Removing cartridges from 43mm WPs

[SpeedyManiac]

Hi guys,
I'm changing my fork seals and I'm having issues getting the compression adjuster loosened up from the cartridge. Right now it's loose (finally), but it just keeps spinning the cartridge. Any suggestions on holding the cartridge still? The manual just said to slightly bend the piston rod towards the fork wall to pinch the cartridge, but this isn't working. Thanks,

Steve

[jeffd]

Hey speedy steve,

Air wrench and "blip it" and/or you need a cartridge holder... A cartridge holder is a hollow tube that fits down into the top of the fork and holds the cartridge in place while you remove the base valve assembly.

In a pinch, you might try...

1. try using the fork spring to put pressure on the cartridge (from the top) to create some resistance (and keep it from spinning).

2. Use a piece of pvc pipe to fashion a cartridge holder - drill a hole at the upper end to insert a screwdriver and use a file or dremel to create notches in the lower end to hold the cartridge and keep it from spinning. If you have the other fork apart you can see what pattern you need to "fit into" on cartridge itself.

jeff

[Brian VT]

Putting the spring back on worked for me.

[GMP]

Always crack the fork caps loose before removing the forks from the clamps(upper loose, lower tight), and break the base valve loose with an impact wrench before removing the cap/spring. A tip from Les thats worth sharing: Face the edge of your impact socket perfectly flat on a grinder for maximum contact area on the aluminum base valve hex.

[KTMLew]

You can usually use and iold-school impact driver on the base-valve to pop it loose. Just remove fork and flip over and knock the base-valve loose. If you have speed bleeders it's a bit more of a challenge. Set a 24mm socket on the floor and set cap on it so bleeders don't get damaged or dump fluid.

If you are going to use an air gun make sure the socket has the lead-in taper removed as mentioned above. Showas are even worse for easily being rounded off. Don't ask me how I know...

[SpeedyManiac]

Impact driver and a small wooden wedge did the trick. Thanks for the help guys. Now I just need a seal driver, which I should get tomorrow (having a dad who's a machinist is handy).

[GMP]

Your dad is a machinest and your a recent ME? You should have the trickest bike on the site!

[SpeedyManiac]

Unfortunately he can't do much machining at work. His company is pretty anal on the 'government' jobs. I'm hoping to eventually buy a small lathe and mill for my garage, then my bike for sure will be trick!

[KTMLew]

Originally Posted by SpeedyManiac

Unfortunately he can't do much machining at work. His company is pretty anal on the 'government' jobs. I'm hoping to eventually buy a small lathe and mill for my garage, then my bike for sure will be trick!

Hmmmm? Anal & government job go together pretty well I think? We're getting "it" any way you look at it...