• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

73 R75-5 Removing Fork Tube Threaded Ring

brook.reams

B Reams
Folks,

I'm having problems removing the threaded ring from the bottom of the fork tube. The holes in this ring are not spaced to allow use of the pin wrench included in the tool kit.

IMG_3506.jpg

I'm making up a pin wrench that will fit this (the diameter of the holes are very close to 1/8 inch). There is not a lot of thickness in the ring. Does it remove easily or is a lot of force required? Any other tips, cautions, etc. on getting this out?

Thanks for the insights.
 
I have used needle nose pliers held open to fit that span. I think there ought to have been a snap ring in the bottom of the tube as well. It might be kinda stuck in place but it shouldn't be difficult to remove. If it seems stuck, a hair dryer might help.
 
Hi James,

You are right about the snap ring that I already removed.

I did try needle nose pliers but can not get the ring to turn. I have heated it with a heat gun, no luck. I put some Kroil on it and and am letting it sit.

I expected it to turn without much force, but it's putting up a fight.
 
Threaded ring

Naturally, there is a "special tool" for this job. Before I found mine, I took a 1/2 in. drive 9/16 socket, milled the face down so that there were two "pins" and then turned the circumference down so that the "pins" would fit into the notches.
 
I like to do that with spare sockets as well. It's fun and easy once you get the feel for it.
 
Naturally, there is a "special tool" for this job. Before I found mine, I took a 1/2 in. drive 9/16 socket, milled the face down so that there were two "pins" and then turned the circumference down so that the "pins" would fit into the notches.

I did find that Cycle Works sells such a tool for $19 + S/H -> - http://tinyurl.com/bjc456q

I'm going to use a piece of flat stock and cut a slot in the center. Then I can use 1/8 in machine screws w/ nuts. The threaded part of the screw will go into the holes and I can adjust them for a snug fit and then tighten the nuts. If that doesn't work, I'll try the cycle works tool.
 
Could you get a measurement of the pinhole diameter and across the widest point, then buy a piece of flat stock from the hardware store the same size or wider. file or grind it to fit the profile across the notches or even leave a tongue on it to go in side the hole to help keep it steady. Cut it off long enough to get a crescent wrench on it. I hope this helps and good luck. frank
 
pin wrench

I was on the INOAlist on yahoo groups( Norton). A guy on there said he solved his problem of needing multiple size pin wrenches by drilling through the side of the top and bottom jaws of a crescent wrench and then inserting harden pins into it. He posted an attachment with it if you would care to look. I don't know how to transfer it here. frank
 
Yours at Harbor Freight... adjustable pin wrench; $3.98

The "pin wrench" in the tool kit is for the top caps on the forks. But you knew that
icon_wink.gif


image_17531.jpg
 
Some experience to share...

Folks,
I'm having problems removing the threaded ring from the bottom of the fork tube. The holes in this ring are not spaced to allow use of the pin wrench included in the tool kit.
I'm making up a pin wrench that will fit this (the diameter of the holes are very close to 1/8 inch). There is not a lot of thickness in the ring. Does it remove easily or is a lot of force required? Any other tips, cautions, etc. on getting this out? Thanks for the insights.
In the past, I've had good luck using a pair of needle nose pliers with the jaw tips held firmly in the notch on either side of the ID. Every so often I run across 'threaded rings' that are stuck tight in the fork tube. This can be a result of several things like rust, dirt, contaminated fork fluid, etc. Use of increasingly aggressive solvents is appropriate plus heat / cool cycles. I have run across several forks where the rings were 'glued' in place with thread locking compound and they were for all purposes permanently installed. I have resorted to getting a welder to run a bead around the face of the steel rings to shrink them away from the tube walls. That works - it saves the tubes but it destroys the internal parts.

Installed between the lower and upper steel threaded rings is a thick aluminum ring that has a center hole with a specific ID. It is the damper orifice and is critical to fork performance. (There is a sport orifice designed originally for the R90S which can be installed for more dampening control although I've never put a set in a /5). If you have to, it is possible to push the damper rod up through the fork tube and by giggling gently from side to side pull the damper rod w/wiper rings past the threads at the top of the tube without damaging the wiper rings. With the damper rod assembly removed it is possible to clean the threaded and aluminum rings and tube inside, the damper rod itself while its out and then reassemble by dropping the damper rod back down through the tube, rings and orifice. There is a slick factory tool (see attachment) used to install the damper rod through the bottom of the fork tube properly so as not to destroy the wiper rings - but, the threaded rings and orifice need to be out of the way (removed) to use it.
 

Attachments

  • SCAN0024.jpg
    SCAN0024.jpg
    39.6 KB · Views: 42
Back
Top