HELP PLEASE! replaced fork seals and now...

[weasel01]

Greetings all!
I just replaced the seals on my fork sliders on my 1983 R65. And now i'm trying to reassemble but the slider bolts (up through the bottom) wont tighten into the absorber rod because the rod is turning inside with the bolt?
I thought maybe the top end (of the internal rod) would have a nut that I could hold from the tops of the forks but those covers (where the fork oil is filled) spin in place as if they are threadless?
I have looked for my Clymer manual but cant find it and I have looked all over the internet with no luck.....  

[Bob_Roller]

You need to get a 13 mm socket from the top side to hold the damper, to get the bottom bolt tightened up .

You'll need a long extension, I think 24 inches long should do it.

[weasel01]

Thanks Bob! I had a feeling it was something like that ....my problem now is how are the caps at the top of the forks removed/replaced?
I can pull the oil hole plug with no problem but the cap the plug sits in just turns? Am I not seeing something?

[Bob_Roller]

You need to depress the plug on top and push it down half an inch or so, and you will see a wire circlip, that clip needs to come out, and then the top plug will come out and you can remove the spring inside, and get your socket and extension in there to get things tightened up .

There is an o-ring on the plug, check it for condition, it may need replacing .

[ukzknos]

According to Haynes if you depress the damper and hold it under load it should lock enough so you can tighten the bolt.

[weasel01]

Thank you gentlemen!
I am on my way to the garage now ...will try the the compression method
first then if no luck will dig deeper with the 13mm/24" extension method.

One other question the amount of crud in the bottom of the slider was scary solid 1/4" of gritty black stuff...is this road dirt mixing with oil getting compressed or is this a seal of some sort decayed in place?

[Bob_Roller]

I'm not sure how it gets in there, or what it is comprised of, but the two times that I've taken the forks apart, for seal replacement, it's always in there.

Just in case the manual you are using may not state this, but the usual volume of oil for the fork is 190 ml, that is for just draining and replacing the fluid, for a fork 'tear down' , add about 20-30 ml. extra oil .

Standard BMW fork oil for our bikes, is 7.5 wt.

[weasel01]

Well the compression method was a no-go even fully compressed it had a more snug feel but still turns and I cant torque to spec.

I moved on to method 2 but was stopped at the circlip...whats the trick there?

Thanks in advance!

[Justin B.]

Just smack it with a hammer and screwdriver - it'll rotate out of it's groove then grab it with some pliers...

[weasel01]

Whats the best spot to smack it at?
in the groove in the gap pushing it around or from the side?
never done this sorry

[weasel01]

Nevermind I got it!
The top of the groove is at a right angle but the bottom lip of the groove has a ramp so it will pop out down but not up.
I used a box clamp to depress the spring retainer cap and then a small screwdriver to pop it down and then out.
The first took 20 minutes and the second took 20 seconds.

[Bob_Roller]

I've used a 'scratch awl' or a cotter pin puller, you may need to get something that comes to  a point to get under the clip.

Try prying on it at one of the ends.

This is one of the not so good features of the R65 .

I devised a method a few years ago, to get the clip off.

I used a three jaw puller, turned the jaws around to where they pointed away from each other, wrapped the fork tube with a part of an old inner tube ( this was done with the forks off of the bike), secured the puller to the fork tube with worm gear clamps, tightened the clamps, and used the threaded part of the puller , to push down on the plug, then you don't have to fight the spring tension, while trying to extract the circlip .

[weasel01]

With new crush washers on my fork slider bolts do I want to stay on the low side of the torque range 22ft/lbs or the middle say 26 ft/lbs?
Just curious.

[montmil]

With new crush washers on my fork slider bolts do I want to stay on the low side of the torque range 22ft/lbs or the middle say 26 ft/lbs?
Just curious.

The small. steel bolt will easily strip the aluminum threads in the lowers! Forget torque wrenches with these small bolts. Simply snug them up by hand using a very short wrench. New washers would be nice, too.

We all get a bit sludgy       Monte

[weasel01]

GREAT! I ended up with 24ft/lbs of torque on the slider bolts. Got it all back together the front end feels like it should again and I owe it all to you guys!
Thanks-a-million!!