D18 Rebuild Questions

I am disassembling a D18 to prepare for rebuild. Two questions:

First, I was unable to remove the set screw holding the high-low shift fork on its rail. It is an allen head type. After it wouldn't budge, I tried heating it. No luck, I ended up stripping it out. Thoughts on the best way to remove it?

Second, how can I tell if the inner surface of the intermediate gear is too worn? When feeling with my fingernail, there is a bit of a ridge in the center, although not much, where the spacer between the two sets of needle bearings would be. This spot is also discolored (rusty brownish). Is excessive wear going to shorten the life of the new needle bearings/shaft?

I am planning on installing a Novak rebuild kit once I get everything disassembled and cleaned up.

 

did you use a oxygen / acetylene rig for heat
I guess that's all that left in case . grind it down and get a replacement fork

 

I used propane because that is all I have access to. I ended up drilling it out to the next size up and tapping it.

 

I’ve had good luck using a slightly larger metric Allen socket driven into the stripped out setscrew. If that doesn’t work, try driving a Torx socket into the setscrew after heating with a torch.

 

What you need to get the screw out is whats called a "Sock it out screw extractor" We use them at work all the time.

 

If the allen screw isn't striped a metric allen key might work or you could drill it out