Stem welded to the front forks?
 

hello bicycle enthusiasts,

I've recently purchased a secondhand bike that's not in great condition but i'm broke. It is a monark hybrid of some kind. I notice the front wheel is out of alignment. Most bike tutorials they tell you to loosen the bolt at the top of the stem with and allen key. However, I seem to just have some sort of cap or different kind of bolt in the top of mine. I dont know how to open it? It may be something simple... any advice?
Ever seen a stem like this or know how to loosen it?

Here are some pictures: http://imgur.com/a/AzLYK

All help is greatly appreciated :-)

Not sure from the picture, but there appears to be a cosmetic cap or cork in the hole covering what is probably a hex socket bolt head.

Try to pop or pry the cork out, then you should find the stem bolt underneath. Loosen 4-4 turns, then tap down to free the wedge at the other end.

Like FBinNY said remove the rubber plug at the top and use a 6 MM hex or sometime a 5 MM . It might be frozen ,so turn the bike upside down and spray something like WD-40 into it , put the front wheel between your legs and twist the handbars until the stem breaks free.

Thanks so much FBinNY. You were quite right. the cap had rusted/melded into the top and had to be chipped away in little lumps but I got to the bolt.
Thanks again :-D Very positive first post!!

sometimes you throw stuff against the wall and it sticks, sometimes it doesn't. cheers.