Stripped Top Fork Nut

[supra200]

Hello KDX Riders,
I recently tried to replace the fork seals on my 1992 KDX 200 and it seems that the top nuts were WAY over tightened. After trying to wrench on it with tons of torque and no movement, I ended up using my breaker bar on it and stripped it to sh*t. F$%K. So I guess my question is... does anyone have any advice or suggestions for removing a stripped fork nut? The other fork is being just as stubborn, but I backed off before the bolt could strip out. If I can help it, I would rather not buy a new set of forks. I bought the bike for DIRT CHEAP off craigslist and it runs like a champ... but im still trying to keep my investment at a minimum. I think my next step is going to be to grind out a slightly smaller head size on the nut with my angle grinder, being careful not to overheat any components. Any info or input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance KDX Riders!
-Supra200

[sir phily]

Did you happen to loosen off the top triple clamp where it clamps onto the fork tube first,
I've seen people do it before.

Cheers Phil

[Julien D]

If it's stripped good and round, I'd just go at them with a pipe wrench. Already screwed, right? That'll get them off. As Phil mentioned, make sure the top triple pinch bolt is loosened before you try to remove the fork cap.

[supra200]

Thanks for the input guys. Truthfully, I did NOT think to loosen the top fork clamps before trying to loosen the top nut. That probably added some significant force for me to overcome. Ill try going at it with a pipe wrench after loosening the top clamp. Thanks for the suggestions. I'm still open to ideas so feel free to chime in if you've got any. Thanks KDX Riders!

[Julien D]

Yeah, its next to impossible to reomove the cap without loosening the pinch bolts. That should get you going.

Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk 2

[supra200]

Yup. Loosened the top clamp bolts and went at it with a pipe wrench and TADA. Thanks for the help, guys.
-supra200