Fork rebuild / overhaul help please

[Transam]

Thanks Sven,
Oh and Danny I think I'll pass on earning that award. :biglaugh:

The early forks need a 24mm outer diameter nut- which is called "M16" here in the UK (the inner diameter and the thread size being 16mm)

 

[SvenDGAF]

Ok, finally got my **** together and built the damper retaining tool, here are some details and pics to make it (for those without welding facilities)

Hopefully this will help someone......

24" long 1/2" drive extension bar
1/2" drive ratchet handle / torque type wrench
Yamaha Part YM-01328 - this is expensive - $40 USD - but is worth the money, as it has a square internal (Edit - it's 3/8" square drive size)
Drive Size conversion peice (1/2" female to 3/8" male) for extension bar to YM-01328


​

 

[Heretic]

$40 USD for a 24mm nut with a 3/8 inch square hole through the middle? :ummm: Damn, how about a 2ft 3/8 extension with a 24mm nut welded to it? Cost less than 10 USD, even paying a shop to do the welding.

 

[Transam]

24 inch all thread double nuts on each end. Cost about
$8 and you dont have to ruin an extension. Picked this
tip from Maleko.
Chris

 

[82ndCowboy]

You guys are lucky.
New forks don't have anything in the dampening rod.

 

[SvenDGAF]

24 inch all thread double nuts on each end. Cost about
$8 and you dont have to ruin an extension. Picked this
tip from Maleko.
Chris

First - i didn't ruin an extension - the yam. part slots on and off easily

Second - If you'd read this thread you'd realise that double threading nuts DOESN'T work (in my case - very tight) .... it just undoes the nuts before the dapmer rod bolt comes undone

Third - MY METHOD DONE THE JOB - no ******* about -no glitches - no problems - no worries

 

[gamorg02]

whats 'new'? the 43mm?

 

[SvenDGAF]

You guys are lucky.
New forks don't have anything in the dampening rod.

WTF .......
that blows and sucks at the same time!!!!!!!!

 

[SvenDGAF]

$40 USD for a 24mm nut with a 3/8 inch square hole through the middle? :ummm: Damn, how about a 2ft 3/8 extension with a 24mm nut welded to it? Cost less than 10 USD, even paying a shop to do the welding.

Come to the UK and try to get a shop to welding anything for less than ?30 GBP!!

 

[SvenDGAF]

whats 'new'? the 43mm?

i'm guessing it's the 09 VMAX forks

?

 

[dannymax]

Sven-Was the bottom hex bolt corroded, or any other indication why it was so difficult to remove?

I'm trying to figure out why it would be so tight that it even turned the double nutted threaded rod.

 

[82ndCowboy]

i'm guessing it's the 09 VMAX forks

?

No, they are the 43's on my 06 Max.

 

[Transam]

1. I wasn't replying to you as Heretic was talking about welding
a nut on the end off a 24inch extension.

2. Im capable of reading the thread thank you.

3. How do you rate building a damper tool, when you
bought the Yamaha tool and slide it on your extension.

First - i didn't ruin an extension - the yam. part slots on and off easily

Second - If you'd read this thread you'd realise that double threading nuts DOESN'T work (in my case - very tight) .... it just undoes the nuts before the dapmer rod bolt comes undone

Third - MY METHOD DONE THE JOB - no ******* about -no glitches - no problems - no worries

 

[[email protected]]

No, they are the 43's on my 06 Max.

So I guess you better hope an impact wrench will take out the bolt in the bottom of the forks if there's nothing to grab on to. Do you do a post with any pics of your front end work?

 

[dannymax]

S'pose a giant Ezy-Out would work but the thought of it gives me the willies!!

Why on earth would Yamannama change a design that's been in production for around 20 years (I don't know exactly what year they made this change)? :confused2:

It doesn't make sense, re-tool a few short years before the bike goes out of production? :ummm:

Weird!!

 

[SvenDGAF]

3. How do you rate building a damper tool, when you
bought the Yamaha tool and slide it on your extension.

I think that anyone who can weld / has access to a welder is best off welding the right nut/bolt on/in tube or bar... but after buying the yam part, the rest was easy, and I also invested in a proper seal driver too, so future seal charnges will be breeze now unk:

I am happy with my constructed damper holder, and was passing on the update for the benefit of everyone who had been helping me, as well as trying to assist anyone also in my position. I hope it has :biglaugh:

 

[SvenDGAF]

Sven-Was the bottom hex bolt corroded, or any other indication why it was so difficult to remove?

I'm trying to figure out why it would be so tight that it even turned the double nutted threaded rod.

Dunno, it all looked good to me. It was slightly annoying how easily it went in the end. It was v.tight, but came apart in the end. Not too worried, now I can actually do it. Damper rod tool all the way for me :eusa_dance:

Ps. lost a retaining clip during the job, so will have to replace that now. Doh! other than that, a success :bang head:

 

[yukonerdave]

Wow I'm glad I found this thread - saves me from asking all the same questions! I'm off to Lowes tomorrow to get what I need for a rod holding tool, and I emailed Sean for a price on OEM seals, dust seals, and the sealing washers for the damper rod bolts. Found a set of Progressive 11-1129 front springs for $67 shipped - those are the right ones, right? Anything else I need? Should I have Sean include anything else for the seals?

 

[Nicki66]

Dave, I would also get new clips that hold in the oil seal.

 

[yukonerdave]

New clips - great. Thanks Kevin. OK I've got a weird problem. I managed to loosen the bottom damper rod bolt but I'm not able to remove it - its loose and I spun it all the way out but the head is still recessed into the slider and it won't fall out. Maybe it is stuck on the sealing washer? I tried banging the whole fork against some wood to try to make it drop, but it won't budge. Also, I'm not able to get the damper rod out of the top of the fork tube either. The first one just dropped once the bolt was out and I banged it a little on some wood, but this one ain't coming out. Question: can I remove the seals and pull the fork tube from the slider without first removing the damper rod? That might give me a chance to see why the bolt won't come out. I don't want to try hammer-sliding the tube if that's just gonna screw something up. Also, the bolt on this one was VERY stubborn. I had to use a big 4 foot extension on my ratchet to loosen it (electric impact did nothing). Now I'm worried that I snapped something. Any ideas?