The Hodaka Club Forum

Hello,

Stuck trying to get the hex bolt out of the damper rod. Tried compressing fork to put pressure on assembly but bolt just spins. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Don

Is the fork drained? And make sure the spring is in place to give downward pressure.

You might put some oil in it and cap it. Then put downward pressure on it.

Get a buddy to compress it as far as you
can upside down with the spring in, Use an air or electric powered gun to get the instant snap needed to break it loose. ratchet will just turn the damper rod in cicles. there are some gadgets you can fabricate to hold the damper rod, but the gun has always worked for me.

Yep! I’ve found a gun works well too. You can just get an inexpensive Allen wrench and cut off the 90 with a hack saw! Slips right into the chuck! Victor

The buddy I use is a ratchet strap. doesn't spill her coffee. -------------- Clarence

Thanks for the responses. Tried everything posted above without success. I'll try soaking in WD for a few days to see if it saturates the threads.

DK

The threads should not be rusted as they are inside the fork but who knows on something this old. . Pull the spring and collapse the fork. See if the damper rod turns with the bolt. If it doesnt the rod is broken or the treads were stripped when it was assembled. Seen both. I have drilled the head off the bolt and then removed the rod by punching up on the stud left when the head was removed. You can then work on the damper/bolt on the workbench. if the drill bit spins the bolt, you can drill next to it and tap in a small roll pin to lock it in place as you remove just the head. Remember you only need to use a bit the size of the bolts shaft, not the heads diameter. The head will then pop right off.

Thanks, I'll give it a shot.

DK

Watching to see what your resolution is.... Victor

There was just another discussion on this group about how using a quality tool made for the job is so critical.

https://www.dssalesusa.net/store/p33/Ma ... -Tool.html

Spend the $25 one of these and use it with your 3/8 ratchet and extension. It holds the "innards" while you use the allen wrench on the bottom bolt. You won't regret it.

Plus Rob Stubblefield of Dennis Stubblefield Sales is a great supporter of our club. Makes high quality stuff.

Gregg

A 3/4 inch pipe 2 ft long, pinch in the end just a little.

href="http://youtu.be/tQUoWsGekH0">youtu.be/tQUoWsGekH0

I'm still struggling with this on both fork legs. I wonder if the last time the seals were replaced if lock tight wasn't used on the bolts.

I am going to buy the tool to assist.

Thanks,
Don

What bolts are you having issue with? The bottom allen?

Reporting back on this. I didn't pinch the 3/4 inch pipe but I did buy the tool from Stubblefield.
Worked like a charm. Whoever did this last did lock tight the bolts. Thanks for everyone's replies!

DK

When you put it back together, use a little anti-seize instead of loctite! Victor