| Author | Message | ||
     Ustorque |
I am doing a fork service on my 2000 S3, i cannot get the slide pipe out. Damper is out, dust seal and ring are out, pipe will not come out. I followed the manual, did i miss something? | ||
| Jramsey |
Jim did a real nice post on the forks here. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/384 2/249047.html | ||
| Ustorque |
Ha ha yes I have this printed out and in my binder, used it along with my FSM. I was expecting the slide tube to well, slide out but it feels like there is another stopper in there. or do i just have to smash out the fork seal just as if i were slamming it in? Jim's write up makes reference to it coming out hard, i just dont want to screw it up. | ||
| Ducxl |
I screwed it up once.beer involved.I forgot to remove the c-ring under the seal.jammed the inner bush hopelessly under the outer bush.cost me a fork.never again.for $200 I let G.M.D. Computrack now handle all of my suspension needs. | ||
| Ustorque |
Anyone else? | ||
| Ustorque |
Anyone else? | ||
| Two_seasons |
Isn't there a snap ring at the top somewhere? You need to compress the inner tube to see it? Been a long time since I worked on forks... | ||
| Oldog |
No once the damper assm is disconnected they pull apart, the guide bushing is trapped by the seals yank real hard it comes out with the seals on it ( lower tube ) | ||
| Ustorque |
Thanks Jim, thats what i was assuming. | ||
| Ustorque |
Ok someones gotta help me! I'll be posting a video soon of where i am with this, I really dont want to screw these up, but im at a loss for what im doing wrong! | ||
| Ustorque |
here it is: | ||
| Dynosaur |
You need to use the slider as a slide hammer to knock the seal through. Sounds brutal, but that is the way to do it. Heating the area hold the oil seal may help. My X1 fork oil seal was so stuck that I had to press the slider out using a hydraulic press and a section of broom handle... | ||
| Ustorque |
i tried using the slide tube as a hammer and it got jammed, i almost shit my pants i figured that was the end of my fork! | ||
| Oldog |
Torque the oil seal is holding the guide bushing and lower leg in, PULL HARD! think snap it comes out with the seal look at the pic of mine in the link that Jramsey posted | ||
| Ducxl |
I have an extra set of good forks if you FUBAR yours. I got mine hopelessly stuck doing the slide hammer. Before...I was successful once with my X1 forks. It's the oil level and precision inspection that drew me to a suspension specialist | ||
| Ustorque |
im goin all in tonight! all or nothin. you're a good man Greg, i'll let ya know how it goes. | ||
| Ducxl |
WOW!!!! I just viewed the video. That is EXACTLY what happened to me. I destroyed the fork trying to separate it. The inner bush is. Binding under the outer bush. | ||
| Ustorque |
Can the lower section of the for be removed (axle carrier section) from the slide tube to allow the tube to slide up out of the outer tube? | ||
| Someday |
Ustorque, Others have asked that but I never heard an answer. Maybe call Race Tech and ask. As for getting the slider apart, my '98 has WP forks and the "slide hammer" method works, as I've done it. It takes quite a few hits but it does work. This is how you get the bushing and seal out. I would think some heat would help. | ||
| Outdoors |
Are Ustorque(Badweb) and American Torque (ebay) the same person? | ||
| Ustorque |
No we are not! I have nothing to do with them. | ||
| Ustorque |
Funny with all my attention on this problem i haven't tried to disassemble the other fork. I'm going to try the other tonight and see how that goes, what are the odds they will both bind? If that one goes well im going at the other with a heat gun and see what happens. Last night it began to bind so badly I had to use a 3 pound sledge and a 2x4 to get it to unbind. So much for a simple seal change! | ||
| Al_lighton |
heat...serious, high intensity heat applied directly to the outer tube in the vicinity of the seal, is what you need. Not a slow bake, you don't want EVERYTHING expanding at the same time. You want the outer tube to expand. use a heat gun, two if you have them, and hit the outer tube. get it real hot fast, wear gloves. | ||
| Ustorque |
Thanks for chiming in Al, I have a good heat gun to try tonight. Im hoping that does the trick. I'll be ordering my internals from you later today! | ||
| Ustorque |
Well I attempted to open the other fork and wouldnt ya know it, it basically fell apart. The other fork though, things are not looking good. lots of heat, lots of pulling and lots of binding and no dice yet. If I had to guess whats going on I'd say the bushings are binding not allowing the tube to slide and knock the seal out. today, i'm going to set up some sort of rig to pull it out. | ||
| Two_seasons |
Reading, watching, reading, learning. You can do it Shawn! If you are coming out for Homecoming, I'd like to get you involved in "Fork Maintenance 101" as one of my workshops during that time. Like brake fluid, forks tend to be neglected. | ||
| Ustorque |
The kicker at this point is how easy the other one came apart! I'm still optimistic that once i am able to get the jammed one apart there will be no damage to the fork tubes themselves.  | ||
| Dynosaur |
The reason it will not come apart is that the seal is bonded through corrosion to the stanchion. I think it is now time for a hydraulic press, with a section of broom handle whilst heating the stanchion where the seal is (with the Robinair gun shown in the Service Manual). By the time you get the fork apart, the bush on the slider will have either pushed past the bush on the stanchion and through the oil seal or will have been pushed off the top of the slider. Once the slider comes out, you will then have to lever the seal out. It will come out, but you will need to protect the lower face of the stanchion with whatever you use as a lever, perhaps with a piece of oil hose cut open etc. As well as an oil seal, you will also need new bushes. To ensure this doesn't happen again, apply Castrol red grease, or silicon grease to the outside of the new seal. | ||
| Ustorque |
So last night I tried to pull the fork tubes apart using a come-along. fork was lashed to the frame of my pickup truck and come along attached to my wifes minivan. I start to pull expecting this will finally pull the bushings out when I hear my nine year old daughter say," Dad the van is moving." Sure enough the fork tube didnt budge, but my wifes van slid about 8 inches, ha ha ha ha ha! This thing is going to kill me! | ||
| Ustorque |
Ok so here's the update! I started back in on this fork today when I got home from work around 4. My assumption was that the bushings were binding inside the tube not allowing the seal to be pushed out. I spent the last hour and 15 minutes sliding the pipe out as hard as possible and low and behold I finally kicked this things ass! What a friggin work out. Here is the offender:  As I suspected the bushings were binding in the fork tube, here is how they were inside the tube(I slid them back together to show the situation, they did not come out like this):  Obviously some new internals are in order!   Thanks for all the help! Hopefully all goes back together well, my poor baby is beggin' for a ride! |
