The stuck stem from heck
 

So I picked up a really cool '72 Fuji Finest recently with pretty much all original parts. I knew it had a stuck stem but this sucker is really stuck. I have spent a lot of time doing what I read on Park's site and of course Randy's site:

Seized Seatposts and Stems | Park Tool

STUCK STEMS AND SEAT POSTS - INTRODUCTION

and the bike guy has a good video on this as well.

No dice, I've soaked it for quite a while in PB blaster and I've cut it in four places. It ain't moving.

So what's next? I could remove the fork and soak it in something. I've read that ammonia can do the trick but that stuff is probably nastier than I want to deal with and St. Sheldon says it won't work and suggests that there comes a point where you should just let a bike shop do it.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/stuck-stem.html

Is it time to send it to a shop? Yellow Jersey in Madison does this; no doubt other shops do this as well.

Is it time to call in a pro? Heck I thought I was the pro, :p

Since you've tried everything else, I'd take it to a shop. I've done that in past and it was well worth it.

Don't get offended, I have to ask.

Did you make sure the wedge was pushed Clear?

My next step would be to remove the fork, dolly it properly at the base of the steerer, and deliver a solid blow to what's left of the stem, to drive it deeper, and hopefully break any bonds. Then flip the fork, support it by threading the upper race as far as possible and resting it on a pipe or over a hole. Then use a drift inserted from the bottom (crown) and try to work it out by degrees.

The wedge is rattling around pretty good inside the steerer so yeah it's free.

So it's time for brute force; I always like a job that involves a hammer and some refreshment. :beer:

What the heck does "dolly it properly" mean?

I've successfully removed a stuck stem by dissolving it in lye - it took about two weeks just leaving it in the solution. It would probably take less time if you were to tap it with a hammer occasionally. It's pretty safe stuff, as long as you wear gloves, watch out for splashes, and can leave the solution in a safe area.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4237/...f8e8673b_c.jpg

By Dolly I mean to back up with an inertial mass, so all the energy is concentrated rather than letting it be dissipated by the fork moving.

An support on an anvil is the ultimate Dolly, but a pipe braced on a concrete floor, or even a heavy mallet resting on a solid workbench can do the job.

The key is to support the steerer itself, not the sides of the crown or the blades.

If you use something like this, it should work. Just make sure not to saw too deep and get into the steering tube.

https://mobiledistributorsupply.com/...aAkXgEALw_wcB#

I had to cut the cutlass bearing out of a boat strut once, and it's just about the same process.

Years ago I had to deal with nearly the identical scenario on my just-acquired Raleigh Professional's fork. I cut it in a way quite similar to what you've done. I then got the largest vise-grips I could find, squeezed together all around the stem and attempted to twist it free. I applied penetrant and repeated the exercise every day until it came free. I recall it taking 4 or 5 days in my case.

Yeah I've been using a saw like; agreed that it's a very handy tool. This is one of the better designs I've seen for this particular hand saw as well.

I've been at this for longer than 4-5 days! But yes that's what I've been doing. Maybe I need larger vice grips and a buddy to hold that damn Park stand from moving though. I can put a lot of torque on it but this may require some help and more beer, :crash:

Drill it out and soften it up with a sawzall?

I had to cut mine with one of those hack saw blade handle tools. You can't have it moving around when you're sawing on it. You can try a power tool but it is super easy to cut into the steerer tube.

Had another thought from the brute force department.

Find a sturdy, flat, metal surface that your fork blades can straddle without contacting. Set your fork on it, and lay the blade of a shovel (the flat surface) or other good sized hunk of flat metal on the protruding stem. Get a helper if needed to ensure things don't shift, and give it a few solid raps with a big hammer. Sometimes the shock will cause what's bonded to release. If it doesn't come free after 3 or 4 blows, repeat the crimping and penetrant regimen and attempt this again the next day .

Make two cuts, about 1/4" apart, the length of the stem. I used a hacksaw blade, no holder, and patience. When you have both cuts made all the way through the aluminum stem material, pry the slice out. Take a pair of vice grips and collapse the stem in on itself.

.
....if you are able to remove the fork at this point, do so.

It might be time to order yourself up a Ronco Fork-U-Matic tm and use that to hold your fork by the ends while you heap further indignities and curses upon it.:) Mine fits nicely in my bench vise, and the angle at which it holds the fork is adjustable to fit your needs of the moment.


With the Fork-U-Matic, I am usually able to twist the stem loose before I get to the point of cutting it to remove the fork...but I also use only the finest penetrant which is ATF mixed with acetone 50/50.(AKA "pink slime".)

Step one: Remove HS and pull fork from frame.

Step two: use a fork vise and cut the stem out.

Much easier to cut a stem out with the fork removed from the frame than still connected.

Lots of good tips here, I hope I never need to try any of them.

But for grabbing with a good grip, I find Vise Grips are morally superior to "vice" grips. :P

Thought I don't have access to the Ronco Fork-U-Matic, I did manage to wreck a fork with the twist it hard method. I also snapped the stays off of a frame twisting the seat post. These days...

I do not use brute force to unstick a steering stem or seat post.

I vote lye. Worked well for removing stuck seat post. The reaction gives off hydrogen so you need to keep it away from flames and do it outside. It will remove paint so protect it from any solution. 50/50 solution will remove it within a short period of time, like less than an hour.

[IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5786/...8199bc3b_b.jpgP1030272, on Flickr[/IMG][IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5662/...a74c6b4d_b.jpgP1030290, on Flickr[/IMG][IMG]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1660/...d061ae81_b.jpgWP_20160107_001, on Flickr[/IMG]

Have you tried heat? Repeatedly heat with heat gun, let cool, repeat.

I have not. I figure every job worth doing means you have to buy and make a new tool, right? I figure I'll buy a heat gun and make a ronco fork-u-matic as well. Too bad they stopped selling those on late nite TV.

I'm with Randy on the twist hard. I bent a frame doing that once, and I am not that strong either. Forks are even easier to bend.

As to using lye, I am normally in the pro using chemicals camp. I am a licensed professional chemical engineer with 35 years of chemical manufacturing experience. I used a lot of different chemicals during my career, some very hazardous. Lye is in that group, and one of those chemicals I would not recommend someone use at home. Worst accident in my career involved lye, employee was blinded in both eyes, and it was a relatively dilute solution.

http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9924998

I find cutting out a stem is much less of a PITA than cutting out a seat post. Randy's site details the process.

I would also dissuade you from trying the brute force method. You will almost certainly bend your fork out of alignment.

Take the fork off the bike first. The four cuts method works, but you have to be very careful and patient. You really don't want to damage the steer tube.

Personally I wouldn't bother. I'd hit it with a propane torch, from the inside. Then spray inside with water to cool and shrink the aluminum. Take advantage of the dissimilar thermal expansion rates. Should knock out after that. Repeat, if necessary. Heat frees up almost anything. Don't get carried away though. You don't want to screw up the temper any more than you have to. IOW don't heat it to anywhere near glowing. Paint will get ruined, but it's inside the frame so who cares.

+1 on what they both said.

It's too late for this now, but let me tell you my favorite stuck stem removal story. I bought a rusty old Gitane and the stem was seized. I tried all the usual non-destructive methods...heat, cold, ammonia, PB blaster, excessive force, etc. Finally, I gave up and decided it was close enough to being in the right position that I'd just leave it and ride the bike as it was. A few weeks later I was out riding and I noticed that the handlebars were slightly askew from the front wheel. I'm extremely sensitive to that, so I knew it was something new. It took a few minutes before the significance of this "problem" dawned on me. When I got home the stem slid right out like it had never been stuck.

So I guess I'd describe that "method" as thousands of small bumps coupled with hours of vibration. FWIW, I've seen the same method recommended as a last ditch method for properly seating a fork crown race when you don't have the proper tools.

Ammonia can be effective with an aluminum stem/post stuck in a steel frame. Aluminum will chemically bond to steel over time, ammonia dissolves the bond, if you can get it in where the metals are mated up.

Thermal cycling the stem with alternating heat and cold can also break it loose.

I've used both of the above to unstick posts and stems.

I also used lye to dissolve a hopelessly stuck post:

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/...pskeewdazz.jpg

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/...pstkzvwkmd.jpg

EDIT: as mentioned earlier, lye will eat paint.