Fork dampener bolt really stuck

[BassCliff]

Hi friends,

It's been quite an adventure trying to replace my fork seals this weekend. Everything was going smoothly...

Forks off:

Removed the circlip:

Borrowed the special tool from Ms. SqDancerLynn1:

But this dang bolt, there on the bottom, would not budge:

I bought the right tools:

I soaked the bolts in WD40 (It's all I had handy):

I even went over to Ms. SqDancerLynn's to use her vice and torch to heat it up:

Then we used my impact driver and a sledge hammer. But all we did was booger the head on one bolt and, before we boogered the other one, we decided neither was coming out and would have to be drilled. Bother.

The previous owner had some front end work done before he sold it. I have the receipt. They replaced the upper tubes with nice parts from Forking by Frank. They must've used some kind of super-duper gorilla snot glue on the dampener bolts and really torqued them down with an air wrench.

So I'm going to put it back together so I can ride while I order the dampener bolts and other miscellaneous stuff I need. My forks have been leaking for months. I suppose a couple more weeks won't hurt.

Anyway, I just wanted to vent a little and thank Lynn for all her help. We'll drill out the stuck bolts after I get the new parts in. That way I'll have less downtime.

If any of you were wrenching this weekend, I hope it went better than mine.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[cowboyup3371]

Wow, please let me know how you actually got them out Cliff. I'm going to start on mine in a couple of months and am hoping I don't have any surprises like that.

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

They really shouldn't be that much trouble. It's the dreaded "let the 'professionals' do it" syndrome. My bike will NEVER see the inside of a shop as long as I live. I promise.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[Guest]

I've always loosened them with an air ratchet (with a good quality allen socket) just after dropping the wheel and before removing the fender.

 

[jetta90]

Sorry to hear of your issue with those stubborn bolts holding the forks together...........and you're probably very right in saying that some super gorilla snot glue stuff must have been used. Do you have access to an impact air gun? I get the feeling that an air impact in combination with some heat would do it.

 

[rustybronco]

Cliff, stop right now! don't drill them out if you don't have to!

more than likely someone used red locktite when putting it back together.

those allen bolts are very soft. take a punch and hammer it around the outside of the damaged cap screw trying to close it back up. the object is get the allen 'socket' of the bolt back into something that resembles the undamaged shape. then find someone with an impact gun, whack your allen bit with a hammer into the bolt making sure it's bottomed out as best possible and squeeze the trigger...

I've loosened up some really buggered up allen bolts with that method before.

P.S. nice nails Lynn

 

[Big T]

I wouldn't drill them out either

It's an allen bolt, use a dremel and grind the head off of it

Less chance of punching an unwanted hole in your fork leg that way

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Thank you, my friends. Drilling will be the last resort. I'm getting new bolts/washers just in case. I'll certainly try an air wrench before breaking out the dremels or drills. Stay tuned.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[Nessism]

Cliff,
I'd heat up those bolts as hot as you can - all the metal around them will draw the heat away so you need to take your time. Heat and an impact gun should get er done.

 

[Dogma]

I've only ever needed the impact wrench (not impact driver). Maybe I've never encountered the red Loctite. You do have to be careful to make sure the bit is fully engaged though. I nearly destroyed one when the bit jumped out. The impact wrench chewed up half the socket before I could react.

I like to have a set of these screws on hand when I take a new (to me) set of forks apart. The half-dozen or so I've been into had a high rate of boogered up socket heads.

Cliff, if you do have to drill it, I have two sets of pitted forks I haven't pitched yet with damper rods that cross-reference to your 850G(T). PM if you need 'em.

 

[Ranger]

You could always use your teeth.

Loctite's website has info on how to back out bolts that have the red loctite on it. Might be worth a read.

 

[bonanzadave]

Mine were like that too. Sucked ! I spend a fair amount of time removing stubborn bolts from airplanes that are 3x as old as our bikes so I live the frustration. Listen to Rusty. My M.O. is to never F up the fastener head unless its a screw smaller than 1/4". Then you can cut a slot in the head and use a big screwdriver. On the fork bolts I used a lot of penetrate oil (nut buster, kroil,...) heat and an air impact. By the time they were out I needed new bolts only available at Suzuki ($7 ea ).

My forks have been leaking for months. I suppose a couple more weeks won't hurt.

Couldnt ya put the new seals in without removing the bolts ?

 

[7981GS]

Sometimes you can chamfer the tip of a slightly larger size allen socket and
drive it in with a large hammer and then hit it with an impact gun.
Pow and off!
Forgot to add that a TX socket also has a taper to it and can also be driven in for a tight fit.
Same result, bolt comes out.

Daniel

 

[BassCliff]

Ed, Dale, Dave, Daniel, et al,

Thank you very much for sharing your expertise. I'm going to put it back together for now, order parts and put together the necessary tools for another try after the parts get here.

Couldnt ya put the new seals in without removing the bolts ?

I thought about this. Is it really possible to dig out the old seals and slip the new ones on over the inner fork tube? Have you ever tried it?

Thanks to everyone for all your support in my little fork issue. You guys are great. I mean it.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[Guest]

I dont think that little torch is enough. Ya need to heat the entire area to melt the loctite.

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Would a regular bottle propane torch be enough?

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[Guest]

Thats what I used.
Do do see one in the original pic now.

 

[BassCliff]

The saga continues...

The saga continues...

Hi,

Well, I wasn't crazy about putting my forks back on without fixing them properly. So I called up a couple of my friends (Thanks Ed!) seeking advice. I put the air caps back on and tried air pressure trick to pop the seals out. The bicycle pump I had didn't work. So I took a trip down to the gas station and used their air pump. It didn't work either. I went to Home Depot and bought another manual tire pump that looked like to would work. The gauge on it went to 174psi and I figured that would be enough to blow the seals. I brought it home and hooked it up. I pumped and pumped. I pegged the gauge, over 174psi and probably close to 200psi. Nothing! The seal held.

Feeling dejected, I took off the pump connector from the air cap and just held it in my hand, looking at it and thinking, "What am I going to do now?". Then all of a sudden.....

POP!

I was so happy!

After I filled the fork with as much air as I could it took a couple of minutes for the seal to pop. It kind of surprised me. But it was a pleasant surprise.

So I'm going to replace the seals and fix the bolt later, after I've received new parts and assembled the necessary tools. I did not buy OEM seals or the fancy leakproof pro-moly kind so I have a feeling that these seals might not last very long anyway. They are the K&S brand seals. We'll see how they work out.

Stay tuned for further developments.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[Ranger]

Hi,

Well, I wasn't crazy about putting my forks back on without fixing them properly. So I called up a couple of my friends (Thanks Ed!) seeking advice. I tried the air pressure trick to pop the seals out. The bicycle pump I had didn't work. So I took a trip down to the gas station and used their air pump. It didn't work either. I went to Home Depot and bought another manual tire pump that looked like to would work. The gauge on it went to 174psi and I figured that would be enough to blow the seals. I brought it home and hooked it up. I pumped and pumped. I pegged the gauge, over 174psi and probably close to 200psi. Nothing! The seal held.

Feeling dejected, I took off the pump connector from the air cap and just held it in my hand, looking at it and thinking, "What am I going to do now?". Then all of a sudden.....

POP!

I was so happy!

After I filled the fork with as much air as I could it took a couple of minutes for the seal to pop. It kind of surprised me. But it was a pleasant surprise.

So I'm going to replace the seals and fix the bolt later, after I've received new parts and assembled the necessary tools. I did not buy OEM seals or the fancy leakproof pro-moly kind so I have a feeling that these seals might not last very long anyway. They are the K&S brand seals. We'll see how they work out.

Stay tuned for further developments.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

Just incase it happens again you should buy a HV-HP (high volume, high pressure) road tire pump with a presta fitting and use an adapter to fit a schrader valve. We use it in the regular bike industry and can reach about ~370psi before failure to the pump.

Maybe I'm a little late with that but could be in your write up that I'm sure you're already making regarding this.

 

[Steve]

P.S. nice nails Lynn

Any guarantee that they were Lynn's?

.