Fork Tube Removal Tricks?

I recently bought a Commando that had been subjected to some 70's chopper abuse. Part of this involved someone fitting something like 6" over stanchions. Since then, it's clearly spent a long time sitting around doing nothing. I'm now trying to resurrect it, but try as I might, the forks don't want to come apart. I've removed the upper collar and the damper tube retaining bolt from underneath, but try as I might, they don't want to separate. I would therefore be most grateful if anyone has any tips for removing the damned things. I can only assume that the bushes have rusted up and jammed them solid. It's the first time that I've ever been defeated - and I must have done hundreds of forks over the years!

So the tube is stuck to the slider?

One side moves, the other doesn't.

Just a thought.
Since you have the dampener out, maybe you could turn the leg upside down and fill the slider with some penetrating oil.
A little heat might speed things along with the penetrating oil. I would use a heat gun to avoid any chance of fire.

N0rt0nelectr@ said:

Just a thought.
Since you have the dampener out, maybe you could turn the leg upside down and fill the slider with some penetrating oil.
A little heat might speed things along with the penetrating oil. I would use a heat gun to avoid any chance of fire.

Click to expand...

Yes, I suspect that tomorrow things might get a little hotter in the workshop! I've already doused everything relevant in penetrating oil - it's coming up to bedtime on this side of the world, so I'll leave it overnight and try again in the morning. Hopefully, I'll be in a better mood then...

I had the same experience a few years ago (also with lengthened forks) and the only way I could get the legs apart (soaking etc didn't work) was to hold the tube in a vice and heat the slider in the area around the bush. One was particularly difficult as the leg was stuck about half compressed so it had two separate points at which things were rusted/jammed together. Once the slider was hot enough to sizzle spit I used a wooden block as a drift on the top of the slider and a very heavy hammer (the sort you use for splitting cobblestone blocks). One slider recovered, the other was too nasty in the bore to reuse. We all hate getting so brutal, but sadly some things just don't want to come apart with anything other than brute force and heat. All the best with it.

Well, I'm delighted to say that after reaching for a large blowtorch and heating the sliders until the oil around the seals was bubbling, they finally came apart. Thanks for the support, chaps - after more than 30 years of doing this sort of thing I don't like to be beaten, so it was good to be able to come on here and vent my spleen last night!

What shape was the inside of the slider in?

Surprisingly good!