This guide was done by Debs, a member of the UK Forum who has kindly given permission for it to be reposted here. All credit for this goes to her. The original topic can be found here.
The seizing of the preload adjuster is a common problem here in the UK given the weather we have.
I have been able to repair my preload adjuster by taking it apart.. It was quite easy and here are the instructions..
These are for the late models 2010-14
First as Asif had mentioned there is a tiny pin on the reverse.
I took the adjuster off, found the pin and got to work on it with a hammer.. Small taps on a small screwdriver used for taking mobile phones apart... I fitted it back on backwards to get a pic.
I used a metal block and hammer to tap the knob off evenly. Once off you could see all the crap inside. Notice the 2 springs and ball bearings.
Ensure you keep these safe as they are so small its easy to lose them.
Once the knob was off I looked for the pin that would have gone in to the plastic.
Using a pair of nose pliers I got it out. Remember to keep this in a safe place.. Its about 6mm long.
I then cleaned the adjuster using my Dremel with a wire brush attachment.. I then had to use some emery paper as well. Once cleaned it looked good.. I also run the emery paper around the knob to give it that little more ease to turn.
When putting it back together ensure you put the pin in the hole first. I did try at first with the knob back in but dropped the pin. Thankfully I found it again... phew.
Next you need to insert the springs and balance the ball bearings on them.
Undo the adjuster bolt so it is nearly fully out. This makes it easier to put the knob back in. Ensure the adjuster is upside down and insert the knob. Once in I used pipe grips to push the pin back in...
All done and its really easy to turn.
Edit: This is how stiff the adjuster was before
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUIBp2ooV90
