Stuck 1" Quill Stem

RS said:

I have a late 80s Obrien steel framed bike with a 1" headset and quill
stem. It was my brothers and I needed to raise the stem or pull it and
put a different angle one in. Loosening the bolt, nothing happens. I put
Liquid Wrench down there and around the outside and tapped it with a
rubber mallet. Nothing, its stuck tight. What is plan B ?

thanks, Rick

Dear Rick,

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/stuck-stem.html

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

RS said:

I have a late 80s Obrien steel framed bike with a 1" headset and quill
stem. It was my brothers and I needed to raise the stem or pull it and
put a different angle one in. Loosening the bolt, nothing happens. I put
Liquid Wrench down there and around the outside and tapped it with a
rubber mallet. Nothing, its stuck tight. What is plan B ?

By "loosening the bolt", do you also mean knocking the wedge nut loose?
Stems for threaded headsets are held in place by a wedge nut (or
expander nut) that, well, "wedges" the stem against the steerer. This is
accomplished by pulling the nut through the stem via the bolt you
loosened. To dislodge the wedge nut, screw the bolt half way in and
whack it with your mallet.

My apologies if you were already aware of this!

--
stephen dimmick :: [email hidden]

Yes, I removed the long bolt and poured liquid wrench down there, tapped it.
Put the bolt back in and tapped it and that wedge nut is still stuck tight. That
seems to be the problem, Ill check Sheldon's site.

Rick

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

Quoted message said:

RS said:

I have a late 80s Obrien steel framed bike with a 1" headset and quill
stem. It was my brothers and I needed to raise the stem or pull it and
put a different angle one in. Loosening the bolt, nothing happens. I put
Liquid Wrench down there and around the outside and tapped it with a
rubber mallet. Nothing, its stuck tight. What is plan B ?

By "loosening the bolt", do you also mean knocking the wedge nut loose?
Stems for threaded headsets are held in place by a wedge nut (or
expander nut) that, well, "wedges" the stem against the steerer. This is
accomplished by pulling the nut through the stem via the bolt you
loosened. To dislodge the wedge nut, screw the bolt half way in and
whack it with your mallet.

My apologies if you were already aware of this!

--
stephen dimmick :: [email hidden]

RS said:

Yes, I removed the long bolt and poured liquid wrench down there, tapped it.
Put the bolt back in and tapped it and that wedge nut is still stuck tight. That
seems to be the problem, Ill check Sheldon's site.

Rick

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

Quoted message said:

RS said:

I have a late 80s Obrien steel framed bike with a 1" headset and quill
stem. It was my brothers and I needed to raise the stem or pull it and
put a different angle one in. Loosening the bolt, nothing happens. I put
Liquid Wrench down there and around the outside and tapped it with a
rubber mallet. Nothing, its stuck tight. What is plan B ?

By "loosening the bolt", do you also mean knocking the wedge nut loose?
Stems for threaded headsets are held in place by a wedge nut (or
expander nut) that, well, "wedges" the stem against the steerer. This is
accomplished by pulling the nut through the stem via the bolt you
loosened. To dislodge the wedge nut, screw the bolt half way in and
whack it with your mallet.

My apologies if you were already aware of this!

--
stephen dimmick :: [email hidden]

No tapping. And no mallet. Whack the top of the bolt with a real
hammer.

-Vee

RS said:

I have a late 80s Obrien steel framed bike with a 1" headset and quill
stem. It was my brothers and I needed to raise the stem or pull it and
put a different angle one in. Loosening the bolt, nothing happens. I put
Liquid Wrench down there and around the outside and tapped it with a
rubber mallet. Nothing, its stuck tight. What is plan B ?

I recently went through this. For most of my cycling life, I had to repack
headsets annually, so I would naturally pull the stem at least every year.
Well, I got this fancy headset (Chris King), and did not have to touch it
for like 4 years. When I tried to adjust the angle of the bars, which had
been off for some time, they would not move.

I ended up cutting the top of the stem off, and inserting the remains in
vinegar for 2 weeks. Then, whalloping it with a very heavy lead mallet
eventually worked it loose. By that time I had purchased a new,
threadless fork (thanks, Mark!), which should eliminate the potential for
this particular problem.

If you do get it loose, be sure to grease it well when you put it back,
and pull it every so often so that you know it has not seized. What
happens is that the two disparate metals (steel fork steerer versus
aluminum stem) set up a galvanic reaction (AKA a battery), when wet,
especially with salty water from sweat and road salt, which corrodes the
aluminum rather rapidly. Aluminum oxide has much more volume than the
metal and so packs tightly in the space, "welding" the stem to the steerer.

Whomp on the bolt to make sure it is loose, as was suggested. Then whomp
on the stem. Do not be shy. This is not the time for delicacy. Try
penetrating oil. The vinegar can do some chemical stuff that might work.
Do not use heat, since the stem will expand more rapidly than the steerer
tube, and just wedge itself tighter.

As much as I hate threadless headsets/forks for their lack of easy
adjustability, they are clearly superior in this instance. A quill stem
is the weak link in the steering assembly, it is very small-bore and is
clamped to the steerer only by the expansion bolt. This allows -- cannot
prevent -- movement between the top of the steerer and the stem, which
pumps water into the crevice between the two.

Those with quill stems, beware when your stem stops squeaking when
climbing. That tends to mean it is getting wedged in.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | And what if you track down these men and kill them, what if you
_`\(,_ | killed all of us? From every corner of Europe, hundreds,
(_)/ (_) | thousands would rise up to take our places. Even Nazis can't
kill that fast. -- Paul Henreid (Casablanca).

RS said:

Yes, I removed the long bolt and poured liquid wrench down there, tapped it.
Put the bolt back in and tapped it and that wedge nut is still stuck tight. That
seems to be the problem, Ill check Sheldon's site.

Screw "tapping". Bash it with all you can manage.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | The lottery is a tax on those who fail to understand
_`\(,_ | mathematics.
(_)/ (_) |

I gave up tapping w/ a rubber mallet a couple of hours ago, and have gone to
banging with a hammer. No movement at all on the nut in the quill. I took the
wheel and front brake off and put liquid wrench down there and used a punch
from the bottom side to try to loosen it, nothing. But the bolt back in from the
top and whacked it, nothing.

One LBS suggested soaking the whole thing in Coca-Cola overnight, but I would
have to figure out a way to immerse the steere in Coca-Cola.

I'm still open to Plan F or G at this point. Plan X from Outer Space?

Rick

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

Quoted message said:

RS said:

Yes, I removed the long bolt and poured liquid wrench down there, tapped

it.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Put the bolt back in and tapped it and that wedge nut is still stuck tight.

That

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

seems to be the problem, Ill check Sheldon's site.

Screw "tapping". Bash it with all you can manage.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | The lottery is a tax on those who fail to understand
_`\(,_ | mathematics.
(_)/ (_) |

RS said:

I gave up tapping w/ a rubber mallet a couple of hours ago, and have gone to
banging with a hammer. No movement at all on the nut in the quill. I took the
wheel and front brake off and put liquid wrench down there and used a punch
from the bottom side to try to loosen it, nothing. But the bolt back in from the
top and whacked it, nothing.

One LBS suggested soaking the whole thing in Coca-Cola overnight, but I would
have to figure out a way to immerse the steere in Coca-Cola.

I'm still open to Plan F or G at this point. Plan X from Outer Space?

Did you buck the fork so it isn't moving with your hammer blows,
reducing the impact? IME, which thankfully is pretty limited, you might
get the wedge or cone loose but then indeed it is on to another plan
for another problem, getting the stem itself to move; since a wedge or
cone that well stuck might indicate a stem that is really welded in
there. But maybe you'll get lucky, and it's just the expander that's
frozen. Big hammer, dead aim and a good hard smack. I've participated
in leverage sessions that did get a stem out without apparent damage,
but if I ever have the problem again, it's to the machine shop if the
economics involved are in favor. Good luck. --D-y

I guess all the tapping and lots of liquid wrench finally did it when I went to the
hit it real hard with a real hammer method. The expansion nut came loose and
I was able to loosen the stem. Thanks to all...

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

Quoted message said:

I gave up tapping w/ a rubber mallet a couple of hours ago, and have gone to
banging with a hammer. No movement at all on the nut in the quill. I took

the

Quoted message said:

wheel and front brake off and put liquid wrench down there and used a punch
from the bottom side to try to loosen it, nothing. But the bolt back in from the
top and whacked it, nothing.

One LBS suggested soaking the whole thing in Coca-Cola overnight, but I

would

Quoted message said:

have to figure out a way to immerse the steere in Coca-Cola.

I'm still open to Plan F or G at this point. Plan X from Outer Space?

Rick

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

Quoted message said:

RS said:

Yes, I removed the long bolt and poured liquid wrench down there, tapped

it.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Put the bolt back in and tapped it and that wedge nut is still stuck tight.

That

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

seems to be the problem, Ill check Sheldon's site.

Screw "tapping". Bash it with all you can manage.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | The lottery is a tax on those who fail to understand
_`\(,_ | mathematics.
(_)/ (_) |

In article
<[email hidden]>,

RS said:

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

Quoted message said:

I gave up tapping w/ a rubber mallet a couple of hours ago, and have gone to
banging with a hammer. No movement at all on the nut in the quill. I took

the

Quoted message said:

wheel and front brake off and put liquid wrench down there and used a punch
from the bottom side to try to loosen it, nothing. But the bolt back in from the
top and whacked it, nothing.

One LBS suggested soaking the whole thing in Coca-Cola overnight, but I

would

Quoted message said:

have to figure out a way to immerse the steere in Coca-Cola.

I'm still open to Plan F or G at this point. Plan X from Outer Space?

Rick

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

Quoted message said:

On Fri, 29 Sep 2006 14:51:25 -0700, RS wrote:

> Yes, I removed the long bolt and poured liquid wrench down there, tapped

it.

Quoted message said:

> Put the bolt back in and tapped it and that wedge nut is still stuck tight.

That

Quoted message said:

> seems to be the problem, Ill check Sheldon's site.

Screw "tapping". Bash it with all you can manage.

I guess all the tapping and lots of liquid wrench finally did it when I went to the
hit it real hard with a real hammer method. The expansion nut came loose and
I was able to loosen the stem. Thanks to all...

To show your appreciation you could learn to bottom post
your messages. I fixed this one for you.

It is difficult, but it is best to wait 24 hours after
applying penetrating lubricant to a corroded fastener.

--
Michael Press