I have an older Gardin that I want to rebuilt. The head set is stuck with the fork. I removed the bolt from the head set but it seem like the little piece inside is stuck in there. The rest of the bolts are unscrewed and I can see the bearings from the top and the bottom as it move up and down but I can't separate it.
Any tricks for that?

The headset is stuck or is the stem stuck? Did you knock the wedge at the bottom loose?

Put the long bolt back through the stem and thread it into the wedge at the bottom. leave your allen in and give it a tap with a hammer to loosen it. Judging from the looks of the bike it is possible that the stem is corroded and stuck in there. do a search on stuck stem to find tips on getting one out.

The wedge is stuck in there. I've tried to gently hammer it with the long bolt and it won't come off. There's rust on the bearings so I guess there's rust in there too.

Thread the bolt back in to where it bottoms out then back it off 1/8". Protect it with a piece of leather or tough plastic and give it a good shot with a hammer. Don't try to tap it out, that just beats up the bolt, hit it like you're driving a 10 penny nail. You'll know it's free because the bolt will drop.

Now if with the wedge free you should be able twist the stem and work it up. If it's still tight or frozen to the steerer don't hold the wheel between your knees and force it. That often twists the fork. Instead, remove the wheel and drop the fork over a 2x4 clamped in a vise so the blades are held up near the crown and can't bend or twist.

Thanks! I will try the wise option. I think it's pretty jammed in there.

Remember, nothing can be attempted until/unless the wedge is freed.

Assuming the steer tube is steel, spray some penetrating oil like PB Blaster before hitting it with a hammer. I've never had a wedge that couldn't be freed with just a hammer like FBinNY suggested. But if it is really that stuck PB will help.

one of my bikes has an old TTT stem with the old expander type plug, not slant cut. i ALWAYS have to hit it hard with a hammer as FBinNy recommends. it just won't play nice!

I had child's bike in the shop on which the wedge was corroded and frozen inside the steering tube. In this case the stem was aluminum (the wedge was steel) and I did manage to get the stem out with the wedge still frozen solidly in place. I ended up using PB blaster, the original long bolt and my slide hammer to pull the wedge out after repeated attempts to drive it down failed. In this case, being a child's bike, I suppose the wedge may have been bottomed out with nowhere to go despite the hammer blows.

Thanks for the great advices. I will try to get some PB.

Cross your bridges one at a time as you get to them. You probably won't need the PB blaster to free the wedge. Once the wedge is out you may be able to twist the stem and work it up. If can't get past either step, then you get the PB blaster.

This is the bike in question, but I am not sure just what brand that stem is.



Could it be a Nitto?



Zenith when you get your PB blaster spray some on the BB area too. It looks like these cranks have a 'single key release' or selfextractor system. if you want to remove then you a type of Pin Spanner that has two flat areas rather than pins.