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How to get dust seals off of forks..

Discussion in 'XJ Technical Chat' started by Chorca, Jun 14, 2009.

  1. Chorca

    Chorca Member

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    Well I'm tearing down the forks.. I got the top half of one apart, but the dust seal is proving to be extremely difficult to get off. I chipped away at the rubber as it had become as hard as a rock, and after that, I don't see any circlip. Does the dust seal have metal inside it or is it pure rubber that slides down inside the tube? It seems like someone glued the rubber to the metal or something as it is *not* coming off easy at all.
     
  2. gitbox

    gitbox Member

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    I had the same problem when I rebuilt my forks. Although the dust deal pried out easily, the oil seal was a real dog to get out. The clip was rusted in place so bad I had to bend it into a pretzel to remove it. Then I bought this cheapie seal puller tool from Autozone for about 8 bucks that I used to pry out the oil seal. Nothing else I tried worked.
     

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  3. Chorca

    Chorca Member

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    It ended up that I had to pound a screwdriver into between the lower fork and the seal to bend the metal that's inside the seal away, then pry it out with the screwdriver. Pics when I get my camera back!
     
  4. RickCoMatic

    RickCoMatic Well-Known Member

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    This is another Job where necessity can be the Mother of Invention.

    Sacrifice a Plastic Handled Screwdriver.
    (The Ugliest one you have, or one your Buddy left behind last time!"
    Take it to the Grinder.
    Grind that baby to a point ... quenching it when it gets red hot.
    Put a Needle Point on the thing and you have your New, ...
    Seal Removing Tool!

    Drive the Point down in between the Tube and Seal and get the Seal to collapse-in on itself.
    Pry out the Seal or Yank-Out with Locking Needle Nosed Vice Grips.
    Tape-up the Top of the fork so as not to mark it all up getting nasty pulling the remains of the Old Seal.

    Use for Line-up Tool
    Seat Prop
    Ice Pick
    Driving a hole in an Automotive Oil Filter to Drain Filter prior to removal.
     
  5. Chorca

    Chorca Member

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    I suppose my next question is: What size of spark plug wrench is used to hold onto the end of the dampening rod? All the posts i've seen on the forum here just say to use "a spark plug socket", but there are many different sizes of spark plug socket.. I have two, a 5/8" and the one for the spark plugs on the bike which is larger.. the 5/8" will not fit down in past the second tube in the fork to reach the bottom.. any ideas?
     
  6. gitbox

    gitbox Member

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    I used a 13/16" spark plug socket with a 3/4" nut on top (translates to 19mm) with a couple 3/8" extensions. You just stick one of the extentions into the plug hole of the socket and voila, you have a special Yamaha fork service tool.
     
  7. Chorca

    Chorca Member

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    Alright.. my 13/16" socket does not have a 19mm outer nut, it's much larger. My 5/8" does have a 19mm outer nut, but it just spins in the tube. I looked down inside with my flashlight and such, but there aren't any sort of flats on it.. the tube is just perfectly round inside. It doesn't look like there's anything for it to set into.
     
  8. BlackMax

    BlackMax Member

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    i'm trying the same thing with the extentions but not sure how its supposed to hold anything with the extention in a round spark plug hole?
     
  9. Chorca

    Chorca Member

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    Max, the object is to push the extension's square end through the plug from the opposite side until it clicks into place. Basically you're plugging the spark plug socket in "backwards".

    You may need to remove the rubber ring inside the spark plug socket that holds onto the plug before you can fit the extension down inside.


    The issue i'm having is that there's supposed to be some sort of large hex socket on the inside of the fork, but i'm not seeing one and my tool just spins inside.. Are there any forks that don't have that? Are my forks missing something? I ask because i suspect the bike was in an accident at one time, and i'm not sure these are the original forks.
     
  10. BlackMax

    BlackMax Member

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    all my spark plug sockets have a metal shoulder that prevents me from going all the way through.I thought mine was a smooth bore also but as i looked further there is a black ring so to speak,that will accept a 19mm socket.I noticed on my car jack that it is a 19mm bolt to wind up the car and also has a 3/8 drive.but i can't remove that either!!
     
  11. CaptNemo

    CaptNemo Member

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    The top of the compression cylinder in my 81 seca didn't have the recess to accept an inverted socket or tool, it is completely round.

    [​IMG]

    Someone mentioned a long wooden dowel tapered at the end as a holder but it was not an issue for me since someone had rounded off the hex portion in the cap screws and I had to drill them out from the bottom :( everything is turning out well though, good luck.
     
  12. Chorca

    Chorca Member

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    HMMM. Perhaps the front forks are from an '81 as well then...

    The instrument cluster had a paint-pen "'81 750 Seca" on it, meaning it was from a junkyard of some sort.. I can only assume whoever rebuilt the front end used other parts from the same bike, maybe..
     
  13. CaptNemo

    CaptNemo Member

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    I believe all the 750 secas are basically the same, except the none black engine on the 81 but I could be wrong. I'm not familiar with the subtle differences but I think those could be the original forks on yours still.
     
  14. BlackMax

    BlackMax Member

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    ok i made a tool that i hope will work to release the dampner rod,I took a 5/8 bolt and put 2 5/8 nuts on it with permanent loctite. I will give it a whirl later today and will post the results....
     
  15. bigfitz52

    bigfitz52 Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    You'll need the flipped-over socket or some other form of 3/4" or 19mm hex on the end for the 550. The 750s are different.
     
  16. BlackMax

    BlackMax Member

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    Hey that tool I made works GREAT!! Now i have to clean the sludge that used to be fork oil out with some brake cleaner.I am replacing the wire retaining rings(rusted to hell) with some new snap rings.They look ALOT stronger and should hold forever.
     

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