Front Fork Axle Retaining Studs

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jeffw

Member
Nov 27, 2001
172
0
New Bike, Front Axle Retaining Studs

I was going over my new KDX 200 and broke one of the right front fork axle retaining studs. I mean I just touched it with a short handled 3/8" ratchet to see if it was tight and it snapped. Yikes!!! Brand new bike! Examining the stud showed it was oxidized to a dark silver over most of the break indicating it was broke before I checked it.

I loaded it up and ran to the dealer. The mechanic took the other three nuts off and said all four studs were stretched from overtightening. I grabbed one of the nuts and rethreaded it by hand without the axle or plate and it went about halfway before hitting the "good" threads and became hard to turn.

I thought, OK, no problem, just put in four new studs and I'll be on my way. They ordered a whole new fork leg since the studs aren't sold separately!. Good thing this bike has a warranty or I would have been on my own hunting for the right size studs.

Somebody must have got on those things with an air gun. They said at the factory, but I wonder. I'm just glad I checked the bike before I left the ground with two wheels and came down with one:D

Has this happened to anyone else? A very dangerous defect if this is happening at the factory.
 
Last edited:
T

Tantrum

Member
Dec 4, 2001
197
0
I didn't have one break on me yet, but I did have one of the studs thread out of the fork leg when I went to take them off. I always put blue locktite on vital areas, the blue locktite is the weakest kind that when applied can be taken off with normal hand tools. Maybe I shouldn't have done that??:think
Oh well. If you break another one you will have no problem finding studs to fit. The problem might be getting the old one out! :D

B.
 

KelvinKDX

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Aug 25, 2000
1,622
0
Sounds pretty extreme to be ordering a new fork assembly for stud replacement. I have some of those studs left over from a fork leg that i had to replace. I guess i will hold on to the studs if they are that hard to find. If anyone needs them - i am your source. ;)
 
S

Sage

dirtbike riding roadracer
Mar 28, 2001
621
0
This may be to simple for most people, but just put a 6*1 bolt of the proper lenght in the hole after you pull/drill/??? the old stud out. much cheaper than a new leg!

sounds like that dealer was shooting for some kawasaki money??
 
J

jeffw

Member
Nov 27, 2001
172
0
Sage, no kidding its extreme. I just went out to www.buykawasaki.com and checked the fork parts diagram and the studs aren't even shown. The nuts are but not the studs.

It really doesn't matter to me if the dealer makes a little money off Kawasaki. I sure don't want to go looking for the right right size studs or driling and tapping a fork leg on a bike that doesn't even have 10 minutes on it.
I mean, this is the kind of thing I wanted to avoid by buying a new bike.

Not that I don't know how to turn a wrench, I've had five bikes before, all used, and the last being a 79 YZ 125. I had these growing up or at a time when I had little or no money so I know how to make due. I just wanted to get back into off-road riding with a new bike and maybe fewer maintenance problems, right off the bat anyway...
 
C

canyncarvr

~SPONSOR~
Oct 14, 1999
4,005
0
Warranty/dealer work

You cannot replace parts on an assembly..an assembly in this case being the lowest broken-down (parts-wise) piece of anything.

If the dealer replaced the stud (even if they are available at the hardware store next door) and that piece is not a call-out in the parts diagram, his liability would be huge!!

Doesn't mean that next time you break one YOU can't do it yourself...use a bolt instead or whatever.

btw, I wouldn't want bolts in that position. The front wheel is removed fairly often...bearing maintenance, flat fixes, tire r/r etc. Messing with the fork tube itself by repeatedly installing/removing a bolt is something I'd want to stay away from. I'd much prefer looking for a replacement stud over looking for a replacement fork tube!

Speaking of new bike prep..you've taken the suspension apart and greased everything? Also the steering stem?

Do it now, do it later. Cost for bearings and associated parts on the shock link is $240, btw. The bearings for the steering stem are around $60..and you might have a good deal of fun getting the bottom bearing off.

Point is, do it now!
 
K

KDX220rm

Uhhh...
Jun 3, 2002
781
0
My local dealership was able to order me studs when I broke two off my 97 KDX220. Also if you go to a NAPA or O'Reilly Auto parts, they have threaded stud bolts available in their bolt selections.
 
P

pursang262

~SPONSOR~
Jul 22, 2000
184
0
I work in a Kawasaki/Yamaha dealership, and Kawasaki sent out a buletin a couple years ago with that info. I was riding a KDX at the time so I kept the part # written down. Happy to help.
 
C

Clutch

Member
Jul 7, 1999
76
0
Does anybody know the size and thread pitch of the fork studs? I just snapped one of mine tonight. Iif I go to Napa and try to find it among their studs, do you think they'll have the right size and pitch? I want to be able to say "I'm looking for an M5 1.25 pitch stud" blah blah blah. I suppose I could just take one of the nuts with me and try to screw it on all the different metric studs. I'll buy it from Kawasaki as a last resort if I can't find it at Napa. What do I need to get the old stud out? Just a screw extractor, or an EZ-Out? Does NAPA sell this stuff too?

Sorry, I am just inexperienced with these types of things.
 
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BKWoosley

Member
Nov 5, 2001
12
0
I did this same thing right after I bought my '95 KDX. The closest dealer is too far away and never has any parts anyway and I had a big ride the next day. When mine broke the head was just long enough to grab with a pair of vise grips. I measured the depth of the hole, went to the local hardware store, bought some stainless bolts the right length and have never had another problem. It's lasted at least five years this way and I don't have to worry about finding those darn studs. Just be careful not ot over torque the bolts and strip out the threads on your forks.
 
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Clutch

Member
Jul 7, 1999
76
0
Thanks, I took some Vise-Grips and carefully unscrewed the broken stud, as well as the other 3, because I figured they were stretched, as someone mentioned, and they did look a little messed up. So now when I go to the hardware store, I look for M6 X 1 studs? Or 6 X 1 studs? What about the nuts, if I want to replace those too? 10mm X 1 nuts? Another question is, I damaged the threads while I clamped on them with the Vise Grips. I knew this was going to happen, because I am going to replace them anyway, but how do I install and tighten the new studs without having to clamp on them? Should I put anti-seize lube on the new studs when I install them, or use loc-tite? Thanks.
 
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canyncarvr

~SPONSOR~
Oct 14, 1999
4,005
0
clutch:

Couple of 'imo' items..

Stainless steel and aluminum don't get along well together. If you used stainless bolts, for the sake of the life of the fork, you'd best be using some antiseize. BTW, ask about the PROPER product for the metals you're using. In an earlier thread, someone had mentioned needing to use the GOLD colored material vs: the SILVER if the problem is stainless-to-aluminum. At least ask the parts guy the question.

re: how to put studs in. Use two nuts jammed against each other to install the stud. That way there is no force on the stud when the nuts are removed, unlike the situation of using a single nut jammed against the thread-end of the protruding stud.

re: loctite or antiseize. You don't want the studs coming out..but you don't want them stuck forever, either. Loctite blue would be my choice. Use red, and you'll likely be sorry.

re: what about the nuts? Easy enough once you have the right stud to just get the ones that fit, isn't it? I'm not up-to-speed on metric pitches/sizes. I'd be much more comfortable making sure I got something that I knew just fit together!

Another btw..you could have taken the unbroken studs OUT using a two-nut method, too. Much easier than dealing with the off-axis torque that's sure to happen with a pair of pliers.

Good luck
 
C

Clutch

Member
Jul 7, 1999
76
0
Problem solved!

Thanks everyone for the help. Today I went to Home Depot...they only had standard sizes, little if any of it was metric, and no studs at all, only bolts. Then I went to NAPA, and I found the right 6 * 1 mm bolts, but not the right studs. Actually I found the right studs, but they were a little too long and weren't threaded in the right place, so I couldn't use them. Then I went to Ace Hardware and the guy helped me find exactly the right metric studs, almost the exact same length and with the same length threads, so I snapped up all 6 of them that were left. These were $1.99 apiece, which isn't cheap, but hey, it's still stickin' it to the man (Kawasaki). I wonder what Kawasaki would charge for each stud?

When I got home, I used the two-nut trick to tighten the studs without having to clamp on them with Vise-Grips. Before inserting them I slathered anti-seize all over them, and they all went in very smoothly. Then I put the metal piece with the 4 holes over the studs, and put a little bit of blue LocTite on each nut, and tightened them down to 7.5 ft/lbs, instead of 87 ft/lbs like last time, haha! So problem solved, and it looks factory, instead of half-@ss. It was really important to me to keep the factory look, because using cobbled together fasteners is what first makes a bike start to look ratty. Thanks for the help everybody, I am confident in my mechanical abilities again, and not embarassed anymore, since I see other people have snapped these studs too. I was able to do it for $8, which I bet Kawasaki charges $8 just for one stud, if not more. I will be going back to Ace, I am pleased that they stocked the metric stuff, so they get my business now.

Brian
95 KDX 200
 
E

eldrm

~SPONSOR~
Nov 3, 2000
104
0
thanks Sage,after a trip to the hardware where no such studs existed,i did a search,bolts,duh,saved my afternoon ridin.Sometimes the obvious is just too.......obvious
 
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RJ-KDX

~SPONSOR~
Aug 12, 2002
258
0
JMO...Those bikes don't come assembled from the factory. They come in a box with all the major parts put together. Then the wonderful guys at the moto shop open them up and put them together. Don't believe me, next time you're at the moto shop look out back and you'll see several large boxes stacked up inside a large fence. Seems that someone wasn't paying attention when the instructor was explaning about torque and ft-lbs. in moto mechanic school. HHhhhmmmm..........

JMO...... :eek: :confused: :eek:
 
C

corpblues

Member
Jan 1, 2004
60
0
Can you imagine someone actually breaking off this stud? I mean who would over tighen such a small nut to the point of breaking it off.

Hum wonder why I was searching on this topic? Glad it was here. ;>)
 
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canyncarvr

~SPONSOR~
Oct 14, 1999
4,005
0
Can you imagine someone actually breaking off this stud?
Click to expand...

Well...yeah. Happens quite a bit. It's not only a matter of a 1/2", 20" long handled drive or godzilla doing the twisting, though. Repeated/many removals of the front wheel will stretch the thing, too.

Good thing (for the sake of posterity and general knowledge I'm sure) that you now know about it! ;)
 

ReubenL

Member
Nov 27, 2005
36
0
just a thought... did you get the antiseize and loctite reversed?

Clutch said:
. I slathered anti-seize all over them, ----Then I put the metal piece with the 4 holes over the studs, and put a little bit of blue LocTite on each nut
Click to expand...
it just seems to me that you'd want a mild (blue) threadlocking compound on the stud (as most studs do) where it seats, and probably nothing at all on the fastening nuts... otherwise, the next time you remove the nuts- the stud's going to come out with it. this would negate one or two of the reasons to have a stud...
one reason: to have the 'wear' from repeated loosening/tightening NOT be on the fragile aluminum casting , but on the hardened steel stud/nut. 'nother reason: the stud can be seated all the way down to the very bottom of the threaded bore- thereby ensuring that all possible threads are engaged. this is much harder to do with a bolt (or a stud that's pulled out w/the nut), esp. in this situation, as usually the upper two studs get tightened 'til the cap is seated, and the lower two studs get tightened afterwards.. (look for an arrow that points up on the cap). this means that you'd probably have 2 different-length bolts for the upper vs. lower position. I'd say: don't use bolts at all- if you have trouble finding the right stud, find fully-threaded metric bolts that're too long, and cut to length... sorry for the ramble!
 
2

2-strokes-4-life

Member
Mar 1, 2005
231
0
i have a 1990 kx125 and one of my studs is snapped off. does anyone know if the stud size is the same for mine as it is on the kdx?same thing for me though,kawasaki doesnt offer the studs as replacement parts,only the nuts.
 
G

glad2ride

Member
Jul 4, 2005
1,071
1
Hi. What is the diameter of the stud? What is the thread pitch? If it is 6mm x 1mm, then measure one of the remaining studs to determine the distance that it protrudes from the hole. Buy one (or more) studs:

172G06xx

with xx being the length in mm that sticks out from the hole. The (22) in the 172G0622 mentioned earlier in this thread is not the total length of the stud, but again, the length protruding from the hole.

They sell a few different ones. If all else fails, buy one that is too long, then cut it to length. Oh, and before you even think about it, if the other 7 lasted this long ( '90 KX boys, KX, not '95+ KDX), no need to worry about buying a generic and making it fit, just get the real deal (and an inches - foot pounds torque wrench if need be).
 
8

80elkster

Member
Feb 4, 2005
45
0
This happened to me too!!!!!

I was helping my son put a new front tire on his 2005 and sure enough he snapped off two of the studs and we were using a proper inch-lb (N-M) torque wrench. We went ahead and removed all four studs and they had all necked down indicating that they had been stretched. We replaced the studs with proper length bolts since it was late and we were going riding in the morning. We will replace them with new studs later.
Worst thing is, had the studs broke while he was riding the results could have been deadly.
I suggest that any one who hasn't taken a close look at these studs go ahead do it immediately and replace them ASAP. :yikes:
 
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