fork rebuild

[airheadPete]

Hi guys; I'm rebuilding the front forks with all new stuff from Randy. Took most of the day to remove all the crap in the way and to pull the things.
So, the problem: I've got the allen bolts in the bottom of the forks turning, (with a large cheater bar), and the damper rod is turning too.
DAMN!
I've got no interest in taking the forks to the stealership, (but Lord, do they have a TERRIBLE reputation). I called Randy, he says the internal hex on the top of the dampner rod is 27mm; anybody fab something up to lock the top of the rod? I'm thinking of two 27mm OD hex nuts locked together on a piece of allthread, (maybe with a spotweld), to hold it. It would be similar to what I built to do my KLR forks. Ideas?
(I went back 13 pages, but couldn't find anything applicable.) Thanks, Pete.

[Klavdy]

Your axle nut should fit.
Maybe Bean's got the right tool too.
He's a bit curmudgeonly now though.

[fj11.5]

I used a 27mm nut welded to a 1/2" drive socket

[Bones]

When I pulled mine apart, I bought a 10mm Allen key socket fitting for the rattle gun and used that.  It took a bit to get out because of thread locker on the bolts, but didn't have a problem with it spinning because I put a wooden broom handle down the fork that fitted inside the damper to hold it.

                                                             Tony.

[markmartin]

18mm (thread size) bolt about 3 inches long. (This may be hard to find at your average
hardware store, and may need to be special ordered. You could grind down an SAE bolt
head.). Next get a deep well, 5/8 inch, 12-point socket. Take a hammer and beat the
socket onto the threaded end on of the bolt. Now you have a fork cap remover that you
can use with your ratchet. With an extension, this tool also fits the top of the damper rod
down in the fork tube to hold the damper rod from turning.

[scouser]

Hi guys; I'm rebuilding the front forks with all new stuff from Randy. Took most of the day to remove all the crap in the way and to pull the things.
So, the problem: I've got the allen bolts in the bottom of the forks turning, (with a large cheater bar), and the damper rod is turning too.
DAMN!
I've got no interest in taking the forks to the stealership, (but Lord, do they have a TERRIBLE reputation). I called Randy, he says the internal hex on the top of the dampner rod is 27mm; anybody fab something up to lock the top of the rod? I'm thinking of two 27mm OD hex nuts locked together on a piece of allthread, (maybe with a spotweld), to hold it. It would be similar to what I built to do my KLR forks. Ideas?
(I went back 13 pages, but couldn't find anything applicable.) Thanks, Pete.

I welded two nuts together as you have mentioned.  works fine.

[airheadPete]

SUCCESS!!! Thanks for all the help, guys, I really liked the brute-force approach of hanmmering the bolt into the socket. Two thumbs up!
My solution turned out to be a bit different. I went to the local Ace Hardware nuts and bolts section. Tried to do this with metric hardware, but there wasn't stuff in the correct size, so...
One nylon locknut, of roughly 7/8" diameter, (27mm equivalent), one 3/4" long setscrew of the same id and thread pitch, and one 1'x1/16" roll pin. Screw the setscrew into the locknut. Stick it in a vise and drill through with a #30 bit, insert roll pin. Presto! A special tool the size of the nut. Had to go to NAPA for a 3/8" diameter hex key socket to fit the setscrew, put it on the end of an extension, and I was done. Almost no torque required to break it loose.
On to the rebuild...

[airheadPete]

Ok, last question: fork seal orientation. In cross-section U-shaped: U section down, with circumferential coil spring visible, or U section up, with top of flat of seal showing, like the dust seal?
The Clymers says U down, installed seals were U up, with both forks weeping. I've seen them both ways, so just want to verify the installation on my '92, to avoid the cussing fit afterwards. Muchas gracias!

[markmartin]

I had made the note (below) to myself when I installed mine 3 years ago -- no leaks yet.  Not sure how relates to your description.  I vaguely remember some discussion about  the Clymers manual was wrong about their instruction on this procedure... ? ? ? ? ?  

The oil seal goes on with the little inner flared lips facing up

[Arnie]

Mark,

You're part right - Clymer's has it wrong. 
They state for both the early and later model forks that the open side faces up.

For these fork seals (and all other oil seals) the open side faces the hydraulic pressure so that the pressure forces the lip(s) towards the shaft being sealed.

Using Pete's description, the U faces down and the flat faces towards the steering head.

Arnie

[airheadPete]

Thanks Mark and Arnie.
Flat side up it is, I also found a mention of the Clymer's error early this morning, digging through stuff on some old CD ROM's. (Apparently, installing them inverted makes them a reasonably effective oil pump.)
Now, back to the garage! :-)