1980 xs400 Stuck spring retainer

Cysquatch

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Hello all, this is my first post here. I'm currently in the process of disassembling my forks. I've run into an issue when trying to remove the springs. The spring retainer on top has some rust on it and is stuck. The circlip is removed, but the retainer is stuck inside. I sprayed some wd-40 and tried moving it, it moves very slightly. I did find a video where someone had the same issue. They ended up drilling the retainer, turning a screw into it and using a slide hammer to remove it. I'd rather not damage it. Anyone have tips or experience with this? Thanks
 
I went through the same process a few months ago. My was completely rust welded in. I drilled and tapped a hole and tried backing it out with a bolt braced against the top of the fork but all that happened was it snapped the bolt. I had to drill the entire cap out, increasing in size slowly as to not damage the inner tube. It was an entire weekend event and quite tedious drlling the cap because the fork spring keeps compressing.

Here's a link to my thread where I have some pics and comments on what I did. Scroll down to Nov 5th.

http://www.xs400.com/threads/78-xs-400-e-rebuild-and-modify.16267/page-7

Best of luck.
 
I went through the same process a few months ago. My was completely rust welded in. I drilled and tapped a hole and tried backing it out with a bolt braced against the top of the fork but all that happened was it snapped the bolt. I had to drill the entire cap out, increasing in size slowly as to not damage the inner tube. It was an entire weekend event and quite tedious drlling the cap because the fork spring keeps compressing.

Here's a link to my thread where I have some pics and comments on what I did. Scroll down to Nov 5th.

http://www.xs400.com/threads/78-xs-400-e-rebuild-and-modify.16267/page-7

Best of luck.

Oh boy, That doesn't make me feel any better. Is the retainer piece steel? Im wondering if a stud welded to it and a slide hammer would be enough to free mine. Mine has a little bit of movement to it.
 
Yes its steel. If yours is a little loose that'll prbly work. Mine was the extreme case. The bike was left outside for a very long time.

Also you can get that retainer from Yamaha, they still have stock.
 
Hi Cysquatch, I had exactly the same as you, a bit of movement
First I spent a lot of time scraping rust off the inside with a Stanley knife.
Don’t hammer the disc in, I did, and it got jammed in the fork leg. I used the drill and tap method and it worked perfectly. After I loctitited a cut off bolt into,the hole for the rebuild.
And yes, got new retaining clips.
I also had a problem with the retaining clips on The fork leg oils seals, in the end replaced them with internal circlips
Good luck - post some piccies
 
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