Quick advice for removing bottom bracket pls - [Sorted]

[NoIdea]

Well the bolt is ordered.
I'll try again towards the weekend.
Will try heat and extra long pry bar only for now...

I do have a bench vice but it's not bolted down, well not yet.

[NoIdea]

Got the bolt today - M8 1.0mm fine thread 60mm length.



So I'm all set, just waiting for the evening now when other half can help steady the bike whilst I deploy this extension bar...

[NoIdea]

Hmm....



So, rattle gun next?

[Brucey]

I'd say that better quality (guaranteed/warranted) socketry is called for....

I may have mentioned this before but I have a 3/4" drive breaker bar (of a special design that won't so easily allow the drive square to cam-out of the socket, or the socket vs the nut) with an extension on it that is 6' long. It definitely won't be the weak link...

cheers

[Pneumant]

I can't believe how tight your BB is Have you tried heating this up? This may help loosen any thread-lock type bond. Remove the tool bolt and insert a HOT soldering iron for 20 mins or so,

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Quality 1/2" flexi bar (like the busted one) will be more than man enough.

Are you going the right way undoing it

[andrew_s]

Are you going the right way undoing it

According to the direction of the bend in the shorter bar, he is.

When I had a difficult UN72 to remove, I used a 32 mm ring spanner on a bolted down remover, and jumped up and down on the end of it.
That was the other (LH) side though. Bodyweight/foot power was needed almost all the way out, for reasons that became apparent when the cartridge came out with the LH cup. The RH flanged cup was easy afterwards.

[NoIdea]

I'd say that better quality (guaranteed/warranted) socketry is called for....
I may have mentioned this before but I have a 3/4" drive breaker bar

Yes, nicely spotted there..
The short extension was just for fun really as it is very low quality, but was worth a try.
The breaker bar breaking was a bit of a surprise TBH but it is not a very high quality item, bought that from a market and it is only a short one (450mm length) so maybe it's to be expected, 450mm is a good size though as it fits in my tool box.
I'm going to replace it with something like a Sealey AK730 Breaker Bar 600mm 1/2"Sq Drive as those type have a replaceable socket end should they break.


I do have another short bar somewhere that I have used with that 4 foot scaffold pole before (with success), so I could find that and try again.

I can't believe how tight your BB is Have you tried heating this up? This may help loosen any thread-lock type bond. Remove the tool bolt and insert a HOT soldering iron for 20 mins or so,

I have been heating the whole BB with a hair dryer.
I don't want to use a soldering iron (yet) as I fear that will cook all the remaining grease out of the current BB, which is still working although it has a slight grumble when spun.
At the moment it is useable so I still have a working bike if I put the pedals back on.

Hi,
Quality 1/2" flexi bar (like the busted one) will be more than man enough.

Are you going the right way undoing it

I think so - clockwise.
Though every fibre of my body is screaming WRONG WAY!

When I had a difficult UN72 to remove, I used a 32 mm ring spanner on a bolted down remover, and jumped up and down on the end of it.
(It seems my photobucket hasn't died yet)

I did also try my largest adjustable spanner but the force was just opening up the jaws.
I haven't tried ring spanners as I have broken them in the past due to swinging off them.
I think when you get to needing this level of force, there really isn't any choice other than 6 point sockets, ideally impact sockets if you have them.

Also my photobucket hasn't been hit yet.

[Paulatic]

Noidea said

I did also try my largest adjustable spanner but the force was just opening up the jaws.

Were you using it the right way round?
A lot of my engineering experience is agricultural based 14lb hammers and large adjustable spanners were often the tool of choice just couple them up with a ten foot scaffold pole for leverage.

[Gattonero]

Got the bolt today - M8 1.0mm fine thread 60mm length.

...

Look how big is the distance from the splines of the tool to where the spanner engages. This creates a moment of flex and is detrimental for the job.
Ideally you need the evergreen TL-UN74 and a cuple of headset spacers+thick washer&bolt. This way you keep the spanner, a good 32mm one, very close to the pooint where force is applied.

[NoIdea]

Yeh, I must admit I did wonder about that. I can get around it easily though. Next time I will rest the tool on an axle stand next to the bike to give it additional support.

[Brucey]

there is a chap in an LBS near me who has bad arthritis in one wrist. To help him not aggravate it when removing obstinate BBs, I built him a special tool. It is a 1/2" drive tool, which is double-ended, with the 1/2" drive in the centre. It is well over 4' long (but is light in weight and easy to handle because it is built in a strong box-section steel) and has a large T-shaped handle at each end. You can get ~400ftlbs on this tool without great difficulty, the tool won't try to cam out, and the reaction load on the frame is pure torque.

I built it so that it could be repaired in the event of breakage of the 1/2" square drive peg. So far (about three years use) I've had to do it once; it apparently took two of them swinging on it to break it....

Anyway I mention this because cheaper 1/2" drives may fail at 250ftlbs or less, and as you have found, there are additional ways in which the bar may slip off the tool if the bar is single-ended.

BTW I would suggest chucking a load of penetrating oil down the seat tube and leaving it a week or so.

cheers

[alexnharvey]

And maybe periodically applying some heat to help penetration. I'd heat the frame rather than the bb, aluminum expands more iirc.

You could bolt or screw your vice down and use the frame as a lever, helpfully this gives you a similar two handed, or even two person leverage as with the tool Brucey describes.

[slowster]

I use a ratchet handle with a 4' length of pipe over the handle as an extension to remove Campag bottom brackets, but they have never been seized in the frame.

Where something is seized, I would try repeatedly (lightly) tapping the handle of the spanner/driver numerous times with a hammer to try to break the seal first, rather than just going straight to applying very high levels of torque.

[NoIdea]

Just a small update.

I have acquired more tools.

I have borrowed a 3/4" drive sliding T-bar, which has already proved itself in action so I've been assured a 4ft scaffold pole shouldn't harm it.
So now I just have to decide whether to a buy a 3/4" to 1/2" adaptor (to use with my 1/2" drive 22mm 6 point socket), or just to buy a 3/4" 22mm socket.
The adaptor is cheaper and has more chance of being useful again in the future, so I'll probably go that route.

I also have an air powered impact wrench, and a local buddy who has a large compressor I can use this on...

So should I just go the rattle gun route instead?

Where something is seized, I would try repeatedly (lightly) tapping the handle of the spanner/driver numerous times with a hammer to try to break the seal first, rather than just going straight to applying very high levels of torque.

For this I could try with my 18v impact driver?
It's a Makita DTD152Z and according to the spec has a Max Fastening Torque of 165 Nm, however not all off that will make it through the mass of the socket etc... but it should still provide a nice string of reasonable impacts to try and break some of the oxidisation.