So I broke this, what do you think?

[Guest]

I am in the process of going through a '83 gs750e that has sat for the last 14 years. Needless to say it needs some attention. I am doing something between getting it mechanically functional and a light restore, this is also the first time I have toughed a bike of any kind, put me in front of a car and it is all pretty easy though. Anyway my first major flub up was getting the fork seals out. One came out just fine with air pressure the other not so much. In the process of prying it out I cracked the top of the outer tube as shown in the picture. I used the old seal that successfully was removed so as to not screw up the other new seal and even though it is not making much engagement when I checked it today with soapy water the seal did not appear to be leaking from the cracked area. I will double check this again but in the infinite wisdom of the board has anyone every seen one cracked like this seal successfully? If not I assume I could just replace the lower outer piece with the internals from mine? Anyway here is the picture.



DSCN3251_zps304ac86c.jpg

[mikerophone]

Yikes, yeeeah that's not going to seal again.

And I'm not sure you can swap yours in, pretty sure that's one piece, part of the lower fork tube assembly but I could be wrong.

[turbo6justin]

It is definitely part of the lower/outer tube. My thought was would it be alright to get a new lower only and put everything from mine in that?

[Big T]

Put up an ad in the Parts Wanted section, all you need is the lower leg

[turbo6justin]

This may sound silly but my concern in getting a new lower was with the anti-friction ring piece. Every indication is mine is good. As I understand it this piece is 'pressed' in the lower and getting mine out and put back in would be difficult if not impossible. I really do not want to have to put together another parts order for OEM pieces, it just means more delays, shipping costs, etc.

[SVSooke]

I've gotten the anti friction rings out with a screwdriver,they aren't in as hard as you'd think.May have an 83 lower in my stash,but might not either.PM me and I'll take a look.

[turbo6justin]

This little thing is going to be the end of me. So I was going to try to take it apart today to see if I can get it apart and then decide what I need to replace (just a lower or the guides, or the whole thing) Anyway got the allen out pretty easily and the inner shaft piece and the rebound spring came out but that was all.

Question, do I need to have the seal out to remove the large upper tube? And then do I just use the upper as a slide hammer sort of thing and the rest comes out?

This and getting the cylinder off of the pistons is driving me crazy. On that front I can see all the way around where the base gasket is but I can not get the cylinder moving up more than about .020". There are a few places I feel kind of safe prying on but I know to be gentile.

I suppose the 6 broken exhaust bolts could be described as a problem as well but I will focus on the fork and the cylinder first.

Thanks for the help, for reference this is a Right fork for a '83 gs750e. When I figure out what I am looking for I will PM you or place a wanted add.

WP_20150114_16_32_50_Pro_zpsd692b8be.jpg

[bonanzadave]

And then do I just use the upper as a slide hammer sort of thing and the rest comes out?

Yes. With the bottom allan out the rest should separate.

[Brendan W]

Alarm bells are going off here. I am wondering if the forks have impact history and would be extending close inspection to the other leg lower, both tubes for straightness and or signs of having been straightened and finally the triples for sign of cracks.
Obviously I don't know how you were attempting to pry out the seal but to me that lower gave up too easily. Is the crack on the front or back of the leg?

[chef1366]

It's ugly but is it cracked above where the clip holds in the seal? If so that just holds the dust cover and won't hurt anything.

[hampshirehog]

It's ugly but is it cracked above where the clip holds in the seal? If so that just holds the dust cover and won't hurt anything.

This plus it looks like the dust cover will hide the damage.

[turbo6justin]

I understand the concerns about it's past life, but this was pure unadulterated stupidity. I had punched a hole in the seal with an awl, then was using a screwdriver to pry it out levering off of the top of the lower. Then tapping on that screwdriver progressively harder with a hammer. The crack is about 45 deg off center/toward the side.

The thing that keeps me wondering is I have replaced 100's of seals like this and they always leak around the center not where they seat in the bore. As it sits now with the old seal from the other fork in there it does not leak around the outer sealing surface. After I attempted to take it apart yesterday and then put it back together I again tested it with air pressure and even at 160psi from the compressor and with soapy water around the seal area it showed no air bubbles, sure there were some small ones where the shaft passes through but honestly not much and that was with the old seal in there. (still using the old seal as to not damage the new one yet). Cosmetically it does get covered by the dust seal, the snap ring is not going anywhere.

I don't know, my impulse to do everything correctly and my desire to save a few dollars and time are clashing.

[78550GS]

Fix it however you want, just don't ask me to ride it on that broken lower. I just don't trust it.

[GSX1000E]

Fix it however you want, just don't ask me to ride it on that broken lower. I just don't trust it.

Same here! I would replace that lower if I was going to be riding it.

[tatu]

Best way is to replace the leg, if it doesn't leak then I might be tempted to build up the busted part with some jb weld sand it down and pull the dust cover over it.