Separating forks?
Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 8:06 pm
How do you do yours? I've got the dust seals off & the circlips out but the bolts just spin not matter how much pressure I exert on the stanchions?? Any help much appreciated ta.
Are you trying to get the bolts out of the bottom? If so, it's easier to leave the springs, spacers and forks caps on there when you initially loosen them. Then, once they've started moving, take off the caps, and drop out the springs, spacers, and oil. Then (and this is easier to do than to explain) - use one hand to keep the pressure on the forks keeping them fully extended, and the other to spin out the bolt. Keeping the forks extended means that the stanchion is pulling up against the damper rod, which helps to prevent it from turning.
You can just leave the caps/springs/spacers in place and remove the bolts completely to remove the need for all the one-hand stuff. The downside here is that as soon as the bolt comes out, so does all the oil! Again, you can get around this by holding the forks upside down while you take the bolts out, then turn them right way up in a bucket (careful of the washers - they will probably come out with the oil, rather than on the bolt) while you take the caps off.
If this doesn't work, you can shove a broom handle or similar down into the top of the damper rod to stop it turning. Or if you want to be posh, you can make up a proper tool with a large nut on the end of a bit of bar that fits into the top of the damper, again, to stop it turning.