Unbelievably tight bottom bracket

[Java Man]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
>
> "Vee" wrote:
>
> > >If it doesn't shift tomorrow morning I'll take it
> >>over to my parents' house, where my father has a proper vice
> >
> > A proper vice should either free the cup or rip the threads out of the
> > bb shell. In extreme cases, you need 2 or 3 stout fellows with a
> > mighty vice.
>
> Vise! Come on guys, it's a vise, not a vice.
>
That depends on how, and how often, you use it. ;-)

Rick

 

[Zog The Undeniable]

Java Man wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
>
>>"Vee" wrote:

>>Vise! Come on guys, it's a vise, not a vice.
>>
>
> That depends on how, and how often, you use it. ;-)
>
And what for ;-)

 

[richard]

Rather than WD-40, get a better penetrating oil. I use Liquid Wrench,
but I'm sure there are better ones out there.

Since you have the bike on its side and one cup out, pour some down
through that side as well. Occasionally, whack the BB axle with a heavy
mallet.

I have a feeling a shop will do this a while, then put it in a vice and
get a couple of guys to turn it...

(Last resort, and hopefully with your permission, they'll take a profane
torch and get it all really hot. That sometimes gets it loose.)

Zog The Undeniable wrote:
> B Paton wrote:
>
>> (I assume this is a sealed unit by the sounds of it rather than a cup and
>> cone style.)
>>
>> It sounds like a steel cup, otherwise I think the splines would have been
>> damaged earlier in the adventure. If it were me I would back up to
>> this step
>> and use proper penetrating oil. I would apply lots and let it sit
>> overnight.
>> Using a torch risks damaging the paint, but I would also apply some
>> heat to
>> the cup.
>>
>> (If the cup is aluminium, then neither of these techniques will likely
>> work
>> and I think you would use techniques used in loosening stuck seat posts).
>>
>> Take care not to strip the cup splines. I recently had a bike brought in
>> where the cup splines had been stripped on both sides (aluminium alloy
>> on Rh
>> side). It was a royal pain to remove the axle, then cut through the steel
>> tube that serves as the shell for the BB unit. It's really hard
>> steel, it
>> takes hours, and it risks damage to the BB shell on the frame.
>
>
> That's the current plan - the frame is on its side with the threads
> marinating in WD40. If it doesn't shift tomorrow morning I'll take it
> over to my parents' house, where my father has a proper vice (Carl Fogel
> will now come up with an amusing pun based on the fact that British
> English uses the same spelling for vice, whether of the police squad or
> bench tool variety).
>
> The splines in the BB cup are still OK - yes, it's a Shimano-pattern
> sealed unit. The tool gave up first. The cups are steel, and the frame
> is also steel, so it's probably good old fashioned rust that I'm dealing
> with. The LH cup showed no signs of threadlock, anyway.
>
> The reason for removing the BB, as well as replacing it with an ISO
> taper unit, was to drill and tap the shell for a drain plug so this
> doesn't happen again...

 

[Zog The Undeniable]

Dan Daniel wrote:

> Had this problem recently. The BB was shot so I didn't need to worry
> about re-using it.
>
> I am not certain what part of my destruction process finally freed up
> the cup, but I took a cold chisel to the bearing surrounding the axle
> and a Dremel cut-off wheel to the same area, hopping to break the
> unit. In a moment of exhaustion, I decided to give the removal tool a
> quick try, and the whole thing came out very easily.
>
> I figure that the pounding and grinding vibrated things enough to
> loosen the corrosion. So that'd be my suggestion- just support the
> frame in ways that won't cause any bending and pound on the BB for a
> bit.

The LBS got it out in 5 minutes, apparently. 20UKP for removing it,
tapping and facing the shell - ouch.