front axel rusted on,how to get it off

[svo58]

i just bought another 84 200es big red,i have to change the tire and i can't get the axel off ,i'ts frozen on with rust.I banged it with a rubber malet.It wont move,i soaked the sh#t out of it for 2 days and useing a rubber malet,it wont move.Can i heat it up to get it off with a torch.any help would be great .thanks.........svo58

[ClayW]

That might be your only option. Heat that is. My 85 Big Red parts bike has done the same thing.

Clay

[GTackett]

Good question. My 1985 250SX had the same issue. I loosened up the triple clamp and slid the fork down and rotated the wheel around. Didn't fix the frozen axle, but allowed me to change the tire.

[bigredhead]

i know EXACTLY what you are going thru dude !!

i also have an 84, 200es. . same problem.

forget about the rubber mallet.

remove the nut on the left side ( i assume at least the nut came off ??? )

then have someone put their foot on the right side fork, just below the round end of the axle , place a solid piece of wood on the thread side and HTI IT with a heavy hammer,

I had to use a torch to heat up the spacer on the nut side.. wich was the problem.. after alot of heat,, beer, blood, and bad words.. it came out.

By having your foot on the other side fork you prevent the fork from twisting and the impact goes to that spacer and not absorbed by the fork !!

be careful not to overheat the fork itself.. oil in there i beleive !!

good luck !

[reload]

pb buster, works great!

[svo58]

what is pb buster and were can i get it ,WD-40 is all i can find

[84250r]

pb blaster should be available at your local hardware store.

[timex69]

buy a brass hammer...their much more forgiving then steel hammers. They're softer then steel so it wont damage your bolt as much and they work great. Throw away that rubber mallet dude thats doing you know good. If u dont wanna buy a brass hammer get a mall [big f***ing hammer] and a block of wood like somone else said and give it some love taps and if that doesnt work wind up like a baseball player while swearing....swearing always helps and knock that bad mother outta thier. Thats what i had to do to my blaster.

Alex

[mendoAu]

250923
250924

Had a "frozen" axel on my 200es also. A couple of things I did...PB Blaster. Remove castle nut and put an old nut on (not all the way). Now you can use a large punch and hammer and hit directly on end of the axle and not the nut so you won't screw up the threads. While on the nut side of the bike you will notice a spring clip attached to the outside of the hub (see above pictures and also notice a very faint telltail sign of that washer scaring the about 3 or 4 inches from the threaded end). Wedge something under that clip 'cause it actuates an internal washer otherwise that will bind up on the axle and hinder removal. Remove the brake cable on the brake assembly. Spray pb on everything and notice the pin thru the fork wing that is part of the brake assem. While seperating the axle be cautious cause that housing is alum. I gave up on "tender" and put a large vise grip on the right side of the axle (where the hole goes thru the end ...broke two old screw drivers so gave up on that game of using the hole) and a two foot piece of pipe and whacked it, added pb and whacked it until it started to rotate. Keep spinning it until the axle feels loose. Now very gently use a chisel to seperate the right fork assem. from the face of the brake housing..remember it's alum and breakable and use a punch once in awhile to break that pin loose at the same time as seperating the fork from the brake assembly and use that punch on the nut end ....a little at a time until everthing brakes free.. Don't get in a hurry cause pb blaster takes awhile to penetrate and do it's job. ALSO 200es parts are very spendy. Alittle sanding and wire wheel takes most of the vise grip marks off the axle end.

[Scootertrash]

Kroil gentlemen, not PB Blaster. ;)

[efhondakid]

Air hammer. Buzzesthem right out, way better than beating it with a regular hammer.

[wonderboy]

Be prepared to just bite the bullet and get the sawzall out. There is a large surface area of metal that goes through the fork slider, just waiting to rust together. On mine, it was basically welded together.

The issue you will have hammering on the end of the bolt is that you will mushroom the end of the bolt (no matter how careful) and it will then be even more impossible to get it apart.

There is no oil in those forks. What you have is a small damper that looks like the lift strut from a car trunk lid. This is inside the fork. The nut on the bottom of each fork slider is what holds the sliders to the fork assembly. If you remove the two nuts (one from each slider) you can slide the fork sliders right off of the machine (both side, with the wheel and axle).

Once you get this all apart, get some anti-seize compound and use it liberally on all metal to metal contact surfaces. Make it part of your annual maintenance (as well as the engine mount bolts where they go through the engine lugs).

[ps2fixer]

Another pb blaster type of product is liquid wrench. WD-40 is water displacement, not the most ideal for breaking rusty bolts loose. Look for something that says penetrating fluid.

[mendoAu]

Might not of made myself clear about that axle. You put an old bolt on just to protect the threads and you don't mushroom the axle end if you use the right size punch and strike that axle without hitting the protective bolt, just the center of the axle. (you can even use a small drill bit and start a center punch hole in the threaded end of the axle. No way to mushroom anything. I'd spend a ton of time before saw-z-alling that axle. It will break free, give it time and patiently wait for whatever penetrating oil you use to do it's job.. Even tip the front end sideways to allow that oil to travel where it needs to get. One day to the left one day to the right...repeat repeat repeat.