axle ring direction snafu

[echobase]

Hello all- 

I'd be grateful for any guidance on this...

After completing assembly of the front uprights on an XV-02RS Pro, I've realized I got the axle ring direction wrong on the left side. Well this was obviously dumb of me as the manual clearly points out the matter of direction. And this is after snapping on the 5mm adjuster extending from the damper stay, making disassembly more difficult. So...just how crucial is axle ring direction? Is it absolutely necessary to disassemble and put right? I'm trying to think of how to do this without causing damage. I'm thinking either snap off the 5mm adjuster but that is proving harder than I thought (is there an easy way to snap off adjusters?)... or take out the screw which secures the suspension arm rod and rotate the upright out of the suspension arm. I'd like to avoid backing out a tapping screw from a hole I did not pre-thread. I dunno.

[Otis311]

While there is a 99.999% chance the direction of the retaining ring wouldn't matter, there is still a chance some debris could get caught in there and rip the ring off. It is worth fixing just for piece of mind. Any of the methods of disassembly would work. Popping off ball ends can be a pain. A lot of times I twist them along the axis of the rod and they off without out harm. I wouldn't mess with removing the adjuster for this though. Some of the balls in that kit have hex heads in the tops that allow removal without popping off the adjuster. I would probably just remove the suspension pin if I were you. Don't worry about backing out a self tapped screw, especially one of the pin retaining screws. They don't really get stressed. Just make sure it is seated properly in the now threaded hole when reinstalling.

[echobase]

7 hours ago, Otis311 said:

While there is a 99.999% chance the direction of the retaining ring wouldn't matter, there is still a chance some debris could get caught in there and rip the ring off. It is worth fixing just for piece of mind. Any of the methods of disassembly would work. Popping off ball ends can be a pain. A lot of times I twist them along the axis of the rod and they off without out harm. I wouldn't mess with removing the adjuster for this though. Some of the balls in that kit have hex heads in the tops that allow removal without popping off the adjuster. I would probably just remove the suspension pin if I were you. Don't worry about backing out a self tapped screw, especially one of the pin retaining screws. They don't really get stressed. Just make sure it is seated properly in the now threaded hole when reinstalling.

Thanks very much for this thoughtful answer. You helped me think it through to a satisfactory conclusion.