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Fork Tubes??????

  • Thread starter Thread starter General Zod
  • Start date Start date
G

General Zod

Guest
How do you fix little hair line cracks on the fork tube chroming?

it will cost me $255 bucks to get new tubes (not forks).

i have no money.

so, how do you fix this? Do you do it with a dremel tool and sand it out or something?
 
I'm having trouble visualizing -- can you take pictures? If you actually have cracks (???) you're in trouble...

BTW when my 650 had a little run-in with a concrete wall I got used forks in very nice shape off eBay for around $100.
 
Fork tubes #2

Fork tubes #2

The tubes arent really cracked per say.............
Its more like it started to rust and the chroming bubbled out and now it looks like a crack on the chroming(not an actual crack in the tubes), BUT I will post a picture of it.....
 
I would say they are history. If I had to use them I'd get the chrome and rust off with emory cloth and paint them if rechroming was too expensive. If its anywhere along the seal travel portion then they're trash.
 
It's important to keep the portion of the tube that slides past the seal as smooth and uniform as possible. Imperfections will cause leaks and/or premature seal failure. I had a little "divot" on one of my tubes which I sanded out with progressively finer sandpaper grits until it was pretty much back to a good shine. But you can only go so far before the diameter is decreased too much or you're out-of-round...

Outside the travel area you can do the same thing but you have a bit more leeway.
 
could you sand as best you can and if you still have divits, could you fill them with jb weld, then sand that flush?
 
yeah thats a good question...

CAN I???????

I mean therese a leak in the travel portion of the tubes.
I bought new seals but they may leak again.

I can get them re chromed but how much is a job like that?

new tubes are 255 bucks.

I am near homelessness from a lay-off so I have absolutley NO MONEY except to eat, 5 bucks gas, and pay my cell phone.

hanging by a thread.

I use the library computers to keep in touch with people.

so whats a poor mans way to fix the tubes?

first timer said:
could you sand as best you can and if you still have divits, could you fill them with jb weld, then sand that flush?
Click to expand...
 
General Zod said:
yeah thats a good question...

CAN I???????

I mean therese a leak in the travel portion of the tubes.
I bought new seals but they may leak again.

I can get them re chromed but how much is a job like that?

new tubes are 255 bucks.

I am near homelessness from a lay-off so I have absolutley NO MONEY except to eat, 5 bucks gas, and pay my cell phone.

hanging by a thread.

I use the library computers to keep in touch with people.

so whats a poor mans way to fix the tubes?
Click to expand...

Hey I have a similar boat :( Fork tubes are one of those things that just cant be done cheap. If you gotta replace them you gotta replace them.
 
You can sand them down. You could fill them with resin glue (like araldite) & sand it back too.

Essentially though as long as they are minor imperfections & there are no sharp edges (sand those off) you should be ok as far as the seal goes.

Dan :)
 
first timer said:
could you sand as best you can and if you still have divits, could you fill them with jb weld, then sand that flush?
Click to expand...

Sounds like "first timer" has been around! For anyone else reading his suggestion, I'll say that this is a method that's been used on many a hydraulic cylinder over the years. Sandroll or the open pattern sand cloth of say 280 up to 400 grit are my choice for the finishing - degrease the affected area with alcohol or brake cleaner first and maybe dry with a few swipes of a small propane / butane torch to get any lingering oil out of any rough surface - allow a day for the JB to cure and then sand as First Timer mentions.

This is NOT for a crack in the steel tube.....only a scratch or abraded spot.!
A crack in a suspension tube like that.....is scrap.
 
cool. that gives me hope!!!

so....when it comes to sanding, do i use 250 grit paper or do i use some kind of dremal tool?

plus, yes, its only on the top surface layer of the chrome itself, not the tube.


salty_monk said:
You can sand them down. You could fill them with resin glue (like araldite) & sand it back too.

Essentially though as long as they are minor imperfections & there are no sharp edges (sand those off) you should be ok as far as the seal goes.

Dan :)
Click to expand...
 
ok, so what is a "sandroll" or "opn pattern"?

meaning, paper or sanding tip for an air tool?

and yes. it is only on the chrome layer and not the tubeing.

so go from 280 and finish with 400, then degrease and put JB weld?

SPARKSS said:
Sounds like "first timer" has been around! For anyone else reading his suggestion, I'll say that this is a method that's been used on many a hydraulic cylinder over the years. Sandroll or the open pattern sand cloth of say 280 up to 400 grit are my choice for the finishing - degrease the affected area with alcohol or brake cleaner first and maybe dry with a few swipes of a small propane / butane torch to get any lingering oil out of any rough surface - allow a day for the JB to cure and then sand as First Timer mentions.

This is NOT for a crack in the steel tube.....only a scratch or abraded spot.!
A crack in a suspension tube like that.....is scrap.
Click to expand...
 
Other way around.......clean, degrease, JB.....sand (coase then fine...)
 
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