How did I mess up rebuilding my forks?

[FinalImpact]

Uhm - FZ or R6? Was thinking it was R6? Bushing install is the same...

Look here:
1 Outer tube bushing. Needs driven below ridge at #3.
2 Inner tube bushing. Drops into tube 1st.
3 Outer tube bushing landing. #1 must seat on the lower ridge.
4 Seal landing and snap ring landing. Snap ring grove barely visible.

Hope this helps. PS I don't recall any bevel shaped washers. Any else one been here recently?

 

[BlackAndBlue]

My bike is an 07 fz6. No r6 forks. I looked at the washer again. It's not actually flat on one side. It's just a conical washer. Maybe it is bent and I need a new one. It certainly ly does not look deformed though. The diagram on bikebandit shows a flat washer but that may be a generic diagram for 04-06 bikes? Maybe I should just order new washers and see what comes.

 

[FinalImpact]

How about a picture of all things suspect. My 08 all washers were flat as best I remember.

 

[BlackAndBlue]

I'll take the other fork apart tomorrow and get a picture. I just today got the bushing driven in using the PVC trick on the fork I have been working on and put the seal on in on top of it. Question: is the seal done for as soon as it is pulled out or could I pull it out and drive it back in?

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I'll take the other fork apart tomorrow and get a picture. I just today got the bushing driven in using the PVC trick on the fork I have been working on and put the seal on in on top of it. Question: is the seal done for as soon as it is pulled out or could I pull it out and drive it back in?

I suspect if your really careful, work your way slowly around, you can probably get it out and use it again. ANY visible damage, it's junk..

 

[FinalImpact]

I suspect if your really careful, work your way slowly around, you can probably get it out and use it again. ANY visible damage, it's junk..

Keep in mind you can't pry it out. It is yanked out by the bushing hitting the washer when assembled correctly as you pull on the stanchion repeatedly to extract both the seal and bushing. (Unless you use air pressure to pop only the seal)

I think it depends where this bent washer is? If a flat washer is between the bushing and seal, the seal should be ok.

IF your bent washer is the one between the bushing and the seal AND the bevel is up towards the seals inner surface, this would be bad for the seal. If the bevel is down it would likely be ok.

A simple test is coating the stanchion with oil or light grease. A good seal will wipe it clean leaving nearly no trace of lubricant.

 

[BlackAndBlue]

Here is a picture of the washer. It does not appear to be deformed.

 

[FinalImpact]

That just ain't right. Do both of them L & R look that way?
Have you found a proper driver for for bushing??

I posted a pic up there. You see it?
Regardless of the fails observed, the bushing must be seated as shown and into the register. When this is done all things will improve.

Yes the washer looks made that way but I have never seen parts look like that ever in fork. Did you order new parts?

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

That washer/ring sure looks made that way...

It's too perfectly made (and heavy/thick) to be bent by accident...

 

[BlackAndBlue]

I agree that the washer looks made that way. It was definitely in there when I got the bike. I got service records with it and there was nothing about a fork service. So who knows. The other side, suspiciously, has no washer. I actually just noticed that. It's possible that I lost it but unlikely. My garage is new and therefore clean and uncluttered and there is nowhere that it could have gone. Anyway, I doubt the washer played a role in my original seal failure. That was due to driving the bushings in with the fork seal rather than before installing the seal. I used PVC to drive the bushings in and then installed the seals so hopefully I'll be good this time. I should order new washers and pull it apart again to put those in to be safe though.

 

[FinalImpact]

One observation is the oem washers ID is small enough to drive the bushing in. That appears open enough to allow the bushing to go through it which defeats its purpose but I'm not there and its just a picture...

If the bushing pushed its way through it would bend it in a uniform manner. Regardless, it should be discarded and replaced with the right one.
Because it takes up more space than a flat washer, any trouble getting the seal and snap ring in?

 

[BlackAndBlue]

The washer just barely squeezes over the bushing. And no, no trouble getting the seal in all the way once the bushing was seated. I usually try to avoid this kind of thinking but... If you get the bushing seated without a washer, what purpose does the washer really serve? I can't see of any harm that would come from assembling the forks with no washers.