Frozen/Tight Bottom Bracket Help Needed
 

Decided to clean and repack the Sakae BB on the '79 Motobecane Super Mirage today. Left side was loosened very nicely and when going over to the drive side, that sucker wont budge. I'm applying the "righty-loosey" left hand thread rotation and even whacked it with a hammer to the tight direction to try and break it loose (an old mechanics trick). It's not moving and I've applied ample pressure with large channel locks. I cant get the pipe wrench on the one side (it's the 2-sided cup adjuster) so I'm most likely going to let it sit with a penetrant and try to hammer tap the channel locks.

Any tips or help you could offer?

I've used a shallow container with boiling water, see other advice here: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ixed-bb-cup!!?

Clamp the flats of the cup in your bench vise. The turn the frame The correct direction

If it's French threaded, the fixed cup is also RH thread.

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/bottombrackets.html

Scroll about 2/3 down the page

I dont have a vise on my new bench....yet. So I'll probably resort to removing the wheels, sitting on the floor and engaging my legs into this process.

The non-drive (left) side is right hand thread. Would the drive side be opposite to that? It's a Sakae BB.

Thanx for the link!

Ok, let's give this another try. :lol:

Thanx, Bill!

Cant wait to see how ugly it is in there.

+1 Really doesn't matter the brand of bottom bracket. Some french bikes from that era had french bb, some had Swiss, not many were using the british standard yet. BB cups will be marked differently depending on the threading. I've got a 1979 Motobecane with Swiss threading, I used to have a 1982 with Swiss threading, and I have another 1979 Motobecane with French threading....

The cups should be marked. That will tell you what the thread type is. Then proceed accordingly.

SR-5D.....35xP1. So according to this there is no "accordingly". Unless I'm missing something.

Ok, so far no budging and with decent leverage on the cup with a pipe wrench and frame braced up against the wall, turning the cup with a counter-clockwise right hand thread turn.

Just went back out after typing this and this time went with clockwise. Whew.

Ok, for posterior, I mean preposterous.....I mean, for posterity.....

The threads on this '79 Super Mirage are LEFT threaded. Clockwise to remove, counterclockwise to tighten.

oh yes unknown thread direction!

been there.

1967 vespa supersport engine case,
rear wheel bearing,
used the tool would not budge
welded a pipe on the lock ring-wont budge
welded a huge lever on and heated the case-something gave!
the case cracked, I was forcing the lock ring deeper in and the case could not take it.
found a replacement case and will forevr remember left hand thread.

I feel your pain :lol:



Ok, it's all cleaned/lubed and assembled. Soooooo nice.

The bike has clearly been stored for many years as the second owner told me when I bought it for 60.00 last August. In the bottom of the shell there were a few bugs and one small bough of cedar....but zero rust. The cups were not scored, the bearing races were caked with crappy old grease but in great shape and the cages were not distorted. I'm impressed with the condition of this little used, long stored '79.

You do know they call that a "fixed cup" for a reason yes? ;)

I'm late to the party but I just wanted to confuse the issue by posting to a thread started by my buddy OldsCOOL :thumb:

Yes, French bike BB roulette, which way, hmmn... Do you feel lucky today? Well, do ya, punk?!! :D

Good to hear you got it out. This is what I use when Fixed cups don't cooperate.

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/...Paramount4.jpg

Late to the party, too, but I would never try to remove a fixed cup unless it was needing to be replaced -- yes, as BG says, they're called that for a reason! Wiping out the old grease, maybe chasing with a solvent-dampened rag, close look through the BB shell with a flashlight. If it's not pitted and corroded, -- and it hardly ever will be: those cups are pretty tough -- in goes the new grease and balls, that's it.

Now, lacking the proper tools, how did you get it driven in hard enough so that it stays "fixed"?

Go ahead, make my day :lol:

As old as the grease is and the way it looked when the cup was out...I'm glad to have removed it. Being a car restorer and engine rebuilder in my past, everything must come apart if it's old :D

The pipe wrench grabbed pretty good for tightening.

They are called a fixed cup since the other is called an adjustable cup.
NOT because it's supposed to become a permanent part of the BB, which tends to happen if never removed.

Good point, I'll give you that. I suppose if I was going over a used bike whose maintenance history I didn't know, I would probably get that fixed cup out at some point. But honest, on my own bikes I leave 'em in there, ...greased, not left out in the rain, etc. And without proper tools to get them out and screw them back in you can do more harm than good. Just sayin'.

With this type of fixed cup, it's the two-sided kind and not too difficult to find an ordinary shop tool to make it work.

No scratches or nicks.....no damage, today.

One 17" adjustable wrench with sharp edged jaws. One Big Bolt. Some muscle.

I have never failed to remove even the stuckest fixed cup with this method during a Bottom Bracket Rebuild...

http://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpe...3_Comment1.jpg

http://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpe...5_Comment1.jpg