Damaged Fork Bushes

[Zenith]

Hi,
Is there any way to stop the fork bushes getting damaged when seperating the two fork tubes by pulling them apart? Basically when I was changing the fork seals on my bike and a friends one of the fork legs came apart fine but on the other two legs the smaller bush went inside the other by a couple of millimeters. This destroys part of the bush, so next time I take them apart they will be even more damaged meaning I may need to replace them. IS there something you do to stop this, heat the part of the fork outer where the bushes are, cool this part, pull the halves apart harder/lighter or what?

Thanks for any thoughts,

 

[yamadawg]

YES THERE IS

Yes zenith if you will get a heat gun and evenly heat around the seal area of the outer fork tube to the point that it is warm to the touch and with a buddy holding the inner tube at the bottom and you on the outer tube.....couple of pops and your bushings will not damage........Hope this helps you out

 

[Zenith]

Yep, that's perfect, thanks. I'll give it a try next time...