BikeTales 

can anyone assure me that the LBS will be able to get my crank arm off, even though i ripped all the threads out of the arm with my crank puller?

LWaB

I don't know how good your bike shop is.

Getting a crank arm off can be done, sometimes destructively. Have you tried the search function?

Luke52

Step 1: Pick up telephone
Step 2: Dial the number of your LBS.
Step 3: Say, "Hi, I have a <state the model of your bike>. I tried to get my cranks off, and I managed to strip the threads. Would you be able to get them off for me?"
(If the answer is "Yes", go to step 4. If the answer is no, go to step 5)
Step 4: Take your bike to your LBS.
Step 5: Repeat step 1. In step 2, dial the number of another bike shop. Repeat step 3.

z415

I doubt they will ever say they can't when you call. They'll probably just say bring it in and we'll see what we can do.

Sixty Fiver

It's doable because I have done it more than a few times... a decent shop should also be able to do it.

nitropowered

you can do it yourself. Take out the crank bolts and ride them till they fall off

LarDasse74

the super specific tool I have used to get crankarms off is called a 'gear puller.'

The claws of the puller go on the back of the arm, and the bolt of the puller goes on the end of a half-unthreaded crank bolt.

Many LBSs will have one of these.

Rob P.

You can also rent one of these from your local rental place. Or you can buy one from Harbor Freight for <$20

( https://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=40966 )

dabac

...which, if of good quality, will work on left cranks and 4-arm right cranks while being downright dangerous and close to useless on 5-arm right cranks.

griftereck

Take the crank bolts off.

Turn the bike upside down
Get a hammer and a cold chisel.
and hit the inside of the arm beside the axle.
Left side is easier than right.
especially if you have small chainrings.

some times its one good tap.
does leave a mark though

cman

Are you keeping the cranks? If so, buy the gear puller, so you can do it your self later on. If not you can destructo it.

bikeman715

remove the bolts and take the bike for a ride and over time they (the arms) will work themselves off. be careful so when they come lose it wouldn't surprise you and injured oneself.

Tinkeric

Also, if the threads aren't completely destroyed, try wrapping some teflon tape around the crank puller's threads and then see if that catches onto the crank.

Bikewer

I have pulled cranks from two cheap Chinese-made Schwinn MTBs recently, and they gave me no end of trouble. The first one I gave up on and just salvaged the other parts. Just like our OP, my crank puller ripped it's way out of the threads.

On the second one, I nearly destroyed my own cheap Nashbar crank puller. I brought home the Park puller I have at work, greased it up good, fixed the crank in position with a crossbar, and then applied pressure with a "cheater".
It finally broke loose, just at about the point I was considering applying my propane torch.

That will usually work; the aluminum will expand faster than the steel spindle. Just don't blister your paint.

Nigeyy

I had the same problem (one of my pet peeves is the crank retaining design, I have to think there is something better!). I took it to an LBS after fearing I could cause damage. The crank was taken off by using a wedge "fork" -no scratches, and the crankarm came off.

Jeff Wills

This is usually called a "pickle fork", and it's used by auto mechanics to seperate ball joints and tie-rod ends. Take it to an independant car repair place, tell 'em what needs to be done, and stand back. You may want to give them a six-pack for their trouble.

kevbo

Autozone has such tools to lend for only a deposit. Check out a pitman arm puller...like a gear puller, but the arms are not hinged. I can't imagine an aluminum part that a pitman arm puller won't take off, though I have encountered a couple of pitman arms that required the fire wrench. (oxy-acetylene torch)

mike

+1 You should be able to get a gear puller the right size for pulling a crank arm for under $20.00 - probably the same cost as going to the LBS. Consider buying the tool and being forever ready to do it again.

In fact, a gear puller is probably a better tool for crank removal than a crank puller.

dabac

Not really. If you look at the ones in your pic you'll notice there's an obvious risk of insufficient clearance between the claw end and the outside face of the bb cup.
The relatively long distance between the claws and where the centre screw is threaded makes the puller relatively prone to "capsizing" unless the puller arms are "perfectly" distributed around the circumference - and that's where you'll hit your next problem.
A 2-arm puller won't work on a 5-arm (right) crank and a 3-arm won't work on any left crank. The crank arm itself will prevent the puller arms from engaging at evenly distributed points around the circumference. W/o that even distribution it'll be really hard to apply any pressure w/o the puller slipping off, risking damage to the parts and injury to the mechanic.(and yeah, this is experience speaking)

operator

Well he obviously isn't, given that the crank extractor threads are wrecked. What are you going to do? Put the crank back on and then have the same problem all over again?

The answer to the OP's question is yes, your LBS can get the crank off for you. Don't try any hack solutions like post #10. Your shop will charge you maybe $10-$15, less if it's easy to get off.

tellyho

Do a search and find the "right-sized socket on a concrete floor" method. Never needed it myself, but the inventor swears by it.

cs1

This really needs a picture.

tkm433

If you do not want the old crank arm yes your LBS should be able to remove it without hurting your bike.

If it is a older bike as in non cartridge bottom bracket and it is the drive side I have been able to (if the left arm came off) undo the fixed up with a 36mm open end headset flat wrench and once the right arm spindle, cup and bearing were out in one piece I place the crankarm on top of the vise with the spindle pointed down and used a punch and a hamer to knock the spindle out of the crankarm. Do NOT wear sandles while doing this!

I have used a dremal tool and a cut off wheel to cup the arm enough to split it at the square taper.

The gear puller or pitman arem puller will work in some case if there is enough room for the puller arms to fit. The gear puller and pitman arm puller will usually destroy the drive side crank arm in that it will pull the chainring mounting arms out of alignment.

DannoXYZ 

I just use a motorcycle tyre-iron to remove stripped crankarms. Just put the straighter end between the BB-cup and the inside of the crankarm. Pry and >POP< off it comes. Takes all of 5-seconds or so.