Fozzy Bear

I have installed Racetech gold valves in the forks and followed the procedure to the letter (applied Loctite 247 to the lower bolt) . For some forgotten reason, I tried to dismantle one fork after installation but found the damper rod was spinning when I tried to remove the bottom allen head bolt.
Is there some special tool or technique to hold it in position so I can dismantle the forks?
I hit a HUGE bump in the road the other day and now have a slight weep in the left fork so it's time for new seals.

Unless there is a way to replace the seals without dismantling the forks, I am a bit stumped.

Tweety

Well, it's usually a PITA to get that bolt out... The first thing to know... Start by using an inpact wrench, and do it with the fork still on the bike, fully assembled... That usually keeps it from spinning on you... Usually... If not, it's drilling time...

Second... No loctite is needed, it just adds to the PITA disassembly next time... Seriously, where is that bolt going to go?

With the full fork assembled, it sits in a recess above the wheel axle... Even if it should manage to work itself loose, it's not going to be able to fall off, or even work the full thread out, so at worst it will cause a slow leak that you really should catch on pre-ride inspection... It's not even going to be able to cause any collateral damage, since the wheel axle is stationary and clamped, so it's not hitting any moving parts...

Fozzy Bear

Dead right there Tweety. I wanted to do exactly what they and others said, so I blindly followed instructions. Haven't attempted the dismantling yet, maybe a bit of heat from a hot air gun will assist.
Definitely won't be using Loctite again.

Gregw

What type of forks do you have? I had the same problem with my CBR1000 forks. The cartridge spun trying to get the bolt back in also. I had to make a tool (not hard) to hold the cartridge while I tightened the bolt. If you want dimensions for the tool, let me know.

Fozzy Bear

Standard forks with Gold compression valves

JamieDaugherty

Personally, I never use that tool. I've found that more often than not it's the compression valve holder that is spinning in the cartridge that is the problem. You can pull out on the damping rod and hold the cartridge still, so those holders don't normally help. What I always do is just drill the bolt out. A Ø8mm drill bit and a good drill is what you need. A little elbow greese and away you go. Those bolts are cheap and I'm too impatient!

Gregw

Well I just compared the tool with my old forks and it won't work. No surprize really, but my tool dimensions wouldn't help you. Sorry.

Gregw

For me with the CBR forks, trying to drill the bolt just spun the bolt. I tried some bent needlenose pliers to grasp the bolt head but I just couldn't get a good bite.

RCVTR

That tool works well for showa USD forks. I made one for my RC51 fork. I use an impact wrench to remove the bottom bolt to disassemble the fork. I needed the tool to disassemble the cartridge itself, when I shortened the topout springs on my SP2 fork.