Help removing fork cups out of 1985 FXST

[crashlann]

Having some trouble getting these fork cups out of the neck of my 1985 FXST project. Ive done a little heat and light tapping with a mallet but I wanted to reach out before I went to town. They have been in there a long time so Im sure it will take some work.
Any advice other than heat and a hammer? I will be replacing them with other cups that have a built in fork stop. Thanks for any advice.

[TriNortchopz]

could have some green loctite in there, or just corrosion...maybe a locking pin or setscrew from the side of the neck - did ya check for one of them? Then more heat, a long solid drift fitted in through the neck to hit the spigot of the cup inside the neck, bigger hammer, and hit it like ya mean it.

[Hoghead]

could have some green loctite in there, or just corrosion...maybe a locking pin or setscrew from the side of the neck - did ya check for one of them? Then more heat, a long solid drift fitted in through the neck to hit the spigot of the cup inside the neck, bigger hammer, and hit it like ya mean it.

This is good, but in addition i've sprayed releasing /penetrating fluid inside the headstock, and let it soak in overnight.Every little helps.

[flatman]

got a welder? weld a strap across it and wail on it thru the neck. well he did say he was replacing it.

[JBinNC]

Heat is not necessary. Those have two or three thou press fit. A two or three pound hammer and long drift is all that's needed. T's advice, hit it like you live. It's a two minute job. You won't hurt anything unless you miss with the hammer.

Jim

[Jakerz]

Yup, they're just stuck in there. I used a 4-pound sledge and a 5/8 punch to get mine out, lol. You may need to cut a 2x4 or something to length and stick it up under the neck behind the stem to keep the frame from rocking back and forth, which takes a lot away from your blows.

Just start woopin' on that thing and it should come loose, usually get easier once they actually start moving.

Jake

[farmall]

BTW I don't remove them except for replacement since it's easy to mask them for blasting and powder coat or paint.

Industrial allthread and big washers sealed by RTV survives heavy blasting and coating oven baking with no problem. I don't even have to clean out the grease on necks or hubs.

[Tater66]

Weapon of choice. 1/2" extension with socket . The shoulder of this particular socket was square . I happened to have a ratchet mechanism on extension for hammer blows. Otherwise, air chisel for worst case.

[crashlann]

Thank you all, will apply the above techniques tonight!

[MOTher]

Once you get the old fork cups out, don't toss them. If you take one and chuck in in a lathe, and sand or file it down 'til it's a slip fit in the frame you can use it, some heavy washers, some allthread and nuts (I use ½") to make a tool for installing the new fork cups. It's better than beating them in with a hammer and piece of wood. If you do that to both of them you'll have a pair of fork cups you can use for mockups. You can do it without a lathe, too. Just a file and a vise.

I painted mine with an old rattle can of sunshine yellow, so they don't get mixed up with the good ones. I also have a piece of PVC that's exactly the same length as the frame neck. For that, I have to wrap the fork cup/tool with a little tape so they'll stay in the pipe, but it makes setting up a neck on a fork that didn't originally have an HD neck a lot easier.

[farmall]

Mockup cups are definitely worth having.

To apply maximum controlled force the same 5/8" allthread/nuts/washers I use for masking hubs and necks for sandblasting and coating/painting work great as a cup and outer race press with suitable washers and you can always use your old cups as press tools.

Every HD wrench should grab a stick of the good 5/8" industrial allthread (my local hydraulic shop carries it cheap), some nuts and a mix of large flat washers. You can use 1/2" OD allthread to turn your 1/2" drive sockets into pusher tools too, but I'm lazy and have plenty of brass mallets.

BTW when making a beater bar if you cut the end at a slight angle like a forward slash "/" and leave a sharp edge that works great for freeing all sorts of cups and races.

[crashlann]

Once you get the old fork cups out, don't toss them. If you take one and chuck in in a lathe, and sand or file it down 'til it's a slip fit in the frame you can use it, some heavy washers, some allthread and nuts (I use ½") to make a tool for installing the new fork cups. It's better than beating them in with a hammer and piece of wood. If you do that to both of them you'll have a pair of fork cups you can use for mockups. You can do it without a lathe, too. Just a file and a vise.

I painted mine with an old rattle can of sunshine yellow, so they don't get mixed up with the good ones. I also have a piece of PVC that's exactly the same length as the frame neck. For that, I have to wrap the fork cup/tool with a little tape so they'll stay in the pipe, but it makes setting up a neck on a fork that didn't originally have an HD neck a lot easier.

awesome, thank you for that.

[crashlann]

Mockup cups are definitely worth having.

To apply maximum controlled force the same 5/8" allthread/nuts/washers I use for masking hubs and necks for sandblasting and coating/painting work great as a cup and outer race press with suitable washers and you can always use your old cups as press tools.

Every HD wrench should grab a stick of the good 5/8" industrial allthread (my local hydraulic shop carries it cheap), some nuts and a mix of large flat washers. You can use 1/2" OD allthread to turn your 1/2" drive sockets into pusher tools too, but I'm lazy and have plenty of brass mallets.

BTW when making a beater bar if you cut the end at a slight angle like a forward slash "/" and leave a sharp edge that works great for freeing all sorts of cups and races.

excellent, thank you!