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I was dreading the fork seal replacement because I knew making the tool to hold the dampening rod in place while I turned the allen bolt would take some trips to the hardware store because I was imagining getting threaded rod and a 19mm nut plus 4 more nuts that would be used as locks for the wrench and to hold the nut that fits in the damper rod.
.The left front fork started leaking recently and the seals arrived today but since I dove into the disassembly after every store had closed I decided to see if I could engineer something with what I had in buckets nearby. And it was a success I want to share because the homemade tool methods I researched were more complicated. This approach can be done for like $1 as long as you already have a socket and a ratchet and ratchet extensions.
This is a 1983 850GL and I'm not sure what else this approach will work on. 40 years old and still going strong!
The manual says you need a 19mm hex head bolt to fit in the top of the dampening rod and that is true. Digital Calipers will help you find the right bolt but if you have a 19mm deep socket then you just need a bolt that will fit perfectly in that socket AND you need an additional nut that will thread onto that same bolt and also fit in that socket.
no washers, no epoxy. no welding.
20230527-223508.jpg
Just a 19mm deep socket, a hex bolt that fits in the socket and a nut that fits on the bolt and also fits in the socket. And you need 20" of ratchet extensions plus the ratchet..
I used a 19mm head hex bolt about 2 inches long with another 19mm nut threaded on the bolt. The bolt fits in a 19mm medium deep or deep socket that fits on a 3/8 ratchet extension...and then you will need about 20 inches of ratchet extensions, either 3/8 or 1/2"..doesn't really matter if you can use adapters.
If you have a deep socket then you will need a bolt that is long enough so some threads are exposed when the bolt bottoms out in the socket. If the 19mm socket is 3" long then get a 3.5" bolt. I used a medium deep socket so 2" bolt worked. I think a regular shallow socket will not work because there will be no way to fit both the bolt head PLUS part of the nut head into the socket at the same time. And if all you have is a shallow 19mm socket then you will need to have shallow bolt head and a shallow nut, which do exist but not many people have those laying around.
The bolt will just fall out of the socket unless you shim it with a very small bit of tape, just enough to shim it so the bolt doesn't fall out of the nut when you turn it upside down. I guess if this tool is going to be used many times then weld it or epoxy it where you want.
Above is 19mm medium deep socket with a 19mm hex head bolt AND a 19mm nut that is threaded almost all the way on the bolt. The key here is the bolt will bottom out in the socket and the nut has to just barely fit into the top of the socket at the same time so it will not turn when you are loosening or tightening the allen bolt, but enough of the nut is revealed so it will seat fully into the damper rod. You just turn the nut until you find the sweet spot where it barely fits into the socket but the majority is still exposed when the bolt bottoms out.
That nut has to be secure inside the top of the socket which why a shallow socket will not work because there has to be enough space for the bolt head to bottom out AND the additional nut to just sneak into the top of the socket. Otherwise the nut will turn inside the damper rod.
I had more 1/2" extensions than 3/8" so I used an adapter to go to the final extension that fits the 19mm socket.
Above is the damper rod with the nut inserted into the top. As long as the nut is 19mm then it will fit and prevent the rod from turning.
From inside the fork the damper rod looks perfectly round, but it's actually a 12 point hex,and a 6 point hex head and nut will fit. Notice that the nut on the bolt is mostly exposed and the tape shims the bolt head inside the socket or else it will fall out.
If even half of the nut is exposed from the socket then it will fit and that exposed part of the bolt fits in the cavity in the damper rod so it does not get in the way at all. My goal was to expose as much of the nut as possible so it would have maximum seat in the damper rod.
I tried to loosen that allen bolt with the fork on the bike and it didn't work. It's possible an impact wrench would release the damper rod allen bolt without bracing the damper rod with this tool but I would have to see that to believe it. It spun and spun but was not too difficult to break loose once I had the tool installed.
If you don't want to assemble the bolt with a nut in a socket on extensions like I did then you would need something like this 19mm hex socket head that will fit on extensions but will serve the same purpose. The bolt approach just uses a socket with a nut instead of a hex head socket on an extension.
This tool is the same thing. A 19mm 6 point hex bit socket...which is identical to a 19mm 6 point nut that is threaded on a 19mm bolt and stuck inside a 19mm socket with part of the nut exposed. But if I did fork seals all day long I think $10 is worth it for a tool that is made for the job. If I do fork seals once every year then it's not worth it.
Above is one method I use to wedge the allen wrench in any available wood frame so I can turn the ratchet on the other end. A vise would work too but be careful of the fork! If you scratch or dent an area low near the fork housing then it will be ruined.
Ride on!
.The left front fork started leaking recently and the seals arrived today but since I dove into the disassembly after every store had closed I decided to see if I could engineer something with what I had in buckets nearby. And it was a success I want to share because the homemade tool methods I researched were more complicated. This approach can be done for like $1 as long as you already have a socket and a ratchet and ratchet extensions.
This is a 1983 850GL and I'm not sure what else this approach will work on. 40 years old and still going strong!
The manual says you need a 19mm hex head bolt to fit in the top of the dampening rod and that is true. Digital Calipers will help you find the right bolt but if you have a 19mm deep socket then you just need a bolt that will fit perfectly in that socket AND you need an additional nut that will thread onto that same bolt and also fit in that socket.
no washers, no epoxy. no welding.
20230527-223508.jpg
Just a 19mm deep socket, a hex bolt that fits in the socket and a nut that fits on the bolt and also fits in the socket. And you need 20" of ratchet extensions plus the ratchet..
I used a 19mm head hex bolt about 2 inches long with another 19mm nut threaded on the bolt. The bolt fits in a 19mm medium deep or deep socket that fits on a 3/8 ratchet extension...and then you will need about 20 inches of ratchet extensions, either 3/8 or 1/2"..doesn't really matter if you can use adapters.
If you have a deep socket then you will need a bolt that is long enough so some threads are exposed when the bolt bottoms out in the socket. If the 19mm socket is 3" long then get a 3.5" bolt. I used a medium deep socket so 2" bolt worked. I think a regular shallow socket will not work because there will be no way to fit both the bolt head PLUS part of the nut head into the socket at the same time. And if all you have is a shallow 19mm socket then you will need to have shallow bolt head and a shallow nut, which do exist but not many people have those laying around.
The bolt will just fall out of the socket unless you shim it with a very small bit of tape, just enough to shim it so the bolt doesn't fall out of the nut when you turn it upside down. I guess if this tool is going to be used many times then weld it or epoxy it where you want.
Above is 19mm medium deep socket with a 19mm hex head bolt AND a 19mm nut that is threaded almost all the way on the bolt. The key here is the bolt will bottom out in the socket and the nut has to just barely fit into the top of the socket at the same time so it will not turn when you are loosening or tightening the allen bolt, but enough of the nut is revealed so it will seat fully into the damper rod. You just turn the nut until you find the sweet spot where it barely fits into the socket but the majority is still exposed when the bolt bottoms out.
That nut has to be secure inside the top of the socket which why a shallow socket will not work because there has to be enough space for the bolt head to bottom out AND the additional nut to just sneak into the top of the socket. Otherwise the nut will turn inside the damper rod.
I had more 1/2" extensions than 3/8" so I used an adapter to go to the final extension that fits the 19mm socket.
Above is the damper rod with the nut inserted into the top. As long as the nut is 19mm then it will fit and prevent the rod from turning.
From inside the fork the damper rod looks perfectly round, but it's actually a 12 point hex,and a 6 point hex head and nut will fit. Notice that the nut on the bolt is mostly exposed and the tape shims the bolt head inside the socket or else it will fall out.
If even half of the nut is exposed from the socket then it will fit and that exposed part of the bolt fits in the cavity in the damper rod so it does not get in the way at all. My goal was to expose as much of the nut as possible so it would have maximum seat in the damper rod.
I tried to loosen that allen bolt with the fork on the bike and it didn't work. It's possible an impact wrench would release the damper rod allen bolt without bracing the damper rod with this tool but I would have to see that to believe it. It spun and spun but was not too difficult to break loose once I had the tool installed.
If you don't want to assemble the bolt with a nut in a socket on extensions like I did then you would need something like this 19mm hex socket head that will fit on extensions but will serve the same purpose. The bolt approach just uses a socket with a nut instead of a hex head socket on an extension.
This tool is the same thing. A 19mm 6 point hex bit socket...which is identical to a 19mm 6 point nut that is threaded on a 19mm bolt and stuck inside a 19mm socket with part of the nut exposed. But if I did fork seals all day long I think $10 is worth it for a tool that is made for the job. If I do fork seals once every year then it's not worth it.
Above is one method I use to wedge the allen wrench in any available wood frame so I can turn the ratchet on the other end. A vise would work too but be careful of the fork! If you scratch or dent an area low near the fork housing then it will be ruined.
Ride on!
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