Damper adjust bolt wont come out

[Scoob]

I have a 1991 CR125. I am trying to change the fork seals because one of them leaks. I took one of my forks off the bike and took off the end cap, unscrewed the endcap from the damper rod, took the spring out, and drained the oil. I clamped the fork slider in the vise and attempted to remove the damper adjust bolt on the bottom of the fork. With alot of force the bolt will turn, but it will not come out. Also when I turn the bolt it's like something is getting stripped/chewed/wrecked because little flakes or "strands" of what looks like copper come out from around the head of the bolt. Should I just keep turning the bolt and it will come out or is there something wrong here??
Or better yet, can someone explain how to remove the damper rod and fork slider from the fork tube?

 

[mxneagle]

Dont continue turning it!

You need a cartridge holder tool. I've made several out of steel or aluminum tubing. Look down into the fork tube and you will see the top of the cartridge with a bunch of cutouts in it. Get a piece of tubing the correct diameter and cut the end to fit into the cutouts. Make sure the tube is long enough to extend above the damper rod. Drill a hole thru it on the top and used a long screw driver as a handle if you dont have a piece of drill rod. It can be a bit tough since you really cant measure any thing untill you get it apart.

Another possibility is to use an impact gun to loosen it, but since it's already been turn enough to tear up the copper washer, my guess is that it wont work.

 

[Scoob]

I got some help from the ol' man and he suggested the impact gun method... worked like a charm...

However now I cannot get the damper rod off of (out of?) the fork slider, and I cannot get the fork slider out of the fork tube. My manual says there is a slight interference fit between the fork tube bushing and the fork slider bushing, and to kind of pull it out like a slide hammer... but I dont know if I have to remove the damper rod before I remove the fork slider from the fork tube...

it all looks easy when you read it in the manual, and nothing seems to go as smooth as it does in the manual either.

 

[mxneagle]

Once the compression bolt is removed from the cartridge tube, the whole cartridge (damper rod and all should come out easily thru the upper fork tube.

To take the upper and lower tubes apart, slide the dust seal up the fork tube and then remove the spring clip in the outer tube. Then just pull the tubes apart like a slide hammer to pull the bushing out. It may take several wraps to get it. Dont do this in a vise. Hold one tube in each hand otherwise you'll probably go for a trip.

Another tip on using the air gun. Do it with the spring cap on and push down on the fork to compress the spring while using the air gun. This seats the cartridge tube into the lower fork leg and helps to prevent it from spinning.

 

[Scoob]

It was fairly easy to do, actually. I know the other fork leg wont take nearly as long. Thanks for the info and tips.

I noticed when I had my fork apart that my bushings are worn so that copper is showing. My manual says its time to replace them, but how critical is it really? I wonder what new bushings cost?

 

[John Curea]

Scoob
Another tip is to heat the area of the upper fork tube where the outer bushing lives. This expands the outer tube and lets the bushing slide out alot easier, just be careful with the heat, just hot enough where you cant touch should be fine.

The outer bushing (the larger one) will only have teflon material on the inside, exposed copper on the outside is normal. The inner bushing(the smaller one) will only have the teflon material on the outside.

I hope this helps.
Take care, John