Fork bottom allen bolts won't come out!

[Ola]

I decided to try to hit these bolts with my impact wrench with the fork still assembled, as I've heard the spring tension might help undoing the bolt from the damper rod without the need to reach in there with the special tool (which are very well described elsewhere on the forum, thanks).

But alas, the bolts are pretty much impossible to get out anyway as they're just too rounded off.

Damn you previous owner(s)!

Any tips on how to get out of this? Is drilling an option?

 

[blowerbike]

remove from bike and drill the heads off.
remove the tube and then you can vise/vise grip the remaining part of the bolt.
i'm not sure if you could drive an SAE or tork type of socket in the damaged bolt head...not sure if it would bite enough to hit it with an impact and get it loose.
try it first and see.

 

[Dogma]

I've used the impact wrench on the 850 and 1000, but I always had to compress the fork almost completely. The alternative is to make a special tool. Basically, a threaded rod with double nuts on both can engage the other end of the damper rod to keep it from turning while you loosen the screw. The nuts need to be the same size as the hex on the top of a spark plug wrench (which you can also use, inverted, if you have enough extensions. Obbviously, you need to take the fork apart enough to get the spring, etc. out.

 

[Dogma]

remove from bike and drill the heads off.
remove the tube and then you can vise/vise grip the remaining part of the bolt.
i'm not sure if you could drive an SAE or tork type of socket in the damaged bolt head...not sure if it would bite enough to hit it with an impact and get it loose.
try it first and see.

Terry, you can't get to the back of the damper rod on those forks?

 

[blowerbike]

he has buggered up allen heads.
i thought he asked how to get the forks apart
i'm not sure what model forks these go to but all the GS forks ive messed with had the 12 point internal hex damper thingy.

 

[Ola]

That's right. I know how to get the forks apart thanks to all the threads about it on this forum, but all those assume one has pristine allen heads.

Here's a crop of the parts fiche:

The bolt in question is #27. Looks like I should be able to decapitate it with a drill bit wide enough to cut inside the hex head.

 

[Baatfam]

I had one like that on the 750. I hammered in a slightly larger SAE allen head socket and used the impact...

 

[bwringer]

It will be fastest to drill the head off the bolt and order up some new ones.

They're a special oddball thread, so you'll need to order the bolts from Suzuki. Grab a couple of the copper sealing washers, too.

After that, getting the stub out of the damper rod shouldn't be too hard, although you might want to heat it up a bit to soften the thread locking compound.

 

[Ola]

I got the head off one of them, then was suddenly concerned that there was also threads in the fork bottom itself. But going by your replies I assume it isn't. Thanks much for the tips!

By the way, is there any particular reason for the thread lock on that? The bolt certainly can't back out as the area below it is full of axle. But can the damper rod unscrew itself upwards?

 

[rustybronco]

When I have trouble with those bolts, I take a punch and hammer to them working my way around the top of the bolt. the material the bolt is made of is very soft and most times it works when the socket hole is all buggered up.

 

[gearhead13]

I have done two sets of forks and one of the allen bolts on each set got buggered, even with a real snug fitting allen. I drilled them out both times and was able to get new bolts at our local specialty bolt shop. I think I used blue loctite when I reassembled.

 

[Dogma]

he has buggered up allen heads.
i thought he asked how to get the forks apart
i'm not sure what model forks these go to but all the GS forks ive messed with had the 12 point internal hex damper thingy.

Looks like I need to read more carefully.

 

[Ola]

Ok, got the fork off and the remains of the bolt is not stuck to the bottom of it so the innards slide freely. But it stops, seemingly metal to metal when I try to pull the top out. The spring, damper rod and rebound spring is out.

Is it just a matter of applying rage and violence to pull the top out? Like the oil seal is the piece holding it back? Or am I smashing some of the remaining parts in the bottom against a lip at the top, ruining it in the process?

edit: Don't actually have the damper rod out, it's the other tube that the spring seats to.

 

[gearhead13]

If you are sure the bolt is totally out.
I usually put the lower leg in a vice and use it as a slide hammer to take the seal out. Watch out for small parts.

 

[GEE-S]

Unless your seal has dislodged which by the way looks rusty also and that wont be helping, (make sure the circlip is out and the backup washer if it has one) then you will need to apply enough force to separate them to dislodge the seal from its seating area as they are a press fit, some one mentioned using it like a slide hammer?

Clamp the bottom stanchion tube in a vice by the bolt mounts for the callipers NOT the tube housing as any damage to the tube will stuff up the inside (top slides down and up the inside of the bottom tube) and pull the upper tube as hard as you can assuming you have removed that dreaded Allen key bolt out ??wait till you get a set of forks that are bent?.think its hard to get them apart now, your only fighting with the seal at the moment?

 

[Ola]

Thanks guys. I ran out of time and won't be able to work on it until next monday, I'll apply the prescribed violence then. The circlip is out, it was a bitch as every time the pliers slipped I got a squirt of fork oil and rust in my face.

The area around the seal is quite rusty, I should've given it a healthy squirt of WD40 before I left.

 

[TooManyToys]

PB Blaster, not WD40. WD stands for Water Displacement, it was not formulated as a lubricant or penetrating oil.

 

[Ola]

PB Blaster isn't sold in Norway, as far as I know. There are other chemicals for rust loosening, but WD40 is what I had at hand. And a 10 minute soak and a proper strap down made easy work of it. It popped right out, but the seal did not pop out with as I had imagined. A heat gun and a seal puller got it out easily enough, but the friction ring was pretty banged up by the slide hammer action. Good thing I've got a spare.

Now the problem is getting the oil lock piece off the damper rod, but that's only needed to clean it out and to get measurement for possible future cartridge emulators. The seal change is easy peasy once the old dirty bits are out!

 

[Ola]

The oil lock piece was just about figuring out the clips securing out. Man, I love when this happens. You seem hopelessly stuck at something, then leave it for a while and think it through...then try again and everything is suddenly easy. Yay!

 

[Road_Clam]

I got the head off one of them, then was suddenly concerned that there was also threads in the fork bottom itself. But going by your replies I assume it isn't. Thanks much for the tips!

By the way, is there any particular reason for the thread lock on that? The bolt certainly can't back out as the area below it is full of axle. But can the damper rod unscrew itself upwards?

This might help. The thread lock is to keep the internal piston/valve assembly in place. If that bolt were to come out, if you hit a harsh bump, the abrupt rebound action "could" displace the fork tubes.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=139760&highlight=fork+seals