tuvok

I was trying to loosen a stuck headset by flushing it with WD-40. However, partly due to my own ignorance and partly due to the lack of a nozzle I have sprayed some WD-40 on the top and bottom of my (assembled) headset. Is the WD-40 likely to work its way into the headset to the point where it will dissolve the grease or am I just being paranoid? Am I now looking at having to do a headset overhaul/re-greasing?

Moose

Do you mean "stuck stem"? If that's the case, I'd say you may be OK, but once the stem is off it's pretty easy to then loosen up the headset and overhaul it.

If anything on the bike is stuck enough to require extra effort to remove, I'll bet the headset needs overhauled anyway.

toofastgt

Do not use wd-40 for anything except wasp removal!! It is 80% kerosene and will wash grease out of bearings!!!!! Use PB blaster for stuck hardware and you will not have to flood anything with it, lessening the chance of washing out grease!! It really works for freeing stuck hardware, A small handheld torch will also
ease the item apart!!! When you install parts on your bike use silver antisieze on every threaded connection
and never have to worry again!!!

Portis

Chances are that if your stem was stuck it has probably been awhile since the headset has been packed anyway. IOW, you probably couldn't hurt something that already needs attention.

jjvw

I can't even imagine the untold damage you have done to your bike by putting it in contact with WD-40. Do a quick search here for WD-40 and you will see how often the sky falls.

In reality, headsets are pretty easy to overhaul if needed. I assume you are dealing with a quill style stem/headset. Just keep track of the bearings as they fall out and put it all back together as it came apart.

San Rensho 

A friend of mine used WD40 once and immediately became bald and impotent.

tuvok

Sorry, yes. I meant stem. I did manage to get it off, it was not too badly corroded. As it turns out I should have just tried to pound it with a hammer and some wood (to dampen the blow). This seemed to do the trick. So to be clear. The headset was not flushed with WD-40 it was just the inside of the head tube/fork where the stem quill wedges (a course of action that was suggested in other forum posts). The WD-40 I was concerned about was collateral spray that may have landed on the outside of the headset bolts which were never loosened off. I want to hold off on the headset overhaul as right now my workspace (the garage) is a mess and I don't want to risk loosing any of the bearings (if they are in OK shape this will save me a trip to the LBS). That and my confidence is a bit shot right now and don't feel like tackling this task right now.

jjvw

Everything's fine. Unless you had the bike upside down and flooded the area so the cups caught the overflowing overspay, I would not be very concerned.

tuvok

Bike was upside down but flooding seems to have resulted in WD-40 leaking through the stem bolt while bike was upside down & WD-40 spilling down through the bottom as bike was flipped over (now that I think about it). So, overall, relatively small amounts of solvent would have gotten on the outside of the tightened headset assembly but not in a manner that would cause large amounts of solvent to pool around the headset components. Pooling of solvent would have only happened inside the fork steerer.

jjvw

Others will disagree, but I still say things are fine for the time being. Save the repacking for next weekend.

Wordbiker

I once knew a lady that used WD-40... and all her babies were born naked!

mikepoole

A bald and impotent friend of mine used WD-40 once and was immediately cured.

Stacey

WD-40 killed Chuck Norris & Jack Bauer!

tuvok

Thanks again for the feedback. I know these types of threads can get tedious. Interesting to see how WD-40 has had such a profound impact on the world around us!

blamp28

What's WD-40?

Fibber

My favorite penetrant is Kroil. Apply with one of those soft white squeeze bottles with the long hypodermic style needle applicators available in many hardware stores. Learned about it from the machinist in our model shop. The stuff is amazing.

Map tester

Have to ask: Was she hot?