Bike Forums - And the stem is still stuck....

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- - And the stem is still stuck.... (https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1141682-stem-still-stuck.html)

Hot water from a tea kettle... seriously.

Bring water to a boil, then pour it out slowly over then stem. It will get hot fast. Real hot, enough that you wouldn't want to touch it. This will cause the aluminum to expand.

Let it cool. The aluminum will contract and break the galvanic corrosion bonding it to the steel.

I got the idea from Dave Moulton's blog. I didn't think it would work, but after trying everything else I gave it a shot. Worked like a charm. I was able to save a nice vintage stem.

Just some notes:
-Remove the wedge
-Put the handle bars back in for leverage
-Find a way to lock the forks (I used my legs)
-Twist the stem back and forth by the handle bars until it breaks free

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lovenutz (Post 20299201)

Another way is to undo all the nuts on the headset, slide them up to the stem, tape them up or wire them up to get them out of the way
and use a portable blow torch... heat the top of the fork tube threaded part, let it cool, spray more WD- 40 down there, heat it up again, repeat this about 3 times, and off she comes!

I might try using hot water next time though

Ahh, Good idea. The headset is loose and I can see all the fork threads. I could use my MAPP gas torch on that.

If that Fails, let it rest over night, then try twisting it off the next day

also you could try a shock treatment, put a bottle of water in the freezer ...take it out before it turns to ice

....heat up the tube then pour that water on it, so it causes the stem to retract which breaks the seal

Well that didn't work. I'll wait for my Kroil to come in the mail. If that does not work I'll progress to sodium hydroxide.

did you squirt WD-40 before heating? it seems to penetrate further down

it being such a ***** i'd be surprised if kroil will work, but ya gotta try anything

lol, they filtered out biatch

I'm pouring lye in it at the moment. Well, not at this exact moment, I'm typing at this moment. But I poured in some lye in the previous moment. It's bubbling.

So here is what an aluminum stem looks like after 2 days of soaking in lye.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c2a1385389.jpg