A trick or two for rebuilding forks.

[Old Okie]

Still working on the '78 XS400E. The last thing is fork seals, finished that today.
I searched for seals for the XS400 and found none. No dust boots either. I measured the fork tubes and ordered seals and boots for a Honda CX500, 1978/79 model. The seals and boots worked perfect. The Yamaha fork tubes were rusty and rough and would probably
ruin the seals so I put Honda CX500 fork tubes in the Yamaha lowers. The internal parts of the fork tubes are identical from Yamaha to Honda in this case.The whole assembly is about 3/4 inch longer than the Yamaha forks so I slid them up the triple tree so as not to modify the height of the bike. The Yamaha fork tubes must be made from tin cans because they rust so easily. The Honda fork tubes seem to never rust. The Honda tubes may be a little stiffer than the Yammy's, more about that when I get to ride the bike.
Also, thanks to all the guys on this forum who have sent parts to me. This project could not happen without help with spare parts and info from this forum.

 

[xschris]

This is good to know

 

[drewpy]

yep, good info there

 

[Old Okie]

One more thing, everyone probably knows, I may be the last to figure it out.
If the bolt in the bottom of the fork is damaged or can not be removed by
normal methods, you can drill it out without damage to the fork slider.
Use a bit the same size as the stuck bolt and drill the head off the bolt.
The bolt is threaded into the internal part of the fork and the fork slider will not
be damaged in the drilling process if normal caution is exercised. I used a drill
press, much more accurate than hand drilling. This worked for a '78 XS400E,
not sure about other models.

 

[Lou Ranger]

Just so I am clear, are you talking about the little bolt used to drain out the old fork oil, or a bolt which is inside the lower tube onece assembled?
Thanks.

 

[Old Okie]

It is the bolt that is hidden by the axle when the axle is installed.
Allen head bolt with a copper washer. I think it has a 6mm allen head.
On my project the drain bolt was rusty and I chose not to molest it,
I do not get along well with rusty bolts or screws.

 

[Drewcifer]

I had to do this and just finished a few minutes ago. Suffice it to say it took many soaks/torchings to loosen that bolt, and after it stripped out to round, If found a torx and hammered it into the rounded hole until there was zero give when I struck it with the hammer. (The torx will usually be the next size above the one you were using when you stripped it round )

After the torx was driven in as firmly as a hammer could get it, I used an impact hammer to bust it loose. BRRPRPRPRPPRPRPRPRPRPPR. It finally came loose. Both sides has thread locker on them, one side clear, the the other, red.

Also, i think my fork oil is the fishy smelling oil. As in original!

 

[Old Okie]

Do these bolts really need thread locker???? I put some gasket sealer on them and that is all. All he pounding and hammering could damage the fork,maybe. I thought drilling the head off the bolt was my best bet. The torx is a good idea, I'll keep that in my book of possible solutions for similar problems.

 

[faber]

No they shouldn't have thread locker on them, but you may have/want to replace the crush washer. Make sure it's torqued down correctly.