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Bottom Fork Bolt - how to remove
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Posted by: xenasdaddy---------------------
this is my bro's 96 cr125 and we are wondering if you actually have to remove the center bolt on the bottom of the forks to change the seals. i have measured the whole to be a 14mm hex. i tried turning a hex bolt upside down in the hole and gripping it on the threads with vice grips but had no luck. do we neeeed to buy a special tool to do this?
thanks alot.
ps - i did a search but it seems thata really good thread on fork rebuilding has disappeared during the the board update.
thanks.
Posted by: arequipe---------------------
I know what you're talking about. Unfortunately I've got bad news for you:
I couldn't do it myself and had to take it to a shop for them to do it, and while they were at to t change the seal as well. According to the guy, all it was was strength. THem things are closed real tight and they had to hold it with a press.
Hope you can save yourself those bucks
Ed
Posted by: flyer1171---------------------
Go get A 14 Hex Bit from Sears ,AUTO Zone, etc... I f you have access to a 1/2 " Impact wrench ,prefferably air driven, you can usually spin them out. If not, go to HI-PER sports . com and get a Motion Pro Fork bolt lock tool,cost is about 23.00 with shipping,with this tool you can do it with common hand tools.
Posted by: xenasdaddy---------------------
thanks guys, the problem is this:
i looked everywhere for a 14mm hex! sears, autozone, pepboys and wal-mart. that is why i tried the homemade bolt method with no success. i hate stumbling blocks like this. any more suggestions?
thanks
Posted by: P_Taylor---------------------
I haven`t had that exact fork apart before but I doubt you have to remove the base valve to change the fork seals and wipers. It would be a good idea to remove them to clean everything though.
I may be wrong , check a service manual at you local shop.
Posted by: xenasdaddy---------------------
p_taylor. we have a service manual but it does not state if you have to remove that bolt to change the seals. it just says how to assemble and disassemble the forks.
thanks:D
Posted by: Miltonyz---------------------
In my dads 96 Cr250 we do not have to take thhat bolt out to change the seals.
Posted by: flyer1171---------------------
The bottom bolt is the only thing that holds your lower leg to your upper. The tool I mentioned holds the damper rod from spinning while removing the bottom bolt. Once you remove the bolt you can then seperate the upper and lower tubes,which requires some force, and usually a vice or a strong friend.If you dont get the right tool ,you risk damamging the lower fork leg, and may never get it apart, and you may end up replacing the lower leg.
Posted by: xenasdaddy---------------------
miltonyz,
how do you guys get the old seal out w/o removing the lower tube? do you just take off the dust cap, and pry out the seal? then, how do you get the old seal off and the new one on? sorry, this is my first oil seal rebuild but i really want to learn this.:D
flyer1171,
the problem is just getting that bolt loose. not actually the damper rod spinning. when that happens the manual says that you can just reinstall the spring and top section of the locknut and hold it with a wrench. i know what you are talking about now though. just wish i could find a 14mm hex!:D
thanks
Posted by: P_Taylor---------------------
pry the wiper out of the upper tube (thin blade screwdriver or similiar), do you see a circlip? if your fork cap is off the cartridge rod then this circlip is all that is holding your forks together
the base valve in addition to the fork cap on the cartridge rod holds the upper and lower to correct length , if the fork cap is off the base valve shouldn`t be holding the tubes together
Posted by: xenasdaddy---------------------
cool. i will just remove the dust seal and the retaining clip and then jerk the inner and outer tubes apart. maybe down the road when he gets a little more aggressive of a rider he can get jeremy to rework his entire suspension, but this will do for now i hope.
thanks alot guys and i will let you know if i have more problems.:confused:
Posted by: shockdoc---------------------
P Taylor is right the forks will come apart without taking the base valve out. You should take the base valve out though so that the valving can be cleaned, otherwise your putting clean oil back into a dirty fork. You should also be prepared to replace the slide & guide bushings as they usually get damaged when the forks get hammered apart. If there is not much time on the bushings try taking a small propane torch and warm up the area where the seal & guide bushing press into their spot. They will come apart easier and possibly not hurt the bushing. Just look at them close because they are very important to how your forks. Check the earlier posts on how to put frt. wheel on without binding.
doc
Posted by: xenasdaddy---------------------
well guys. we did it as far as changing the seals. talk about easy after you have done one side. lol. we did notice that his damper rod was a bit rusted, but unable to remove it, we cleaned it as best we could. we never did remove the bottom fork bolts by the way. we simply could not do it without the right tools such as an air wrench and a 14 mm hex head or the special honda tool. we did fix the leak for now though and his forks feel great! how long this will last though, who knows. but, he will be sending it to mx-tech when the performance is suffering or the seals leak again. he is a beginner, so they may last a while.
thanks again.:D
Posted by: KDXfile---------------------
xenasdaddy, a 14mm hex is basically the same as a 9/16". Try and see if that is easier to find next time you try to get your forks apart.
Posted by: xenasdaddy---------------------
kdxfile,
hehe. thanks, i tried to find that one too. no one i mentioned had it. i may have to order it. bright side is i finally did buy a torque wrench!
be safe,
xd
Posted by: KDXfile---------------------
I forgot to mention this; since it's harder to find the big hex-socket sizes, in the past I've bought the big allen wrenches and then cut off about 1-1/2" or so to slip in a socket so you can use them with big breaker bars, impact guns, torgue wrenches, etc.
Posted by: xenasdaddy---------------------
kdxfile.
u may not believe this but i could not even FIND a hex that big. well, actually Sears had a 10mm and then jumped to a 17mm and that was it! i was VERY disappointed and noted that to the dept. manager that i felt as big of a store as Sears should not skimp on hex sizes like that and he just said that i am not the first to say that. lol
thanks
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