fork seal removal question (yes i searched)

[ninja_steve]

ok, i have done fork seals on an XR100, XR80, but never my gs.  everytime i did it on the dirtbikes, i had to take a heat gun and a tire iron and pry it out.  i screwed up the fork tube once beacuase it was so frustrating.  are the seals hard to remove on the gs, and if so, what is the best way?  i saw the blowing them out method, but htat seems kind of dangerous  :dunno:  

[The Buddha]

You pull the dust covers off and take out the retaining ring. then undo the bolt on the bottom ... that will let the damping rod go free, then Pull them out the top ... sorta in and out ... clang ... that should get the seals out. The little bikes have no bushing that has a retainer under the seal, that bushing will hit the retainer, and push the seal out. On my KZ 440 that same thing happened. Undo the damping rod and the thing comes off in 2 ... wiht the seal stuck in the lower leg ... Not the GS. Look in manual for pic if you want and compare to your older bikes ... you'll see the diff.
Cool.
Srinath.

[manofthefield]

http://www.gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16318 in the FAQ and I also used Bob Broussard's post here http://gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7571&highlight=fork+seals.
Basically the key is getting the allen bolt out of the bottom using an allen in an impact wrench or the special tool described here.  Then everything should be easy to pull appart.  Well you may have to yank on the tube a few time to pull it out, but that's no biggy.

[pres589]

How many times is that bottom bolt supposed to spin to be removed?  I've turned that thing 20 revolutions by my last count, and that has to be at least 20 revolutions after I started.  I don't have an impact wrench or a vice, I'm having to craddle the shock in my lap basically while cranking on it with an allen wrench because I didn't pull the bolt out before yanking them out of the clamps. 

It's gotten easier to turn but it's still pretty stiff, so I don't think the bolt snapped and the threads in the fork body are probably alright, but I'm starting to wonder just what's up with this.  The picture in my Clymmer manual makes it look like the bolt is maybe 1.5 inches long.

[Trwhouse]

Hi Pres,
You really need to use an impact wrench -- either an air-powered unit or the old standby, a hammer-operated  impact driver which works just great.
I turn the fork tube assembly upside down (with the top nut on a thick rag on the ground to protect it), then put pressure on the fork leg lower, then use my impact driver and hammer to loosen the bolt. I had to cut the arm off an 8mm allen wrench to give me an allen bit long enough to reach all the way into the fork leg to turn the bolt.
Also, IMPORTANT --- be sure to LOOSEN the fork leg  top nut BEFORE you take the forks apart, otherwise you won't be able to hold it and loosen it later unless you clamp it back into the triple clamps. Save yourself the hassle and loosen the top nut before you take everything apart.
This is NOT a bad job.
Once you remove the lower bolt, the lower fork leg pops right off the inner fork tube and pulls the seal out after you pull it sharply several times.
Let us know if you need more help.
Best wishes,
Todd

[average]

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=7084   Read through  this thread. You need the tool mentioned half way down. You can make it for about $8 at Lowes/Home Depot.    

[pres589]

Of course Lowes didn't have any bolts nearly that long, let alone a 5/8" so I'll have to try and hit up Tractor Supply tomorrow before work.  I'd really like to have the fork rebuild project handled by, say, noon Friday since I'll have my license stuff back from MSF any time now and I'll have the bike tagged on Friday as well.

[average]

Are you referring to the head of the bolts? The size of the nut is actually 15/16 if I recall correctly. Also, there was another thread were Kerry and another guy put 2 smaller bolts together with a splicer(not sure what the correct term is) and some locktite which worked out pretty well.   

[pres589]

Thought about a splicer, the longest bolts they had of any size were 3.5 inch... the only thought I had was to buy threaded rod stock, have it cut to about 18 inches so I would have enough slack for what I would need, and set up double nuts with lock washers on either end.  Decided I didn't want to fool around with having that much crap swinging around at the bottom of the tube.  Probably would have worked though.

[average]

yep, its what most of us have done   

[pres589]

Two forks, reassembled, waiting to go onto the bike.  Taking a cool off break and to plot my next move.  Testing them loose and standing up, they seem probably 30% stiffer than they were with the old springs and 10w oil (one shock having half as much in it as the other).  They weren't that hard to screw together by myself, one of the caps tried to cross thread on me once but otherwise they went together just fine.

Of course, one of the fork tubes has a slight pit in it that my fingernail catches on, so I don't know how long these seals are going to last, if I can get a year out of them cool, then do it again with new tubes next summer.  Hopefully with a couple more tools at that point.