How to remove telescopic fork seals

[ian.dabney]

Help appreciated in how to remove fork seals. Having stripped the forks to the struts, lower & sliding bush, shim and fork seal; I am having an issue to slide off the fork seals. It seems the inner diameter of the seal requires that it will only slide off the lower end of the strut. The top third of the strut being a larger diameter. However I am having difficult removing the bolt at the base of the strut (that retains the lower bush) as I have nothing to grip but the strut itself. (which I do not wish to burr, scratch or damage).

Please advise of the best technique / method to move forward,
many thanks
Ian

[simon.holyfield]

I did this recently. I held the bottom nut in the vice, I warmed the leg at the bottom with a heat gun, and I gripped the leg at the very top (under the headlamp shrouds) with a self grip wrench - footprint type, not a mole or stilson.

There is a mark at the top, but it is very minor and does not matter at the top. The nut was not actually very tight, just a bit stubborn with old oil.

[nevhunter]

Can you just put it back in the fork supports to hold it? I usually put them ia a large 4 jaw chuck on the lathe, but not everyone has one of those handy. Nev

[ian.dabney]

Many thanks for the advice
Ian

[robjameson]

If you are replacing the lower bush the easiest thing to do is to VERY carefully using a hacksaw cut the bush close to the nut, as there is a lip on the bush approximately 1/16th of an inch thick. This will release the pressure on the nut without damaging the stanchion or burring it if you gently hold in the vice with soft jaws on

[ian.dabney]

Rob,
I was hoping to keep the bushes; however a lot of heat, using the fork supports as a grip, a small vice and a large amount of straining have not managed to budge the nut. So I may need to resort to your recommendation. Do I understand correctly that you saw the bush 1/16th up from the nut and parallel to the nut face (orthogonal to the stanchion)
many thanks
Ian

[robjameson]

Hi Ian,

When I restored the forks on my '57 VH, I had to cut the lower bush off to get the nut to loosen (My dad actually recommended I do this). The lower bush is effectively sandwiched on to the stanchion by a small collar on the inside of the bush (see Photo)

If you carefully cut this then you will release the pressure on the nut and it should come off quite easily - it unfortunately means you sacrifice the old bush (but if you are doing a full restoration it's worth doing them while they are apart - although i doubt you will have change from £40)

You should be able to see the photo of the old bush and where I have cut around. If you need anything else PM me and i'll give you my number so you can call if you want.

Hope this helps,

Rob

[ian.dabney]

Rob,
Many thanks, will give it a go
Ian

[nevhunter]

Try a solid hit on the end with a soft hammer. You can compress the bush a bit and it may then move. You can get a socket on it can't you? I"m not sure but I think the corners are not sharp on thos bolts. Worth a try. Nev

[ian.dabney]

Nev,
many thanks, heat and a tap with a hammer in the right place worked a treat.
Ian