Fork problems

David Toll

Reliving my youth?
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I had some difficulty removing the sealing washer from under the Allen key at the bottom of my right hand fork. Foolishly I used heat and a small screwdriver to tap it out, unhappily creating a divot in the surface beneath. I fear this will allow a leak from the bottom of the fork.
Should I fill the divot with JB and smooth it down or glue a sandpaper disc to the bottom of a 15mm section of dowel and hand sand the entire circular surface down flush? I believe that the divot is only about 1mm deep so I don't think the Allen bolt will bottom out before it tightens sufficiently to avoid a leak
 

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It is in the right hand fork. That circular surface sits about 11/2" - 2" down. The 15mm dowel is a snug fit. By rotating the emery paper by hand on the end of the dowel, I should avoid an uneven final surface. If you mean the nick itself, it is about 1mm deep.
 
Either way would work David. Consider though... JB Weld would require the same 15mm sanding disk as just sanding it out initially. Prolly your best bet is to JB Weld, then sand it down 'till your satisfied. Whether that means completely removing all the JB Weld or leaving some in there is up to whenever your arms give out... or it's beer-thirty. ;)
 
Thanks bos. I also considered taking it to a shop and getting it lathed out but there is very little material that needs to be removed. I'll go with the JB/sand repair I think.
Cheers
 
The prepared tools (pic 1). Short one with 80 grit for my hand drill (pic 2). Long one with 360 grit for hand turning (pic 3). You can't get 15mm dowel at Bunnings, (our HF), so I sanded the timber down to fit. Had to make the shorter piece fit the drill without wobble - hardest part of the job. Finally, (pic 4), the lower fork after a night filled with fluid. No sign of leak. I know things might be different under rebound pressure but, for the moment, I am happy to rebuild them. Thanks for the advice friends.
p.s. don't forget to replace the drain plug before you fill the forks - gave me quite a shock when it all dumped on the floor straight away. A WTF moment.
Cheers
 

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Not as long as I would have thought. Took it down with the 80 and spent some time touching it up with the 360. Punched the discs out with a piece of 15mm (ID) aluminium tubing with a chamfered edge. That stubby is for aesthetic photographic affect only, designed to fill the background!
Having a bit of trouble deciding which way these new seals go in. I am assuming printed side up like the old ones? That would would make pic 2 the down side, (old seal is on the bottom in each case).
 

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Un fait accompli! Looking good and no leaks. First 20 miles will tell I suppose. They seem to catch on the lip of the top tree as I slide them up. I will loosen the stem nut and central tree bolt and see if I can move the top tree to align them a little better.
Cheers
 

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