removing pedal (frozen!)

[Laura]

I want to replace my pedals on my bike but have been unsuccessful in
removing one of the pedals. It is the left one, and I have read in a bike
maintenance book that you must turn clockwise to loosen. However, no amount
of pushing, WD-40, nor even a "bath" in boiling water to heat the crank arm
has helped. Any other suggestions?

Thanks.

-Laura

 

[Neil Brooks]

Laura <[email protected]> wrote:

>I want to replace my pedals on my bike but have been unsuccessful in
>removing one of the pedals. It is the left one, and I have read in a bike
>maintenance book that you must turn clockwise to loosen. However, no amount
>of pushing, WD-40, nor even a "bath" in boiling water to heat the crank arm
>has helped. Any other suggestions?

Here's another (older) thread that addresses that same question:

http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-50918

I'd start with Liquid Wrench.

Then, if it won't remove readily, I'd go with the "heavier hammer"
method, using some sort of extension bar over your pedal wrench to
increase leverage or a good whack with a rubber mallet (or hold a 2x4
against the wrench handle and whack the 2x4 with a steel hammer).

Good luck!

 

[B a r r y]

Neil Brooks wrote:

> I'd start with Liquid Wrench.
>


Even better, PB Blaster!

I was a WD-40 and LR fan until I tried this stuff. Get it at any good
auto parts store.

Barry

 

[Leo Lichtman]

"Laura" wrote: (clip) Any other suggestions?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
If all the pounding, wrench extensions and penetrants fail, I would try
heat.

Some of the methods that are being suggested are fairly brutal, so you want
to be sure you are not punishing the bottom bracket bearings, chainring,
chain, etc. I suggest cutting a 2 x 4 to a convenient length, so you can
block up the crank in a horizontal position. Then have someone else hold
the bike while you do all the hard stuff. If it still won't come, I would
use a puller to remove the crank, and hold it in a bench vise. That should
let you use enough torque to either loosen the pedal or break something. If
holding it in a bench vise, using a good pedal wrench with an extension, two
people pulling, and heat doesn't get it, it's time to buy a new crank arm.

Or take it to your LBS. If they break it, they may give you another crank
arm to cover their embarrassment.

 

[Ken]

Laura <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> I want to replace my pedals on my bike but have been unsuccessful in
> removing one of the pedals. It is the left one, and I have read in a
> bike maintenance book that you must turn clockwise to loosen. However, no
> amount of pushing, WD-40, nor even a "bath" in boiling water to heat the
> crank arm has helped. Any other suggestions?

What kind of wrench are you using? Some pedal wrenches are extra long to
give you extra leverage.

First, make double sure you are unscrewing in the correct direction. Then
soak in penetrating oil and try a bigger wrench.

 

[[email protected]]

Laura Grzz? writes:

> I want to replace my pedals on my bike but have been unsuccessful in
> removing one of the pedals. It is the left one, and I have read in
> a bike maintenance book that you must turn clockwise to loosen.
> However, no amount of pushing, WD-40, nor even a "bath" in boiling
> water to heat the crank arm has helped. Any other suggestions?

If you are using a reasonable pedal wrench with a foot long handle and
doing it with the force expected for such an operation from a strong
hand, then I suggest you remove the crank from the bicycle and heat
the pedal end of the crank over a large flame on a gas cooking range
until the aluminum sizzles to a wet finger touch. At that temperature
the pedal can invariably be unscrewed. The left pedal has a left hand
thread and unscrews opposite from a normal (right hand) screw.

If that doesn't work, you probably don't have a good pedal wrench, are
Not applying enough force, or both. This method has always worked for
me, even on the tightest pedals.

[email protected]

 

[Qui si parla Campagnolo]

Laura wrote:
> I want to replace my pedals on my bike but have been unsuccessful in
> removing one of the pedals. It is the left one, and I have read in a bike
> maintenance book that you must turn clockwise to loosen. However, no amount
> of pushing, WD-40, nor even a "bath" in boiling water to heat the crank arm
> has helped. Any other suggestions?
>
> Thanks.
>
> -Laura
Two person job. LONG pedal wrench, with a breaker bar, one person with
the foot on the pedal, other pushing down from behind the bici.

 

[Werehatrack]

On Tue, 05 Apr 2005 01:06:07 GMT, Laura <[email protected]> wrote:

>I want to replace my pedals on my bike but have been unsuccessful in
>removing one of the pedals. It is the left one, and I have read in a bike
>maintenance book that you must turn clockwise to loosen. However, no amount
>of pushing, WD-40, nor even a "bath" in boiling water to heat the crank arm
>has helped. Any other suggestions?

If you know someone who has a really large crescent wrench, use that
to immobilize the crank's end while you apply as much force as
possible to the pedal wrench. If the wrench slips, get a better one.
If that doesn't work, use heat as per Jobst Brandt's suggestion.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[[email protected]]

read "DIY pedal removal" in tech archives

 

[Ed]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...

>If that doesn't work, you probably don't have a good pedal wrench...

At the end of a group bicycle tour I rode on, the pedals of all the bikes had to
be removed so the bikes could be trucked back to the start. There were several
wrenches available, not all survived. It makes you appreciate the value of a
good tool vs a cheap one.