Hi all,
Finally got back to working on my front forks. I bought a small oval riffler file (see photo) and it was just long enough to reach down to the distorted area at the fender bolt location.
Small oval rifler file used to dress out front fork lower case by
Gordon McConnell, on Flickr
After some patient filling, I was able to insert the piston quite easily into the left fork lower case with only minimum hand pressure. The right side one need some more encouragement from a larger oval file and then the oval riffler to finish. I expect that the wall thickess is less now but the fender boss should reinforce the wall at this area.
Replacement fork piston installed for trial fit by
Gordon McConnell, on Flickr
Thanks to Gordon Brown for coming up with 'as new' pistons to replace the ones originally damaged by the dents on the lower case.
Getting the fork seal out of the seal housing was nightmare. The sealant used by the previous owner was incredibly tough and the seal would not come out. Heat and my Dremel did not get anywhere. I finally used LM's method with a narrow chisel to destroy the seals. The result was fine on one part but I unfortunately dented the fork seal housing on the other part. It is still serviceable but not so pretty. PhilD, you did warn me!
Front fork seals after chiselling out. by
Gordon McConnell, on Flickr
Now for the re-assembly to follow using PhilD's method for the seal insertion.
