rrx3

Please see the attached pic, I unscrewed the headset hardware, typically the stem comes right out of the headset/fork, but not this time. What am I missing?

Andrew R Stewart 

rrx3- Perhaps the stem is stuck in the steerer. From the wedge/cone not being tapped loose yet or rust. Either way about it you could do all the headset work without removing the stem. Clean off the race surfaces, apply grease and (carefully) place the balls in the grease and thread the top race back (without disturbing the balls' placement). Not quick or fun but what i would do to avoid trying top remove a stem that was really stuck in place. BTW these raleigh 26tpi headsets are very sensitive to the number of balls. IIRC only 23 are needed top or bottom. The bottom race is slightly larger and will look like there's two balls missing, the top will have one ball space. Andy.

FBinNY 

Looks like the classic case of an aluminum stem stuck in a steel steerer because of corrosion. There's lots of info about this if you search for threads about stuck seatposts (which seem to be more common, but the problem is the same)

If you have a bench vise at home you can try this to free the stem. Start with a long soak with an oil like liquid wrench or kroil, which are made for this sort of job.

Re-assemble the top part of the headset with the lock not threaded all the way down. This works best without the balls, so skip them. Have a friend hold the bike inverted with the lock nut resting on the jaws of a vise, opened just far enough to clear the stem.
Reaching through the open bottom of the fork set a punch against the bottom of the stem, or wedge, and give it a couple of solid hammer blows to dislodge the stem. Once it moves, even a hair, flip the bike, and hold the crown between 2 blocks of wood in the vise, and and use a short pipe hrough the stem (or the handlebars) and twist back and forth while pulling up. Be sure to keep it well oiled, and rest it when it gets warm or you could make it worse.

One note, depending on the type of stem and wedge you may have trouble moving it without pushing on the wedge which makes things tighter. In many cases you can still move it by putting the punch near the edge of the wedge, or sometimes flip the wedge so the big end is resting against the bottom of the stem.

krome

Except that is a steel stem stuck in a steel steerer. It is a vintage Raleigh Superbe, the all steel bicycle.

FBinNY 

Sorry, that's what I would have expected, but the color was off in the photo so I thought aluminum. Same cause different chemistry.

IMO Kroil is your best option for penetrating "unsticking" oil. On your stem, you have a decent chance of flipping the wedge with a spoke/

BTW-
not to insult you, but just checking. You did tap the wedge down and free it after loosening the bolt 1/8", didn't you?

rrx3

This is my first time taking a Raleigh Superbe apart and I have very little experience with bikes, please excuse my ignorance. When you say "tap wedge down" after loosening the bolt, not I did not do that.

My process was, unthread long bolt connecting the neck to the head/fork area, then I loosened/unscrewed the headset bolts. Perhaps I missed the critical step of tapping the wedge. Is that done with the long bolt partially in? Please let me know the process.

thanks

FBinNY 

Then I'm glad I asked. Quill stems whether alloy or steel are retained by way of a wedge which expands a split tube. To loosen, you have to loosen the stem bolt (the one you removed) until it rises about 1/8" then tap it down with a hammer. It's best to protect the bolt head with a block of wood, or an old leather belt, so you don't mushroom the hex head.

Driving the bolt down, pushes the wedge down allowing the split to relax so you can move the stem. To tighten you simply tighten the bolt to pull the wedge up.

BTW- thanks for the reminder not to take anything for granted. I'm so used to stuck stem posts, where folks get insulted if I ask if they did the obvious (to those who know) that I often skip asking. You reminded me not to take for granted that what's obvious to me, is obvious to everybody.

For you in the future, try to include a hint about your experience level in your posts, so those who can help, can estimate what you might or might know.

rrx3

Thanks again for the community's help, the headset is now broken down for cleaning. Next step, how to remove the crank, any suggestions?

FBinNY 

Assuming you have cotter pin cranks, the hardest part of the process is removing the pin from both cranks.

You'll need a hard solid work surface like a concrete floor, anvil, or heavy bench vice. Then you'll need to support the crank arm so the energy of hammer blows isn't dissipated on flexing the frame. You can use a block of wood, but my favorite is a short length of water pipethat will reach from the underside of the crank arm (when horizontal) to the support. (f you have a large shop vise and a friend, you can put a length of pipe in the vise, and have a friend hold the bike resting on the crank arm with the head of the cotter inside the pipe).

Loosen the nut and back it off about 1/16" or until the top is flush with the end of the pin. Now you are ready to hammer the pin out. You don't want to tap it out, you want to give it one solid shot hard enough to sent it all the way to China. It often helps to use a drift punch here, so you don't have to worry about hitting the chaining. Again, don't tap with repeated blows, that just mushrooms the head of the pin, swing like you're down by 3 in the bottom of the ninth, and there's three men on, 2 outs and a full count.

Once the pin is loosened, remove the nut and washer, and it'll pop free with a gentle nudge., repeat on the other side, and the BB is ready to be removed.

BTW- remember that the right cup (the side the chainring was on) has a left hand thread and comes off to the right.