haighter

I'm trying to remove the BB from my 87 Cannondale in preparation for a powder coat. One of the cups came off with relatively minimal effort. The other cup, however, wouldn't even budge. I fear that over the years the metal on metal has seized and they are now really stuck together.

Is there any trick you've learned over the years that aids in getting it off? I (believe) the BB is Sugino - it was stock on the SR400.



FWIW, I have access to basically every tool imaginable (Bike Kitchen, San Francisco - look it up!), so this isn't a job done with the tools out of a craftsman toolbox - we got the whole park tool set and more. Thanks!

une_vitesse

which cup is it? drive side cup is reverse threaded, so: righty loosey.
that being said, the fixed cup is usually on pretty tight (in the order of 300-400 in-lbs/force), so you need to really crank on it to get it off. can you describe the cup? are there two wrench flats, or are there splines?

une_vitesse

sorry, sugino fixed cups are going to have wrench flats. so what you want to do is:
1) grab the 36 mm fixed cup tool (HCW-4), and place it on the cup.
2) use the headset press (HHP-2,without the inserts) to hold the fixed cup tool in place
3) increase the leverage on the fixed cup tool with the frame, fork and handlebar straightener (FFS-2)
4) RIGHTY LOOSEY.
if the bike kitchen doesn't have one of those tools, you can strip the frame or the wheels, and place the flats of the fixed cup in a bench vise and use the frame as leverage. have someone to help you keep the flats engaged as they are relatively shallow. or PM me and i can help you out at my shop in the EB.

CliftonGK1

I had a seized BB cup and the shop guys clamped a tool over it that bolted clean though the whole BB and they could clamp it in a vise. Then they used the entire frame as leverage to get it mobilized.

jccaclimber

Read the Sheldon Brown article.

daveizdum

That's exactly what they recommend in the Park Tool's tutorial: https://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=94 . I had to use a really strong vice and I need assistance from two other people, but it eventually worked for me. I did break a wrench in the process though.

Yellowbeard

I recommend a cheater bar, for practically anything that needs a lot of torque. One of my most useful tools has been a 3-foot length of ABS drainpipe that'll fit over wrench handles. It works as well as a vise for removing freewheels, gives enough control over a wrench to stop splined-cup tools from slipping out of place and the BB cup tool described by Sheldon always works for me.

JohnDThompson 

This:

Noobert

Fixed Cup? Do you have a welder? Weld a 6-10 foot bar to it, and crank it out. Works every time.

DannoXYZ 

Once I have the fixed-cup tool fastened to the cup, I just tap the other end with hammer. Comes loose every time. It's the shock that breaks free the corrosion.

yeah, and as others said, the fixed-cup drive-side is reverse threaded, so you'll have to spin it clockwise to loosen.

haighter

This is exactly what I ended up doing.

Bent a wrench trying to use my entire body weight as leverage and it didn't budge. Drenched the sucker in lube, popped it in the vice, had somebody stabilize it as we used the frame as leverage. Worked like a charm. Sucker was on there real good. Thanks for all the input everyone, really helped me out.