Baja front suspension replacement???

2SlickNick

Well-Known Member
#21
Ok guys help me out here.
I got a shock off the bike. There's a allen bolt on the bottom, but it just spins and spins.
When you look down the tube, you can see whatever it is spinning as well.
I'm forced to think I need to get ahold of that in order to unloosen the shaft from the shock?
If so, what do you grab it with, I don't see a head of any sort, just a hole?

And it had all of about two table spoons of oil in it.

ETA: Ok, I guess what I'm dealing with is the damper rod.
There's the hexbolt on the bottom, but what do you get ahold of the top with?
That is about as far as I got with mine too - Lol. I think Gran Pen on DIYGK/Kartfab on YT did his... He could help.
 
#22
That is about as far as I got with mine too - Lol. I think Gran Pen on DIYGK/Kartfab on YT did his... He could help.
Thats about as far as i got. Now my forks leak out of the bottom and the seal that needs to be replaced :surrender:

My thought is to maybe impact the bottom off, hoping that the impact wrench will do the trick
 
#23
Thats about as far as i got. Now my forks leak out of the bottom and the seal that needs to be replaced :surrender:

My thought is to maybe impact the bottom off, hoping that the impact wrench will do the trick
Ok. Now I'm getting pissed.
I tried the impact.
No dice.

So I just added new oil. No real help, I'm still bottoming out, and I think the fender is hitting the tire.
I'm going to add more oil and see if that helps.

If that doesn't do it, I'm going to slightly modify these, and make them work.
 

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#24
Try compressing the shock as you try to impact it off, the tension might help it grab.
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Yes, this is the trick compress that shock as much as possible, the harder the better you need to get the piston in there to stop spinning, and use the impact to quickly break the bolt free.
 
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#25
I haven't messes with Baja forks but I have replaced springs (aftermarket upgrade) and seals on motorcycle forks without completely disassembling them. Don't know about the Baja fork, but on female-slider motorcycle forks, the spring comes out the top end of the tube when the cap is removed. You should be able to replace the seals without separating the slider from the tube.

Dump the oil.

Clean the tube.

Slide the wiper/dust seal up and off of the tube.

Oil the tube at the seal to help prevent scratching it. Use a seal puller (Of all things!) to remove the seal, being careful not to scratch the tube. A seal puller will set you back around ten bucks.

Clean and oil the tube to prevent damaging the new seal.

Slide the new seal on and gently tap it into place; a properly sized PVC pipe would drive it in evenly, but working your way around with a soft-faced hammer will work, just be careful not to bend the seal. You may need to use something (I suggest a piece of nylon or hardwood) as a punch to fully seat the seal, depending on how deeply the seal seats.

Replace the wiper/dust seal.

Replace the oil. The volume varies with the particular fork, obviously. Specs are available for motorcycles but finding them for a Baja would probably be a challenge. Too little oil will result in little or no damping; too much oil will result in reduced travel and/or blowing the seals out. I have always used actual fork oil but people have used ATF and motor oil. Higher viscosity will provide increased damping. The best cure for bottoming would be higher compression rate springs. You could insert an oil resistant rubber rod inside the spring; start with full length, shorten if it's too stiff. You could insert a smaller compression spring inside the existing one; it would need to be wound in the opposite direction to prevent binding.

https://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-rubber-bars/=1dsc5rz

The bolt on the bottom probably has an o-ring seal; there's a possibility that all of that spinning the bolt you have done has damaged the o-ring and it may now leak. If it leaks and you still can't remove it, you could clean it and the surrounding area with solvent and pack some epoxy around it; KBS Coatings epoxy putty is the best I've ever used.
 
#26
They use copper crush washers on the bottom. Like I said earlier just push down hard on the shock when you hit it with the impact and they'll come right apart.

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#27
They use copper crush washers on the bottom. Like I said earlier just push down hard on the shock when you hit it with the impact and they'll come right apart.

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Yeah, a copper washer makes sense; often used to seal bolts, such as banjo bolts on hydraulic hose fittings, drain plugs, etc. Still, spinning the bolt could cause a leak as it would wear the washer. Perhaps compressing the fork puts the internals in a locked position so as to not rotate; it would make sense for there to be a method to do that, unless a special tool is used to go inside the tube and hold it.
 
#28
Well, I'm going with plan B.
I got these springs and cups from the warehouse.
For starters, I'm going to have to hog out the holes in the cups, they're just a bit too small to fit over the fork tubes.
Next I'll have to shorten the springs. They're about 2 inches too long.
I suspect I'll leave just a hair for preload, and to keep a bit of tension in them so they don't rattle.
The springs are large enough to fit over the tubes easily.

I think I may also drill through the the upper part of the fork where the tubes go in, and through the top of the tube as well, and run a bolt through to keep the forks from working out due to the pressure of the springs wanting to push or pull them out of place.

I will take pics, or some video as I go.
 

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