TwoLeftThumbs
New Member
New to the forum, but really need some help.
The wife's little thumper needed new fork seals. When I went to pull the forks I noticed that some previous owner had stripped the head of the phillips screws (that's right...not allen bolt, phillips screws) in the bottom of the fork boot that were holding the fork boot onto the tube. Or so I thought.
After drilling out the screw to the point where the head snapped off, I pulled the fork tube out, and realized it wasn't attached at the bottom....to anything. Just a hole. But I heard a rattling in the fork boot and when I turned it upside down this fell out:
You can see where I had to further drill the now broken screw out of the bottom, but that little conical guide seemed to serve no purpose other than to center the fork tube and the now destroyed screw at the bottom just snugged it up against the bottom of the boot to hold in the fork oil.
Am I nuts here, guys? Is that fork tube REALLY designed not to be attached to the boot? Is it really held in there by only the snap ring at the top that holds the seal down?
Further, now what do I do? Those screws didn't come out without a fight and I'm afraid I've misaligned the hole at the bottom of these little conehead things. I can't find the part listed ANYWHERE on the OEM parts guides. Did they originally come "permanently" attached to the boots? Was I not supposed to take them off?
Really need some guidance here guys. HELP!
The wife's little thumper needed new fork seals. When I went to pull the forks I noticed that some previous owner had stripped the head of the phillips screws (that's right...not allen bolt, phillips screws) in the bottom of the fork boot that were holding the fork boot onto the tube. Or so I thought.
After drilling out the screw to the point where the head snapped off, I pulled the fork tube out, and realized it wasn't attached at the bottom....to anything. Just a hole. But I heard a rattling in the fork boot and when I turned it upside down this fell out:
You can see where I had to further drill the now broken screw out of the bottom, but that little conical guide seemed to serve no purpose other than to center the fork tube and the now destroyed screw at the bottom just snugged it up against the bottom of the boot to hold in the fork oil.
Am I nuts here, guys? Is that fork tube REALLY designed not to be attached to the boot? Is it really held in there by only the snap ring at the top that holds the seal down?
Further, now what do I do? Those screws didn't come out without a fight and I'm afraid I've misaligned the hole at the bottom of these little conehead things. I can't find the part listed ANYWHERE on the OEM parts guides. Did they originally come "permanently" attached to the boots? Was I not supposed to take them off?
Really need some guidance here guys. HELP!