Help needed with Stuck parts

Hello,

I have a frame with a stuck seatpost and stem, I have tried ammonia and cola to try and free them but no luck.

I'm hoping sticking them in a vice and using the frame to lever them free might help, if not heating with a torch, but, I dont have either.

Anyone East (near viccy park) able to lend a hand (anyone have a decent bench mounted vice) or advice on where to get this sorted locally, not for £40 odd quid, if not its a trip south of the river...

Cheers,
Chris.

I also have a stuck seat post and am just about to embark on the ammonia route, how did you administer the stuff and how long did you leave it to work on the oxide, also where can you get the ammonia in the first place. (I have a lot of faith in Sheldon Brown's advice and he appears to have liked this method) Also how did you use the Coke method since this sounds attactive but not as potent as the ammonia
Regards
Br

try some GT85, shoot it down the seat post gaps, and try heating up your frame around the seat post, the heat will cause the metal to expand thus hopefully releasing the seat post.

One of my favourite jobs, very satisfying when you get em out! Need vice though. Micro adjust seatpost much easier to get hold if. If it goes horribly pears up I've drilled one out with a 25mm bit and hand drill quite successfully. Takes a while. I've also damaged a frame in a seatpost drilling accident...

Good luck!

I read the title and was hoping for something completely different.

I also have a stuck seat post and am just about to embark on the ammonia route, how did you administer the stuff and how long did you leave it to work on the oxide, also where can you get the ammonia in the first place. (I have a lot of faith in Sheldon Brown's advice and he appears to have liked this method) Also how did you use the Coke method since this sounds attactive but not as potent as the ammonia
Regards
Br

Hello,
I poured the ammonia in from the bottom bracket shell, after the bb was removed obv... left it a week and no progress, giving it a second shot, for a second week with a fresh application...
Same with coke... trying coke out again on the stem now as thats stuck too, just reapplied both, which will work? prob neither. I hate people who don't grease things...
I got the ammonia from a hardware store by Barbican, was less than 3 quid a bottle...
Caustic soda is looking more appealing every day, skip the "mild routes" and grab the bull by the horns, saves you a lot of time in the long run I think...

More stuck part problems.. quill seized to forks, and cranks to b/b. niceish old frame and campy bits so am trying to avoid threading the cranks by accident or summat. Any ideas? 2

Caustic Soda will dissolve anything aluminium, but not steel. (Also paint, skin and potentially your cat if applied incorrectly). Drill/cut away as much as possible, and just soak it, or fill the seat tube. Be creative.

Theres a good guide here:
http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/seatpin-rest.html

As for cranks, have you tried a ball joint puller? If you find the right kind, you can get much more force applied to the cranks from the back instead of the relatively weak threads..

What do you mean when you say the cranks are stuck on the BB? Have you used a crank extractor that has been screwed (all the way!) into the crank all the way but then you can't screw the inner bit in?

The Park tools crank extractor like this:

with a cheater bar has (I think) worked every time for me.

As for the stem in the forks, has the bottom of the quill separated from the bottom of the stem? If it has and still can't move the stem reckon you'll have to chop the stem, you may be able to drill the remainder out of the forks afterwards.

Good luck!

yeh, the bottom of the quill comes seperate fine, just the actual stem then won't budge. (quill similar to one on the right http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=1927&src=froogle)

bin using a park tools crank extractor and a really long spanner, so pretty similar set up. and yeh, 's the inner bit that won't screw in. If i try and force it it starts threading the cranks, even with the outher bit screwed fully in.

eggpie, frame's steel. parts dunno to be honest.

ball joint puller, elaborate...

Caustic soda isn't something to be that scared off, seal off parts carefully and pour that shit in, it took 3 days with a fresh batch of soda every morning to dissolve enough of my seatpost to free it up with the help o a screwdriver.

Will post a picture when I next use a real computer.

Realised that advice isn't that relevant, but there you have it.

Right, forget ammonia, waste of time, it's so weak you could prob drink it, I have resorted to caustic soda, and a strong mix at that, i'll post some pics up of how it goes...

I had the same problem and it drove me mad! In the end I ended up cutting right down to as close to the frame as possible, then cut down the length of the seat post with a hacksaw blade and rolled it in on itself. Took me ages, but was well worth it. Still working on my stem though...

eggpie, frame's steel. parts dunno to be honest.

ball joint puller, elaborate...

This is a ball joint puller:

With some creativity, and the right sized tool, you can squeeze the jaws on the right around the axle, between the crank and the frame, so it pulls on the crank arm, then use a very large wrench/cheater bar/friend to tighten the screw against the axle like any other crank tool (making sure its not pressing against the crank arm in any way...) Its just like a regular crank tool, but hooks the crank from behind instead of pulling on the threads. I didnt promise it would be easy..of course, if its alloy cranks on a steel axle, you can always experiment with the idea that aluminium expands more than steel when (gently) heated...

(Theyre campy cranks, right? Not TA or Stronglight? Its not the Reverse thread C-record era stuff?)

If the stem is alloy, embrace that caustic soda. Its not scary, it just removes flesh. If its steel, embrace the hacksaw. Also good for removing flesh.

just had the same issues. put the bike upside down and squirted wd40 down the frame and left it for nearly 2 weeks. then used a heat gun on the frame and stuck part a few times to create heat cycles. eventually the part moved, then it was relatively simple to get them out.

if you undo the top allen key thing on the stem and hit it with a hammer or rubber mallet it comes out really easily. hope this helps

I'd second the GT85, spray it whereever you can whilst the bike is upside down and eventually the parts will start to move.

Hammer...

hmm i've got a stuck seatpost too, seems to be a case of wrong size shoved in. It's aluminium post in steel frame so might be bonded too.

I managed to get hold of that plusgas stuff in the little hardware store on great peter st. (bottom of strutton ground market) will report back how it goes........

i took my frame and stuck seatpost to a carpenters round the corner and tried the vice thing

it didn't work, so i'm going to remove the BB and pour ammonia down the seat tube next

anyone near SW6 got a shimano BB tool I could borrow?

I wouldn't waste your time with ammonia, I swear that stuffs drinkable, I just spent a few weeks pouring Caustic soda down the seat tube, an over 3mm thick post is now less than 1mm thick and I have been hacking it out with a screw driver and some pliers, will prob finish the job off in the morning light...
Paint is untouched too.