Bottom bracket removal.. how?

Sort said:

Hi,

I'm sure this gets asked often but despite much searching I'm still
none the wiser how to get it out! It's a 1997 Specialized, no idea
what kind of BB it is. Anyone know which side needs to be undone first
and which direction to unscrew it in? I keep finding references to one
side being plastic and the other being metal but they're both metal so
that didn't help.

I put a picture here..

http://www.spacial.org/Images/bb.jpg

They look like steel so if I heated the frame a bit would that help
loosen things up? They seem so tight they're not even moving a micron
at the moment.

Left side first, anti-clockwise. Then right side, clockwise.

If it's really, really bad, take it to a good bike shop. They do it all
the time.

Sort said:

Hi,

I'm sure this gets asked often but despite much searching I'm still
none the wiser how to get it out! It's a 1997 Specialized, no idea
what kind of BB it is. Anyone know which side needs to be undone first
and which direction to unscrew it in? I keep finding references to one
side being plastic and the other being metal but they're both metal so
that didn't help.

I put a picture here..

http://www.spacial.org/Images/bb.jpg

They look like steel so if I heated the frame a bit would that help
loosen things up? They seem so tight they're not even moving a micron
at the moment.

That is the most common sort of bottom bracket. I'm sure others will
post this too:

http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/FAQcartdg.shtml

On Thu, 16 Jun 2005 16:55:46 +0100, Sort <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Hi,

I'm sure this gets asked often but despite much searching I'm still
none the wiser how to get it out! It's a 1997 Specialized, no idea
what kind of BB it is. Anyone know which side needs to be undone first
and which direction to unscrew it in?

Right side: clockwise. Left side: Counter-clockwise. I'd start
with the left side, but opinions differ. If you undo the right side
first, just break it loose and then undo the left; you'll need to
still have the BB in place so that you can use the retaining-bolt
trick on the left.

Quoted message said:

I keep finding references to one
side being plastic and the other being metal but they're both metal so
that didn't help.

I put a picture here..

http://www.spacial.org/Images/bb.jpg

They look like steel so if I heated the frame a bit would that help
loosen things up? They seem so tight they're not even moving a micron
at the moment.

I wouldn't heat the shell except as a last resort, but you may end up
having to go there. It looks like someone has helpfully employed blue
Loctite on the threads of the BB. If that's the case, you're going to
need to apply *lots* of torque to break them loose. Get the BB spline
tool that has the big hex on the outside of the body and which has a
hole in the end that can be used to bolt the tool to the spindle. Get
an 8x1.0mm-thread bolt long enough to securely lash the tool onto the
BB. I'd start with the left (non-drive-side) retainer; bolt the tool
in place (just good and snug; no need to go all Captain Overtorque
here), put a long box-end wrench on the tool, extending toward the
front of the bike, and step on the end of the wrench. If that doesn't
get the BB loose, find sombody who has a big bench vise that's
securely bolted down; grip the flats of the tool in the vise, and turn
the bike. (You can get *lots* of leverage this way.) If that still
doesn't work, you may have to resort to heating the shell, but you're
probably going to burn off the paint and toast the bearing seals
before you get it hot enough to make a difference, so I'd caution
against doing that if another way can be found. Somebody else is
bound to have other suggestions; consider them all before choosing
your path.

--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Sort said:

Hi,

I'm sure this gets asked often but despite much searching I'm still
none the wiser how to get it out! It's a 1997 Specialized, no idea
what kind of BB it is. Anyone know which side needs to be undone first
and which direction to unscrew it in? I keep finding references to one
side being plastic and the other being metal but they're both metal so
that didn't help.

I put a picture here..

http://www.spacial.org/Images/bb.jpg

They look like steel so if I heated the frame a bit would that help
loosen things up? They seem so tight they're not even moving a micron
at the moment.

Thanks!

BB's can be very tight and require a lot of force to remove.

You need the right tool. I use a Park, it looks like a socket, with a
square hole in the end and wrench flats on it.

Since the teeth don't engage very deep, you have to lock the tool in
place so it doesn't cam out when you torque it. Some tools have a bolt
for this, others, like the Park, don't. I use a bolt & some washers I
got from the HW store, I brought a crank bolt to match thread size. The
bolt fastens the tool to the BB spindle.

I always put the right side on last and take it off first. The right
side is backwards threaded. It may take a lot of torque, I like to use a
big pipe wrench on the Park tool.

Werehatrack said:

... Get
an 8x1.0mm-thread bolt long enough to securely lash the tool onto the
BB. I'd start with the left (non-drive-side) retainer; bolt the tool
in place (just good and snug; no need to go all Captain Overtorque
here), put a long box-end wrench on the tool, extending toward the
front of the bike, and step on the end of the wrench.

Forgot to mention: On the left side, once the BB is broken loose,
remove the bolt!
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Sort said:

Hi,

I'm sure this gets asked often but despite much searching I'm still
none the wiser how to get it out! It's a 1997 Specialized, no idea
what kind of BB it is. Anyone know which side needs to be undone first
and which direction to unscrew it in? I keep finding references to one
side being plastic and the other being metal but they're both metal so
that didn't help.

I put a picture here..

http://www.spacial.org/Images/bb.jpg

They look like steel so if I heated the frame a bit would that help
loosen things up? They seem so tight they're not even moving a micron
at the moment.

Thanks!

Do what the others suggested...

It'll help if you secure the bb tool like this for splined bb's...

http://www.pbase.com/mrdart/image/16818276

or use a M8x1 bolt about 2.5-3 inches long to bolt the tool to the spindle
of a square taper (which yours probably is)

This will secure the tool in the splines and allow much more torque to be
applied. I use a large adjustable wrench and a piece of 1 1/4 pvc pipe (my
crown race setting tool) as a helper.

Mike

Michael Dart said:

It'll help if you secure the bb tool like this for splined bb's...

http://www.pbase.com/mrdart/image/16818276

or use a M8x1 bolt about 2.5-3 inches long to bolt the tool to the spindle
of a square taper (which yours probably is)

This will secure the tool in the splines and allow much more torque to be
applied. I use a large adjustable wrench and a piece of 1 1/4 pvc pipe (my
crown race setting tool) as a helper.

I did this once with a huge lever and stripped the teeth from the
Shimano tool (the BB was unscathed). It might have loosened the BB
because the LBS said it was one of the easier ones they'd had to deal with.

Thanks for all the replies.. managed to get it undone in the end by
using a long metal pole on the end of the wrench 🙂 Turned out to be a
Specialized BB hence the lack of plastic cup I guess.

Oh, and the blue was old paint, not Loctite. During a moment of
boredom one day I decided to strip most of the paint off and polish
the frame but there's little bits that got missed all over the place.

Thanks

Zog The Undeniable said:

Michael Dart said:

It'll help if you secure the bb tool like this for splined bb's...

http://www.pbase.com/mrdart/image/16818276

or use a M8x1 bolt about 2.5-3 inches long to bolt the tool to the
spindle of a square taper (which yours probably is)

This will secure the tool in the splines and allow much more torque
to be applied. I use a large adjustable wrench and a piece of 1 1/4
pvc pipe (my crown race setting tool) as a helper.

I did this once with a huge lever and stripped the teeth from the
Shimano tool (the BB was unscathed). It might have loosened the BB
because the LBS said it was one of the easier ones they'd had to deal
with.

Ouch! I forgot to mention to use sloooowly increasing pressure on the
wrench until it breaks free. Really, securing the tool to the BB is key to
prevent strippage, bleeding knuckles and much cursing. Most of the time a
12" left-handed-metric-adjustable-crescent-hammer (wrench) is all I need.

Mike