Fork disassembly help needed

i've been rebuilding forks for years and i have never put thread locker on the damper rod bolt just because i usally am trying to do it fast to make some money i usally dont even take them off the bike to do them the thread locker is not going to work well in the oil that is left over from draining them out so i don't even bother. if you have them all apart and are cleaning them right out and then letting them dry you could probably you some on them but with the axle in the way they won't come out. never seen it happen anyway personally.

Cut the pool cue at a 45 degree angle so it will become wedged in between the fork tube and the dealy-bob down in the fork.

I'll add my 2c to the discussion. Don't loctite the bolt, the bolt is a bitch to get off without loctite and it will never loosen once it's tight. Use an air or electric impact like taildragger said. Use to tighten and loosen. Just tighten with the impact. Torque is not critical on this bolt. I know Ed is right in using a torque wrench and doing it by the book, but not necessary. I've probably done 20 or 30 fork seals over the years on the KZs and never bothered torqing, just use an impact. Also tighten and loosen while the spring and cap is still installed and spring pressure aids in keeping the damper rod from spinning.

Ok, I have a very nice air impact wrench and compressor at the house. What I don't have is a half inch allen socket that will fit. I will run by the store and grab one after work. If I do add Locktite it will be blue. The Clymer says to add gasket sealant to the allen bolt. Any one else do this?

I've done it both ways (no comments please)...e.g. with and w/out blue locktite. Remember to reuse or replace the crush washer...I've pulled several front ends apart that didn't have this washer and it aids in holding the bolt in place. Seems to be commonly lost.

It's not a 1/2" allen. I think it's a 5/16" or in metric size a 8mm. The one nice thing about this bolt is it's constantly in oil, and spins off real nice and easy once it's loosened. Add loctite and that nice/easy spin off is ruined and the threads are all goobered up for life.

I think it's a 17MM Allen driver with a 1/2" drive for the bottom bolt in the forks.

Thank you all who helped. I was able to disassemble the forks today with no problem. The impact gun was the way to go. The broom stick method sucked. I'm going to be cleaning splinters out of my fork for the next 12 hours. I had to buy an 8mm hex head socket. And unfortunately, they only had 3/8 driver size and my impact gun is 1/2. So I also purchased a conversion socket... Thanks again, new seals went in fine, everything looks like its going to be fine!

Glad to here that. Was your old oil milky looking? Make sure you clean/flush all that old oil out. I have access to pure alcohol solvent @ work that I use but any high flash point solvent will do. Flush until all the old oil and grit is gone then let it air dry thoroughly . You may want to add a little heavier oil (10w30 or 10w40 depending on your weight, riding style or if you carry a passenger a lot) to suit your riding conditions. I also recommend a new set of "progressive wound" springs if your budget will allow it.
Glad you learned something new and did it yourself. You should change your oil every 3-5 years or about 10K miles and your forks will last a long time. You don't have to tear them down completely every time. Jim

Thanks Jim, one fork had water in it and so now I'm taking the time to clean up some light rust. The other fork was just low on oil from a slow leak. I did have a little trouble popping the old seals out without marring the aluminum fork tubes. I smoothed all burrs, though and installed the new seals with now problems. Unfortunately, I don't have the budget to replace the springs right now. I'm also going to have some rear spring questions, too. I'll open a new thread when I come to that bridge. Thanks again.