Bicycle Mechanics - Pedal Removal (the entire pedal)

Hi. I have a great BMX bicycle i pulled out of a swamp and managed to build up with other parts bikes that are laying around here. Put brakes on it, tires, those little bars that stick up on the handlebars so that you can grip it easier when standing up. It rides great but i see one minor problem... The pedals.

They are intact and work fine, the problem is is that the shafts that connect them to the frame of the bike are just to short to make it comfortable to ride. I was wondering if theres a way to get the actual shafts out (everything on google just talks about removing the actual pedal) or if they just bend them after they're put into the frame. Theres a big nut on the base of one of them, but when i remove it nothing seems to change.

The shaft that connect the pedal to the frame is called the crank or crankarm. If you include the front sprocket, then it's called the crankset.

The cylinder shaped part of the frame that the crankarms attach to is called the bottom bracket shell. Inside the bottom bracket shell is a bearing assembly called the bottom bracket.

Your crankarms look like this if you took them out of the bike.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/images/opc-chainwheel.jpg

You can get them out. But the bearings will come out with them. Also, you'll need to remove the pedals. Just follow these instructions. (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/opc.html) Based on the fact you pulled a bike out of a swamp and made it work with parts from other bikes, you should have no problem.

BTW, left hand pedals on all bikes are reverse threaded. That means you turn them clockwise to remove them.