rod in fork tube jammed?

[irishluck]

Okay so i took off my forks to replace the seals, the right tube(if sitting on bike) isnt what its suppose to be. I guess when u take off that top plug on the top of the fork there is suppose to be a rod connecting to it. well i look down in the tube and the rod is lodged down into the tube in one of the holes at the bottom.

so heres my question. how bad is this, why did it do this, and how do i get it out and the forks apart considering the rod is in the way

[FJ111200]

The reason it happened is because it's been put back in wrong.
On the damper rod in the centre is a semi-circular hole that corresponds to the shape of the rod that is jammed. This jammed rod, which is part of the adjustment bolt at the top of the fork, has been forced into one of the other 3 or 4 holes that surround the central hole in the damper rod.
It should come out when the allen bolt at the bottom of the damper rod is taken out when the forks are pulled apart for servicing. It'll be just a case of pulling the jammed rod free of the hole it's stuck in.
If you can't get a good hold of the damper to free it, try and pull the adjuster rod with something to get it out first. I know what i would do if was stuck but don't want to be held responsible for any damage to your stuff. I've got spares so ain't that bothered.

[andyb]

Odds are it's jammed in there quite soundly, to boot.  If you peer down along it, you should be able to see that it's (probably) not in the middle D shaped hole, but stuffed into a nearby one instead.  To get the caps on properly, I'd think that a lot, lot of force was applied, so things may be quite stuffed up down there.

[irishluck]

well i already know its not in the center hole, its down in one of the sides. it is pretty jammed in there, but seems like it can be wiggied free, i wont be able to take apart the 2 peices of the fork cause the rod is in the way the the damber tool to unscrew it all.

the top cap was actually pretty easy to remove, cause that rod is so far down in the tube it comes nowhere new the top of the fork.

I will try to wiggle it free tonight and get some pliers on it or something, just for the hell of it, what would you have done to get the rod out fj111200?

[racerman_27410]

grab the rod with some pliers and pull it out.....



KOokaloo!

[FJ111200]

I will try to wiggle it free tonight and get some pliers on it or something, just for the hell of it, what would you have done to get the rod out fj111200?

That's it mate, pliers or vise grip.
You might be able to unscrew that allen bolt, because there is a locating screw for the damper that goes through the fork leg and holds it in place in a slot. You might be lucky. Or if it has become dislocated, you could try a longer screw then turn the damper rod via that allen bolt to locate it in the slot. Just don't try to move the damper in such a way that the allen bolt tightens up even more, go the other way.

[irishluck]

update, it wasnt as jammed as i thought but still had to wiggle it out free, did come out, i guess there is a little pin in the fork cap that broke and thats what caused the rod just to fall out and to the bottom of the fork and jam, but i got it all apart, new pin, everything fixed, works good!

[srutherford]

well im f*&Cked to say the least the cap that hlost that rod in is stripped