Bicycle Mechanics - Stuck BB no I mean REALLY stuck!!

ok so i got an aluminum frame w/ a BB stuck in it. thought i might just be too weak to get it out so i take it to my LBS they look at and say "no problem" first one guy tries.. then another... then the two of them together.. then a third thinks there just playing around and tries... then all three... finaly they hand the frame back to me and say "well thats the first BB we have not been able to remove". so i take it home and there it sits in a bath of Liquid Wrench.

My Question is if the liquid wrench fails what should i try next?!?

try a small propane torch.

Use it to heat up the bb frame, then try to pry it out again. it should break loose easily.

try a small propane torch.

AFTER you've cleaned up that liquid wrench stuff. Fireball, anyone? :eek:

Cool this was on my list of "last resorts"
amonia is recomended by sheldon brown for aluminum on aluminum stuck seat posts so thats on the list too!

Cool this was on my list of "last resorts"
amonia is recomended by sheldon brown for aluminum on aluminum stuck seat posts so thats on the list too!

Be careful using strong bases on aluminum. Ammonia in water is a very strong base and can react with the aluminum. If it doesn't dissolve it, it may still weaken it. You'll salvage the bottom bracket but I don't think that's what you are really trying to save.

Be careful using strong bases on aluminum. Ammonia in water is a very strong base and can react with the aluminum. If it doesn't dissolve it, it may still weaken it. You'll salvage the bottom bracket but I don't think that's what you are really trying to save.

Wow, thanks for the warning, ill prolly be avoiding that as the BB is definatly not my worry, in fact the BB can goto hell and i may just send it there when i get it out, the frame is definatly on my "save" list haha.

I am going to make sure that the BB is aluminum as i suspected tonight. im just hoping the wrench will do its wonders!

Keep the ideas/encoragement/warnings coming ill need all the help i can get on this bad boy

make jon fix it, he got you into this, he can get you out.:p

make jon fix it, he got you into this, he can get you out.:p
DAMN why didnt i think of that.. Jeff, your a genious!! now where is that fisch.....

I'm right here, and I just linked you to the auction - I don't recall any gun to your head making you buy it. But of course, I'll help if I can. You've already heard a few of my suggestions...

Is it a cartridge BB and if it is what brand? Will neither side come loose? If you got one side out which side, drive or non, is still stuck?

Is it a cartridge BB and if it is what brand? Will neither side come loose? If you got one side out which side, drive or non, is still stuck?

Naw man its both sides stuck like a motha... the LBS guys broke a ratchette trying to get it out, i was stading there and i saw the rachette break with the force of 3 of em trying to unstick this bastard.

in any event i dont know the maker atho i assume its original equipment and that would make it a Real, 103mm spindle

Your answer wasn't clear, but if it's cone and cup, relief cut the cups with a dremel. Angle grindering off the axle might help with this as well. Try all the other stuff and the torch as well before you reach for the Implements of Destruction™, but sometimes that's all that will work. If you can get the lockring off, you can also dremel the adjustable cup off so you can get the axle out, then it's sawzall time.

If it's cartridge, you may be hosed, but if you have a good breaker bar (not a rachet), a tool with splines that aren't rounded off (bunged up ones can be ground down to where the splines are still good), and a long enough cheater stick, and a torch, something has got to give.

Sorry it is a cartridge, (thought i had said but your right i wasnt clear) gona try the liquid wrench, then the torch and cheaterstick, with luck and a little elbow grease this bad boy WILL come off.... or the frame will bend, either way....

You want to use a BB tool with some big wrench flats on it. Use a long bolt threaded for the axle and clamp the tool to the BB(Pedros makes a tool for this if you can't find a bolt) Clamp everything in the biggest vice you can find and make like you are turning the bus. Make sure you go the right way, it seems backwards when you do it this way.

You want to use a BB tool with some big wrench flats on it. Use a long bolt threaded for the axle and clamp the tool to the BB(Pedros makes a tool for this if you can't find a bolt) Clamp everything in the biggest vice you can find and make like you are turning the bus. Make sure you go the right way, it seems backwards when you do it this way.

Hehe, this is what we did at the local Bike shop, 1lb more or torqe and i would have had a bent frame, instead the ratchet broke off the wrench.. gona try the same thing w/ a regular wrench (ive got one for this size that almost 3 feet long and weighs about 3 pounds) got a cheater stick to put on it may get another foot out of it.

Ratchets are not meant for breaking things loose. Hence, the broken ratchet. That is what breaker bars are for. You can get breaker bars in different lengths. And you can put a whole lot more torque on them.

It does sound like you are going to have to use chemicals and heat, so you don't damage the frame.

Ratchets are not meant for breaking things loose. Hence, the broken ratchet. That is what breaker bars are for. You can get breaker bars in different lengths. And you can put a whole lot more torque on them.

Aye, ive got a pretty good sized wrench with a decent break arm, then i also have a 5 foot steel pipe that could be used as a break arm but i hesitate to pull out the widow maker so soon



It does sound like you are going to have to use chemicals and heat, so you don't damage the frame.

Chemicals Check, heat..... waiting on that as i would really hate to set my self, my house, my bike or any combonation of the three on fire hahaha.

I was going to post a thread about this same problem I'm having. I was just about to poke my eye balls out. :(

Anyway, so chemical is the next stage?

I was going to post a thread about this same problem I'm having. I was just about to poke my eye balls out. :(

Anyway, so chemical is the next stage?

If you dont mind possibly breaking your BB tool, then use an impact wrench.

Try the ammonia - minutes wont do any damage, overnight might. Also use heat - boiling water should be sufficient as Aluminum has a high coefficient of expansion, and boiling water wont be hot enough to affect the heat treatment of the al alloy.

What you might have is what's known as galvanic bonding. When two dissimilar metals are introduced to each other and then subjected to corrosion (such as from water, road salt, etc.) the metals will essentially weld themselves together.

If the BB is not aluminum, that's probably what happened. Heat can make things worse.

I am a wrench in an LBS and we see this once in a while. It probably happened because the bottom bracket wasn't greased well or whoever put it in did not seal everything up correctly.

it is very hard to split apart. This is pretty common in boats, I am told. If you have a marina or boat dealer near you, ask them how they get the pieces apart.

.....This is pretty common in boats, I am told. If you have a marina or boat dealer near you, ask them how they get the pieces apart.

I think that they just use the offending assembly as an anchor for their boat.


If you dont mind possibly breaking your BB tool, then use an impact wrench.

If you use an impact wrench, then you might be well served by following Rev.Chuck's advice about clamping the BB tool to the BB.

Giving it a few sharp raps with a wrench might help to loosen things up a bit. (Just remember that you're NOT trying to deform anything. The idea is that the vibrations that we hear as a metallic ring may weaken the corrosion.)

When you get to the napalm and tactical nuke stages call me, I love fireworks.

If you dont mind possibly breaking your BB tool, then use an impact wrench.
I was going to suggest this as well. Your local tire dealer will have one of these mothers. Another method would be to put the BB tool in a large vice and use the bike frame itself as a "breaker bar" by using a bouncing back in forth motion to try and unstick the BB. Be careful of the frame welds, in other words do this without getting p***ed really torquing the hell out of the frame. Good Luck.

Liquid Wrench is wimpy compared to PB Blaster. I have used this stuff to unbond a corroded in seatpost and on a couple of really stuck BBs. A good overnight soak in this stuff and a good breaker bar is all you should need.

DEMON

I use a Thule bar on the end of my breaker for more leverage. Have yet to fail me. be slow and methodical about it tho, it will give you tremedous leverage.

Having dealt with many corroded and stuck fasteners on cars, my suggestion is soak in Liquid Wrench then add heat. I use a heat gun instead of a torch when necessary and it works wonders. The hot air will boil the Liquid Wrench instead of lighting it immediately on fire. If you broke a quality ratchet trying to remove the shells, then chances are a breaker bar will bend the frame before the thing moves. Heating up the stuck parts will make them a lot less stuck (for lack of better wording).

There's the possibility the BB cups were installed with some kind of thread adhesive like Loctite. If so, methylene chloride is one of the best organic solvents but hard to find. In the worst case heat is the only recourse, as explained in the Loctite website excerpted below:

http://www.loctite.com/int_henkel/loctite_us/index.cfm?&pageid=214&layout=2
Q: What solvents can I use to remove liquid Loctite materials?
A: Most organic solvents are effective in removing anaerobic and cyanoacrylate adhesives. Chlorinated solvents are most commonly used. Dry MEK and acetone are used on applications using instant adhesives.
Q: How can I remove a fastener that is "permanently" locked in?
A: The application of heat is needed to remove a fastener that can't be removed with a hand tool. Temperatures of 325F and above is needed to break down a standard anaerobic, 500F for high temperature Anaerobics. A heat gun or propane torch is commonly used to do this process, and careful disassembly should occur while parts are still hot. Once apart, and cooled, use methylene chloride (Chisel #79040) to remove cured excess material. Always wipe down the fasteners with clean up solvent to remove the wax film that Chisel leaves on the surface.

So did you ever get that BB out?

If the frame is aluminum and the cartridge steel, I'd use heat as primary tool, as the frame will expand more than the cartridge. However, be careful and don't overheat it.

I've got the same problem only with a steel frame KONA.
BB (cartridge type) is rusted in place solidly.
Last thing to try now is a torch.