Fork oil drain plug won’t tighten.

[Slofun]

I changed the fork oil today in my RPS Hawk 250. I raised the bike so the front wheel was off the ground. I removed the 6mm cap screws at the bottom of the fork and drained the oil. They were very tight. Then I removed the 17mm caps at the top of the fork tube. I then replaced the lower drain bolts but noticed that even though they threaded in ok, they wouldn’t tighten up. So I added the new oil anyway and replaced the top caps.

What did I do wrong? Why won’t the lower cap screws tighten up? Any way to fix this?

Thanks a lot for any help you can give me!!

[Wild Dog]

Well those are not drain plugs. Search a bit the forum and you will get more info.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Slofun

I changed the fork oil today in my RPS Hawk 250. I raised the bike so the front wheel was off the ground. I removed the 6mm cap screws at the bottom of the fork and drained the oil. They were very tight. Then I removed the 17mm caps at the top of the fork tube. I then replaced the lower drain bolts but noticed that even though they threaded in ok, they wouldn’t tighten up. So I added the new oil anyway and replaced the top caps.

What did I do wrong? Why won’t the lower cap screws tighten up? Any way to fix this?

Thanks a lot for any help you can give me!!

Because those aren't drain bolts. Too many people on Youtube try to pretend they are professionals, and they give out really bad advice that then puts people like you in a crappy situation.

Those are the bolts that hold the damping rod into the fork lower, and what keeps the whole fork assembly from coming apart.

The only way you will get those tight now is to take the cap off again if you put it back on, remove the spring, and then find yourself a tapered broom handle (or similar) that you can stick into the fork to try and hold the damping rod in place so you can tighten the cap head down without it turning.

Next time you go to drain the fork oil simply remove the top cap, take out the spring, and invert the fork. Once most of the oil has come out, cycle it in and out a few times to try and get as much out as you can, or even leave them sitting upside down for a few minutes.

I even have my own video covering it. Starts at 8 minutes.

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by Slofun

What did I do wrong? !

What you did wrong was watch Motocheez video. He did add a disclaimer in the description and title after i told him it was causing issues with new owners not know that it was not the correct way to do it.

[tknj99]

You're not the only one to go down this wrong path.. i had a similar experience.. for me an impact gun was the only way i could remedy the situation

[david3921]

Originally Posted by tknj99

You're not the only one to go down this wrong path.. i had a similar experience.. for me an impact gun was the only way i could remedy the situation

Try using an impact first. You may be able to get it tightened up. If not, Dan's suggestion is really the only way to keep the lower internals from spinning.

[landshark]

My x-pect takes a 14mm hex on a long extension to grab it. Very easy if you have the 14mm. Mine came as part of a set from HF.

[Slofun]

Originally Posted by landshark

My x-pect takes a 14mm hex on a long extension to grab it. Very easy if you have the 14mm. Mine came as part of a set from HF.

Sorry I’m not exactly clear . . .
I can try an impact gun. The idea with that is to spin the screw faster than the inside piece can spin and try to tighten it that way?

But you’re saying a 14mm socket on a long extension down the tube with the spring removed will grab what the cap screw is screwing into?

Thanks for your patience!!

[Bruces]

Not sure what type of forks are on the x-pect so unless you can confirm they are the same fork as the hawk the hex size doesn’t matter as it’s probably wrong , but on your hawk with standard ceriani type forks you can use a broomstick from the top to keep the damper from spinning ,there probably is a socket that can hold the damper but I have no idea what size it is .First though ,try the impact gun ,it usually does work ,if not remove the top cap and the internal spring ,stick a broomstick down the leg ,put pressure on the broomstick and tighten the damper bolt on the bottom .

[Wild Dog]

Originally Posted by JerryHawk250

What you did wrong was watch Motocheez video. He did add a disclaimer in the description and title after i told him it was causing issues with new owners not know that it was not the correct way to do it.

He should remove that video and upload another one.. Not only he did mess up with the forks, but with the valves.

[OneLeggedRider]

Originally Posted by Wild Dog

He should remove that video and upload another one.. Not only he did mess up with the forks, but with the valves.

I've been trying to get him to take that vid down for 2 years, but he's a little cocky and believes his shade tree method works.

[Thumper]

Originally Posted by tknj99

You're not the only one to go down this wrong path.. i had a similar experience.. for me an impact gun was the only way i could remedy the situation

Exactly. The impact driver uses the standing inertia of the rod (it's not moving) to allow the screw to be tightened by repetitive impact. But be careful and do not overtighten it! You can do this with a manual impact driver if you don't have a pneumatic or electric impact driver. It works, and problem solved! This was a 4mm allen bolt on my old GS series Suzuki, and I used the manual impact driver and a mallet.

[landshark]

Originally Posted by Slofun

Sorry I’m not exactly clear . . .
I can try an impact gun. The idea with that is to spin the screw faster than the inside piece can spin and try to tighten it that way?

But you’re saying a 14mm socket on a long extension down the tube with the spring removed will grab what the cap screw is screwing into?

Thanks for your patience!!

Not a socket nut but a 14mm hex bit. Other than that, yes, a long extension down the fork tube with the spring removed. For sure this is accurate for MY x-pect.

[KenTaoyan]

I take it that you only need to tighten it down just enough that it does not leak?