the bottom bolt, i have a feeling its the fork oil drain plug. not sure. also it was almost screwed out. if this is the fork oil bolt what should i do? -noob owner
(http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z147/big-byrd87/bolt.jpg)
It's called a pinch bolt, it has nothing to do with oil, others will elaborate :cheers:
Pinches the end of the fork tight so the axle is nice and snug. Atleast thats my understanding :embarassed:
What mad dog said. It shouldn't be loose.
You loosen the bolt and bounce the front end up and down a few times and then tighten it and leave it after that unless you change some parts. It is so the tightening of the axle nut won't bind the forks, there's a spacer there held by that pinch bolt that will slide when it's loosen to adjust for all the parts tolerence build ups of the front suspension assembly and the wheel/axle assembly of parts.
GS forks have no provision for draining the fork oil.These are cheap bikes.
What if we were to drill and tap a hole at the bottom of the fork?
:dunno_black:
Quote from: adidasguy on August 03, 2011, 10:22:22 AM
What if we were to drill and tap a hole at the bottom of the fork?
:dunno_black:
Just make sure the damper rod is clear from the hole and it should work fine.
thanks for the info guys.
Quote from: ben2go on August 03, 2011, 12:00:03 PM
Quote from: adidasguy on August 03, 2011, 10:22:22 AM
What if we were to drill and tap a hole at the bottom of the fork?
:dunno_black:
Just make sure the damper rod is clear from the hole and it should work fine.
so how would i change the fork oil?
Quote from: adidasguy on August 03, 2011, 10:22:22 AM
What if we were to drill and tap a hole at the bottom of the fork?
:dunno_black:
I would have concerns. Assuming you are thinking about drilling into the leg through the diameter at 90deg to its center line and at the lowest point of the oil chamber you would have to determine if there was enough wall thickness in the tube to accommodate....say a 5 or 6mm thread. Engineering practice states thread engagement in aluminium/soft alloys should be x2 diameter so you would need a wall thickness of 10-12mm. The hole would also have to be spot-faced to give a sealing surface for a copper washer held captive under the bolt head and this would also reduce its effective length. Finally you are dealing with a relatively weak alloy....how many times could you tighten the bolt up before the thread deforms and pulls out? A thread insert would strengthen it but they are not pressure tight so that's a non starter.
Nah.....its more trouble than its worth.
Quote from: bigbyrd on August 03, 2011, 04:54:08 PM
thanks for the info guys.
Quote from: ben2go on August 03, 2011, 12:00:03 PM
Quote from: adidasguy on August 03, 2011, 10:22:22 AM
What if we were to drill and tap a hole at the bottom of the fork?
:dunno_black:
Just make sure the damper rod is clear from the hole and it should work fine.
so how would i change the fork oil?
The way I do it, is pull them off,remove the cap,spacer,and spring.Then pour out the oil and let the forks hang upside down and drain for 30 minutes or so.
Fork drain bolts went the way of the kickstarter, which annoys the h3ll out of me, but I'm old and cranky... Sledge is correct that there is no good way to mod the forks for a drain bolt, unless you decide to put on some retro forks which already have drain bolts. Of course, doing that type of mod would open MANY new cans of worms you really don't want to deal with at this stage...
Keep a few things in mind:
1. Do ONE leg at a time; that way, you can use the intact fork leg to guide you in the reassembly process. When you've got one leg reinstalled, you can start on the second one.
2. The fork caps are under tension from the fork springs; be sure to wear eye protection while disassembling the forks.
3. Getting the caps back on can be difficult; it takes a fair bit of pressure to compress the spring with the cap while you're trying to get the threads started. Those threads are aluminum alloy, which means that it is INCREDIBLY easy to strip them if you aren't careful (see Step 13). Take your time and don't be in a rush; after you've rebuilt your forks a few times, you'll be almost as good as the pros... or not, depending on how mechanically inclined you really are...
4. This link will help you understand the process a LOT better:
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=25706.0
Read it MULTIPLE times and ASK QUESTIONS HERE if you don't understand something; we're here to help you learn as you go. Pay CLOSE attention to each step in that thread; do things in the order they're listed. For example, do NOT simply remove the fork caps in Step 1; break them loose so you can remove them LATER, in Step 9. Removing them ahead of time means you increase the potential that something will go wrong. Alpha wrote that How-To specifically to help guide people through the process; doing things out-of-order will only confuse you and turn a fairly simple job into a nightmare.
Much more good info here:
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?board=7.0
Keep wrenching, and let us know if you hit any snags...