I aminstalling a chrome front end on my Deluxe. I have removed the 6mm allen and the clips on top of the slider seals. All oil has been drained also.

How do you remove the sliders from the fork tubes? When I slide them to their lowest position there is a metal on metal sound. I have tried to pull them off with strength but no luck.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

If I were you I would get a service manual, but seeingas you didn't.
First take off the dust cover, then the dust shield under it.
Below that there should be a retaining ring that needs to be compressed to take it out of its groove in the lower section.
Then you should be able to slide the parts apart.
Just be aware that there are another four parts in there that will come out.
So don't forget how they go together.

And get a service manual, its all in there.

 

Thanks Citori

 

Don't forget to unscrew the bolt coming up from the center of very bottom of the slider.

 

All you need to do now is just take the lower slider and forcefully pull it down the slider. This will free the seal and washers still holding it on. BTW, replace the seals with new ones. Here is a link that might help you.

http://groups.msn.com/ToddsHarleyPix...eforkswap.msnw

V/r

 

Thanks to everyone on this site for all the valuable information and for the fast help(SMSgt B, CitoriPlus and agapsdiver)
.


It is a sliding hammer action just like the manual says. 3 hits and it(The Seal)came loose and the lower leg slid off.
Also thanks to those who offered the tip of using pvc pipe to seat the seals. It worked great.
- if your pvc is too large split it about 12" up(i had to cut out 1/2-3/4 of an inch using a circular saw, slide on a band clamp(3 to 4 inches from the end),and tighten 'til it is small enoough to fit inside the slider leg. It ended up kinda oval shaped so I just dremeled it a little to round it more. I think I started with 2 1/2" PVC pipe.
- a cheap $29 cigarette lighter plug-in impact gun(250ft/lbs) was plenty to break the 6mm allens cleanly. In fact they broke loose and spun out so fast I tought I stripped the hell out of one 'til I looked and saw it was in my hand.
- I couldn't find a long 6mm allen with 3/8" drive(or any size drive for that matter). I just cut off a normal length 6mm allen(dremel) and stuck it inside a 6mm x 1/4 drive socket then used a 3/8-1/4 adapter and a 1/2-3/8 adapter(yes it was rigged but worked good). Oh yeah I did use silicone in the socket but I don't really think it is necessary.

 

I would like to add some comments to this thread in case anyone else finds it when they are thinking about doing a chrome bottom slider swap...

The steps are simple for a basic softail front end and, in my experience, it isn't worth trying to do this with the sliders on the bike. If you have to go through a bunch of extra effort to get the top sliders out of your bike, then it >might< be worth trying on the bike as is shown in the link in this thread but beware, it is an approach with potentially some troublesome side effects.

Make sure you read all of the information in this thread... removing the bottom screws, taking out the spacers, etc. Additionally, make sure you hang your brake calipers from the bike frame with something other than your brake hose. Note that this will be a mix of SAE and Metric sizes so make absolutely sure you have the right size wrenches.

I read elsewhere that there is potential for a problem with the bottom screws andthat is right on. Why HD sees the need to putthread lockeron these screws when it is highly unlikely that they can come loose is beyond me, but you will need the best quality tools and more than likely an impact air gun or impact driver to get them out. If you round out the hex head on these screws you are in for a real learning experience.

It is inadvisable to remove the bottom retaining ring/bushing without replacing it. If it gets sprung in the process (due to lack of care in removal, primarily) it will no longer serve its intended function. You don't have to remove the bushing if you remove the entire slider assembly from the bike.

It is highly inadvisable to reuse your seals. You may end up doing this all over again if they are nicked or worn.

It is likely you will have rust on the upper fork slider where it is in the bottom of the triple tree... use a scouring pad type buffing pad to clean up the rust and remove the edges so that you don't cut your seals with the uneven finish when removing (if you insist on reusing them) or installing.

I spent a total of $1.73 to get the special 'seal installation tool'. Go to a plumbing supply plastic piping department and get a 1-1/4" coupler )for a softail or whatever will fit over your upper fork tube... take one of your new seals with you as a sizer). Get an adapter from 1-1/4 to 2-1/2" or the largest differential you can find. File out the small shoulder in the coupler so that it is 'clear bore'. Slide the coupler over the tube and then slide the adapter over the tube. You can now hit the top of the adapter with care while rotating the entire fork and avoiding dinging your upper slider tube while installing the seal. You can also just buy a long section of plastic pipe that will fit over the tube but inside of the bottom slider and drive from the top if you want, but I started this project by trying to avoid removing the entire assembly from the bike so I went with the little pieces. You will have to cut these in half and use a hose clamp to hold them together if you want to leave the forks on the bike.

The grease trick shown in the link to hold the bottom damper seat when reinstalling is a good idea.

You don't need a dental tool to remove the seal retainers, but you must be very careful witha small screw driver when removing them.

If you remove the fork sliders entirely, put everything back together. Get the tops of the sliders positioned exactly the same in the upper tree with the top cap bolts in place, turn the handle bars full right and left, then tighten the pinch bolts in the lower triple tree. This will 'seat' the top bolts in the upper tree equally prior to tightening pinch bolts.

Again, I can't emphasize enough... most of this is pretty basic. The two things you have to watch our for, if you aren't an experienced mechanic, is to get the seals properly reinstalled and the bottom scre