Any help? Stem seems to be stuck - Seized quill stems

Yes.

tl;dr

Is it safe to do it in the bath? (Not with me in it at the same time.)

Now who's the smug one?

so whats the best greese to stop this happening, copper?

I had the same problem and managed to pull the thing out a bit with a threaded rod + some washers + some nuts ... once the stem started moving it wasn't too hard to pull and twist it upwards ... of course lots of wd40 were involved

Yeah I've already knacked my puny muscles trying to remove it your way /\, so I felt like it just deserved an alkaline bath.

I compensated my puny muscles with a huge torque wrench :)

I've heard a lot of talk about your wrench

That was bloody stupid to cut the stem!
The easiest way to remove a stuck stem of this kind is to use (1) a steel rod that is about diameter 12 to 16mm and 1 meter long. (2) a 4 pound hammer.

There are two types of locking taper nuts: side taper and center taper. No preparation the end of the steel rod is necessary if its a center taper. If it is a side taper you may have to have about one inch of the end turned down a bit in a lathe to locate in the bolt hole.(or manually drill a hole in the cut end, and insert an old drill bit of the right size, that sticks out a bit)(you could even hacksaw an angle before inserting the "locator pin")
a./ Loosen the lock taper and knock it down. Hear it 'clunk' its way down the headtube and lodge in the opening under the crown.
b./ Remove the taper block bolt and use it to catch the taper block and extract it through the hole on the underside of the crown
c./ loosen the lock nut of the top half of the headset and slide it up a little (and the washer)
d./ now insert the heavy rod through the hole under the crown until it butts against the stem inside the steerer tube.
e./ now drive the rod with steady blows from the four pound hammer. The rod is long enough so the forks and drop outs are not at risk if you work well.
f./ If the bolt hole of the stem has been damaged it can repaired by reaming the hole again. So the stem is saved too.
** Its best to have an assistant hold the frame by the head tube and top tube, while the frame stands upright on the back of the rear drop outs i.e. the steel bar is being driven horizontally.
** now that you lopped it off its open on top
Never failed me.

Loosen the lock taper and knock it down

That's really helpful, I'll remember it next time.
My problem was: the steel nut had totally galvanised with the alu stem, and the stem was very cheap and nasty so I thought I'd be saving myself some hassle by just cutting it and looking to knock out the bolt. Of course the stem was/is galvanised too.

Hence Caustic Soda.

or you can post a wanted ad for a new fork

blow torch on the steerer tube. with the flame on the steerer not the stem, the steerer will expand more and along with the caustic soda and whatever ingenious method you devise for whacking it out from the bottom you should have no troubles getting it out.

please please dont throw that down the drain.

Thanks thanks both of you - incidentally, what is the best way to get rid of the caustic soda? Dilution with a massive amount of vinegar seems a bit head mental.

HI, I just got a stem removed from my forks yesterday at a mechanics in Camden. I had tried everything in the books because I thought the stem had seized into the forks. However that was not the problem. The was that the fork steerer had a smaller tube than average (dunno why!!) and so the stem was pushed into the steerer by force. So the mechanic had to remove it by force. I had sawed the top off so he just stuck the stem into a vice and knocked the shit out with a piece of wood and a hammer.

The problem: While knocking out the stem the rim of the steerer where the threads are was enlarged and so I can't fit the top race of my headset onto the steerer. now I'm trying to figure out how to get it to fit. ALL SUGGESTIONS WELCOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, that 'mechanic' was an idiot.
If he stuck the stem in the vice, then that means that he hammered on the fork crown, away from the vice ???? He couldn't control the direction of the force and flared the threaded end of the steerer, as the blows moved the fork left and right against the contained stem.
Your only solution may be a large type of nut with a tapered internal thread. As you tighten it on the flared thread, you hope to compress the steerer thread into the tapered nut. Its a longshot. Personally never done it. Dont know where you'll get one. Probably easier to get a new fork.
Is it a precious fork?

Yeah, its precious because I'm trying to keep the bike original. I've managed to get the top race of the headset on. Now I need to figure out a way of getting the final lock nut on there. It won't budge for the moment. Stanget that the race fits and not the nut. I'll see if I can get a bigger nut.

Thanks thanks both of you - incidentally, what is the best way to get rid of the caustic soda? Dilution with a massive amount of vinegar seems a bit head mental.

Chuck it down the plughole. It's sold as a drain clearer after all.

dunno if it's been said, and cba to read these two pages, but have you tried puting fork/frame/stem etc. upside down, pouring essence of vinigar down the steerer, leave it for 36-48 hours, and then drain it away (best to do this outside, rusty essence of vinigar + floor don't like each other), unscrew the bolt half whay out, put allen key in, and hit the allen key with a hammer.

get a reamer in there---?

drill down as much as you can out of all the old stem then use a pad saw to cut two slits down inside it then crush it with mole grips - now bang out from under neath by putting a pole down the steerer backwards and hammering it

Yeah, its precious because I'm trying to keep the bike original. I've managed to get the top race of the headset on. Now I need to figure out a way of getting the final lock nut on there. It won't budge for the moment. Stanget that the race fits and not the nut. I'll see if I can get a bigger nut.

If you are careful with a file you can remove about 0.5mm from the top threads of the fork, ie so you can see a tiny flat appearing on the threads, this can mean the difference between it fitting really horribly, ie feeling like you are killing it with every turn...and it almost falling on, I advise you to avoid that hamfisted cunt of a mechanic again.
The method he used was bound to damage the fork, which begs the question, why did he use it at all?

If push really comes to shove and you still cannot get the lock nut on the top threads, then using the smallest available hack saw..you know the tiny ones? (like in the picture above by ocdc) they have a blade thickness of about .5mm, cut a single little cut about 4 mm down into the top of the fork, *(at the back so it's nice and neat) this will allow a little springing of the fork as you try to put on the lock nut, giving it enough movement to actually go on the fork. if after you have done it, it will tighten up without popping over the thread each time you pinch it up then all is well...if it doesn't then use a little solder to fill up the blade cut though that initial chance to get the nut on should allow it to be put on after you have filled the cut with solder.

Loctite make some stuff called "Freeze N Release", which is basically a combination of freeze spray and plusgas. Halfords / car spares places tend to sell it. It's really useful as it lets you get a big temperature difference between components without resorting to heatguns and blowtorches.

And Plus Gas always beats WD40 in my book, but WD40 is better than nothing.

removing rusted/frozen quill stem... any suggestions? I really would like to keep the stem.. right now I'm trying the ammonia trick down the fork.

:(

my bike is upside down outside with a fork full of WD40.

Blowtorch then water....rapidly expand and cool...
Either way you often end up losing the fork and stem...or both

saw stem off, remove fork, stand upside down in a vase full of caustic soda solution in a well ventilated area, wait 3 days until stem has complete dissolved, rinse. put new stem in.

the solution should not go past the steerer, because it will strip the paint too.

stop saying these things