Bottom allen bolt and fork seal removal on 1982 YZ250J??

[1983_Enduro_YAMI]

G'day all,

The Fork seals have failed on me due to old age when i was putting the front end back together and i realised there was oil weeping out so i'm gonna disassemble the forks and replace the bushes, seals and oil in it, however, when i going through the factory service manual. Rather remove the seal by sliding the inner tube in and out a couple of times, it says that i must remove the seal hydraulically by filling the fork tube full of oil then compress it on the hand press so the oil pushes out the seal!?!?!? In this case is it fine for me to remove the seal by sliding the inner tube in and out a few times in which i normally do on forks and also what would be the safest alternative way to remove the bottom allen bolt without using a damper rod holder??

Thanks,
Jacky

[tony27]

When I did my YZ465H forks which are the same basic design I stripped them down fully rather than trying to hydraulic out the seals as described in the manual, I needed to do the bushes as they were worn & they are the first point of sealing
Moose racing/All Balls racing do a kit with bushes & a few extra parts that is cheap enough to let you do the whole job properly

[80-85 husky]

A rattle gun will usually spin out the bolt without having to use a damper rod holder.

Even wacking an allen key with a hammer can sometimes crack them...leave the springs in and push down on the forks (upside down) to tension up the damper rod as you try to undo it.

[OverTheHill]

Never removed them that way & sounds messy--Press little at time when ya get close to coming out. Actualy suppose it's the way to go if you can't get the damper bolt out from underneath so save total dismantle. Anyway--you want to do bushes!!. I use an original yamaha hex on the end of a T bar to stop the damn thing rotating while undoing the allen bolt that someone's loctite'd in just to add more problems [fun]. Probably quite a big allen key in those 43's as would have compression adjustment in the middle [i think ?  maybe not]. Be easy enough to make a tool out of a nut & long steel rod.

[1983_Enduro_YAMI]

Yeah guys that's what i thought, it would be very messy if i do it according to yamaha's method. It's 30+ years old forks and i believe that nothing was done previously so i'm gonna replace all the bushes and seals then fill it up with fresh oil. I researched it last night to see are there anything to replace the proper damper rod tool and this pop up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsNFwv2AxWE. So far it's the most convenient way to make with very little effort and it's FREE!!

[OverTheHill]

Can't beat 'Free' & looks good. Just gotta find the right sized bolt.

[1983_Enduro_YAMI]

That's it mate, It does look for a homemade tool with very little effort needed, all i did was look for a long 30mm bolt then jam two 22mm nuts together. Now i just have to grab some new seals, bushes and oil from the local bike shop.....