How to remove stuck pedal



I am also a big pipe fan. never had anything stuck so bad that a long enough gas pipe cheater bar wouldn't take care of it. Just be damn sure you are turning it the right direction.
 
At this point I'd remove the pedal body, clamp the pedal spindle in a vice and turn the crank-arm itself. A long pipe over the crank-arm may be required if it's as stuck as it sounds like it is. Ummmm.... after pulling the crank from the bike of course.
 
wineandkeyz said:
.. I don't have a repair stand, so the bike was resting on the floor with both wheels on the ground. ..I had put so much downward pressure on the back wheel that I needed to take it to the LBS to have it trued. :rolleyes:

There's no way a repair stand would have held up against that force either. Supporting the frame on wooden blocks on the floor is the way to go. One under the BB often does the trick.
 
MTB WVA said:
I think vise grips would be your best bet, it will take a lot of force to get them on tight enough, but it should work.
With a good pipe wrench basically the force you use for turning ALSO goes into increasing pinch force. Slip an extender on and pinch force will increase accordingly - the harder you torque the harder you pinch. Not quite so with a vise grip.
 
stevecoh1 said:
Correct, the bike in question is 13 years old and there's no carbon in it. The cranks are aluminum. My NEW bike is carbon but there's no pedal problem there.

Well 13 years is a long time you sure the pedal was not welded/brazed!!!!!!:rolleyes:
 
stevecoh1 said:
I recently bought a new bike and for the first time use clipless pedals. But this bike is my "show horse". I am keeping my older road bike for commuting, my "work horse". I've always used toe clips on this bike but now I'd like to convert it to clipless pedals. I ordered some, along with the biggest, most expensive pedal wrench Performance sells, and find I can't remove the old pedals. There's no way to get enough force on the pedals to remove them. I tried wd40 and I do know that the left pedal is threaded in reverse but I just can't budge the damned thing.

Has anyone experienced this and what is the solution?

I suppose if you were really careful using a dremel and a cutoff wheel or a 4 inch grinder with a cutoff blade you could cut into the pedal where the wrench flats are (or used to be) and remove the metal that bears against the "eye" of the crank. Thereby eliminating much of the tension on the threads. I wouldn't cut the pedal completely off because you'll still need something to hold onto to turn it out. If you don't want to risk cutting into the crank you could probably just cut a groove into the wrench flat area completely around the pedal close to the crank and relieve a lot of tension that way.
 
meehs said:
At this point I'd remove the pedal body, clamp the pedal spindle in a vice and turn the crank-arm itself. A long pipe over the crank-arm may be required if it's as stuck as it sounds like it is. Ummmm.... after pulling the crank from the bike of course.
This is how I would do it.
 
meehs said:
At this point I'd remove the pedal body, clamp the pedal spindle in a vice and turn the crank-arm itself. A long pipe over the crank-arm may be required if it's as stuck as it sounds like it is. Ummmm.... after pulling the crank from the bike of course.
Well, success! At last. I didn't have to pull the crank from the bike - how do you do THAT by the way??? - but I did have to destroy the right pedal. Got everything off, ball bearings out and after much pipewrenching and a little more heat, it budged. Nothing seemed damaged, was able to put the new pedals in without much difficulty.

Now on to the next frigging problem ... (see http://www.cyclingforums.com/t287975-what-if-anything-does-spd-compatible-mean.html)
 
Heat works!!! I was trying to replace the pedals on my 4 year old MTB. They were quite stuck and the nuts were starting to get rounded. I was thinking of buying a new bigger wrench and then I saw this thread. Took out the propane torch and heated for about a minute the pedal axles (at the back of each crank arm). The pedals couldn't have come off easier.
 
Originally Posted by stancho .

Heat works!!! I was trying to replace the pedals on my 4 year old MTB. They were quite stuck and the nuts were starting to get rounded. I was thinking of buying a new bigger wrench and then I saw this thread. Took out the propane torch and heated for about a minute the pedal axles (at the back of each crank arm). The pedals couldn't have come off easier.
Of course it does and a little cussing also helps if it is a very stubborn pedal.
 
Originally Posted by stevecoh1 .

I recently bought a new bike and for the first time use clipless pedals. But this bike is my "show horse". I am keeping my older road bike for commuting, my "work horse". I've always used toe clips on this bike but now I'd like to convert it to clipless pedals. I ordered some, along with the biggest, most expensive pedal wrench Performance sells, and find I can't remove the old pedals. There's no way to get enough force on the pedals to remove them. I tried wd40 and I do know that the left pedal is threaded in reverse but I just can't budge the damned thing.

Has anyone experienced this and what is the solution?
There's a few ways to go about this one.

Heat - heat the end of the crank to about the temperature to make water or spit sizzle. If you have painted or black anodized cranks then prepare to say goodbye to their good looks... Personally, I've only had to do this one (and on someone elses bike) and I'd recommended using a butane blow torch held at a distance or if you have one, a good electric heat gun, and leave the crank on the bike to aid in pedal removal without getting your hands burned.

Use a bigger spanner and stand on it. Nay... bounce up and down on it. Wearing boots will help reduce the risk of losing your ankle skin when it finally goes. Failing that, lots of pedals have a 8mm allen hex on the inside of the axle. Take one 8mm allen socket, a big 1/2" breaker bar and a very long - 4 to 6ft should do it - heavy duty metal pipe to slide over the breaker bar handle. My jack handle is 5ft long and I've used that to remove seized bolts on the car that a Ingersol Rand 3/4" impact gun rated at 900lb/ft couldn't budge. Give me a lever long enough and I'll move the world... and your pedals.

More force - aka big drill. If you don't want the old pedals then use a high quality drill bit to drill the axles out from the inside of the crank. You'll have to becareful not to use a bit so big that'd remove some of the threads in the crank and also to ensure that you drill straight. Once you've removed a lot of material from the axle - smack the pedal a fair bit with a hammer. If you're not comfortable with drilling things of this nature some machine shops will do it for cheap - most Napa Auto parts stores (at least the ones in my area) have basic machine shop facilities can could do this for about the price of a 12 pack o' beer.
 

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