rust on mine was bad enough that I had to us a hammer .  The rubbers are still all right but the seats in the ears are just about shot.

James

[ElCheapo]

You might try a combination that I have found helpful. Warm the fork ears just slightly from the bottom. Do not let the heat get too crazy as it will over temper the ears and make them brittle. Once you have the one ear warm introduce a wax candle from the top. Keep the tube and ear warm. This wax will sneak right in between the ear and fork tube. Once you have a good amount applied you should be able to get the ear moving by just warming it with a hair dryer.

This idea works real nice on rusted to garbage bolts and nuts, just skip the hair dryer part. We used to use this trick on exhaust manifold bolts on nasty rusty plow trucks.

I hope this helps.

[siter81]

The forks will not move from the lower trees,the ears turn with the forks about 180? Solid together.I removed the top o ring and heated top or bottom.No go.The ears will not come off and yes the top tree is removed?The assembly is off the bike.

[siter81]

Ok beat the living snot out of the forks and got em apart.Onward to the next challenge.Thanks for the replys


ED