85 250r front fork allen bolt question

[trikeguy2014]

Is there a good way to cap the bottom end of my front forks to protect the Allen bolt. I had trouble getting these out last time I rebuilt the forks and I'm sure all of the dirt and water getting in them was part of the problem.

[atcmatt]

Drip some wax into them when they are out of the bike. And assembled. Easier to pull the wax out when your ready to rebuild them than to deal with the dirt and rust.

[John Tice]

Remember that the Allen screws are metric dimensions; I’d suspect that you tried to nunscrew the bolts with a standard set of Allen screws.

[trikeguy2014]

I actually might try wax if you guys think that will work. I used my metric Allen wrench sockets and air impact. It wasn't really stripped I had to compress the fork with a ratchet strap and heat it up and keep pecking it to keep it frrom just spinning the valve it screws into. I did think I was ever going to get it to break free.

[El Camexican]

Are you talking about the bolt at the very bottom of the forks that holds the damper rod in place? If so, those are usually held with a dab of Loctite, so they are pretty hard to get out. The best way is usually to turn the fork upside on wood or rubber while fully assembled and use an impact with the correct Allen key to break them loose before disassembling the rest of the Fork. You can also try heating up the head of the bolt with a propane torch to get the Loctite and any corrosion to free up.

As far as capping them off that wax sounds like a pretty good idea, but you could also use silicon, would be a pita to remove later though.

[trikeguy2014]

Yeah the dampening rod allen bolt on the bottom of the fork. Last rebuild I left the fork together and just tapped it with the air impact and it was just spinning the damper rod. I had to compress the fork down with rachet strap and heat it up to get it broken free. The other fork was fine not sure why. I think it was a mix of loctight and just water and dirt corrosion.

Doing my frame up rebuild and I think wax will help keep it clean for future fork rebuilds. I should just be able to heat the wax up with a torch to get it back out in the future. I think I'm going to try it anyways

[atcmatt]

Yeah wax is the way to go believe me. One second with a small gas torch and it drops easily out. Have done silicone before and it was a pain to get back out. Cheers.

Matt

[Red Rider]

Yeah the dampening rod allen bolt on the bottom of the fork. Last rebuild I left the fork together and just tapped it with the air impact and it was just spinning the damper rod. I had to compress the fork down with rachet strap and heat it up to get it broken free. The other fork was fine not sure why. I think it was a mix of loctight and just water and dirt corrosion.That's pretty normal for it to just spin.


Doing my frame up rebuild and I think wax will help keep it clean for future fork rebuilds.Sealing it with wax is a pretty neat idea, but if the allen bolts, sealing washers, & fork mating surfaces are in good shape, it's not necessary. If water & dirt are getting in through there, then your fork oil would be leaking out through there.