help with millenium stem.

[ALAN OBRIEN]

hi all, recieved my colnago active frame from lbs last friday. unfortunatly im still waiting on stem, bars seatpost and saddle to arrive.
in the mean time i was planning to transfer stem, bars etc. from my old bike to tide me over till i recieve my new ones. however, all was going well, till i discovered that the top-cap on the stem had seized, therefore not allowing me to remove it from the steerer tube. anyone got any ideas what i could do, all help appreciated.
tks alan.
p.s. cant post any pics of the frame yet, but i will once i get access to a digital camera.

 

[Mampara]

I also had a problem removing my top cap from the stem. I them released the stem bolts that clamps the fork and the cap released.

 

[ALAN OBRIEN]

Originally posted by Mampara
I also had a problem removing my top cap from the stem. I them released the stem bolts that clamps the fork and the cap released.
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QUOTE]
did that,and actually removed them completely, but top-cap still, seized solid. i was thinking of getting a screwdriver and trying to lever it off, but am afraid of causing damage to the stem/top-cap. the stem now has enough room to spin around almost freely without the forks moving. can anyone give any other suggestions, any help at all would be very much appreciated.
(you wouldnt believe my frustration at the moment).

 

[dorian]

I'm not familiar with your stem and top cap, but I would try to get a penetrating lubricant in the threads that are seized. There are some foaming aerosol lubricants that work great, but only if there's a path into the seized threads. I wouldn't worry about oils and such as it can all be cleaned.

You could also just get a long allen wrench, like a long ratchet and allen bit, and crank the f***er off. Top caps are cheap. Your fork manufacturer will probably send you one for free. Maybe one guy grabs the top of the fork legs and the other one cranks on the top cap?