Seized seatpost...VICTORY!

[SkipdiverJohn]

I have another to do. Happy days...

Join the club. Saved an ancient MTB from going to the council tip about a week ago. Rusty chromed steel post stuck solid in a decent Reynolds frame. 3 applications of penetrating fluid so far and it's just laughing at me. Same situation at the front end with the handlebar stem. Don't most bike owners ever bother to grease their seatposts & stems??

 

[3narf]

Join the club. Saved an ancient MTB from going to the council tip about a week ago. Rusty chromed steel post stuck solid in a decent Reynolds frame. 3 applications of penetrating fluid so far and it's just laughing at me. Same situation at the front end with the handlebar stem. Don't most bike owners ever bother to grease their seatposts & stems??

I think mountain bike stems are actually more likely to get greased; you might drop the seat down more often, or remove the seat & post to shove the bike in the back of a car or van.

With a road bike you tend to get the thing to the correct height then leave it there, which was what killed my last one.

 

[KneesUp]

Join the club. Saved an ancient MTB from going to the council tip about a week ago. Rusty chromed steel post stuck solid in a decent Reynolds frame. 3 applications of penetrating fluid so far and it's just laughing at me. Same situation at the front end with the handlebar stem. Don't most bike owners ever bother to grease their seatposts & stems??

I'm reading this looking for tips on shifting an MTB stem that possibly hasn't moved since the 1980s.

I tried ages ago with no joy and then sort of left it at the back of the shed, but it's a nicer frame than the one I ride so I dragged it out last night. My memory was that tapping the quill stem bolt did nothing last time, so I undid it a fair bit and than gave it a go with a claw hammer - and much to my surprise it gave way immediately. But the stem won't budge at all. I've turned the bike over and the wedge is definitely totally free, so I can only conclude that the steel quill has bonded to the steel fork, which is annoying.

Is there a method that involves putting an appropriate sized piece of steel into the steerer from underneath and hitting it? I've sprayed it with GT85 for now and will keep re-spraying it and try at the weekend (unless I find my penetrating oil in the meantime - but there's teflon in GT85 - that's got to help, right?)

 

[3narf]

I'm reading this looking for tips on shifting an MTB stem that possibly hasn't moved since the 1980s.

I tried ages ago with no joy and then sort of left it at the back of the shed, but it's a nicer frame than the one I ride so I dragged it out last night. My memory was that tapping the quill stem bolt did nothing last time, so I undid it a fair bit and than gave it a go with a claw hammer - and much to my surprise it gave way immediately. But the stem won't budge at all. I've turned the bike over and the wedge is definitely totally free, so I can only conclude that the steel quill has bonded to the steel fork, which is annoying.

Is there a method that involves putting an appropriate sized piece of steel into the steerer from underneath and hitting it? I've sprayed it with GT85 for now and will keep re-spraying it and try at the weekend (unless I find my penetrating oil in the meantime - but there's teflon in GT85 - that's got to help, right?)

You could do with getting proper penetrating oil tbh. Anything will do as a drift for tapping it out from underneath - a 6" extension or a bit of steel bar.

 

[KneesUp]

You could do with getting proper penetrating oil tbh. Anything will do as a drift for tapping it out from underneath - a 6" extension or a bit of steel bar.

Oh good idea thanks - I have a socket set extension thing somewhere. Didn't think of using that. It's probably with my penetrating oil, which is still proving elusive mind you

 

[Drago]

50/50 mix of ATF and acetone. It can loosen a Glaswegians change purse.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

But the stem won't budge at all. I've turned the bike over and the wedge is definitely totally free, so I can only conclude that the steel quill has bonded to the steel fork, which is annoying.

Is there a method that involves putting an appropriate sized piece of steel into the steerer from underneath and hitting it?

I would advise against inserting anything from below and belting it, as you could burr the end of the stem tube. Patience is the name of the game, multiple applications of penetrating agent and a combination of torsion applied to the bars whilst the forks are prevented from rotating, with some percussion from a heavy mallet - NOT directly from a steel hammer! The previous one I freed off on a skip bike took six weeks of spraying and twisting before it let go, but it did come apart without damage.

LOL @ Drago - does your recipe come in Yorkshire flavour too?

 

[KneesUp]

I used a socket set extension bar as a drift once. It did the job but knackered it for its normal purpose.

Some '3 in 1' brand aerosol penetrating oil and a bit of a soak, and it's out. Doesn't even look that rusty - presumably just held in with 29 year-old dried crud.

 

[Illaveago]

Some '3 in 1' brand aerosol penetrating oil and a bit of a soak, and it's out. Doesn't even look that rusty - presumably just held in with 29 year-old dried crud.
View attachment 394453

I couldn't make the picture out . It looks like the bike has come through the wall.

 

[Illaveago]

View attachment 393827
I have another to do following the successful conclusion of this one: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/aryton-rebuild.220455/post-4925005

Happy days...

I want to remove it intact this time. Wish me luck!

I had a seized ally seat post in a steel frame which wouldn't budge using conventional methods so I used a caustic soda solution that has been suggested by some others in the past . I made a small dam using Plumbers Mate and poured a small amount in , wearing all safety equipment. I let it soak in for a while and then washed it off with water. Just that small application was enough to break the seal and allow the post to twist out.