Seized Bottom Bracket

LDNTrailRider
LDNTrailRider Posts: 103
edited November 2009 in Workshop
I have an old Falcon Reynolds 501 frame. The bottom bracket (it is one of the old cup and cone type) is shot and needs replacing. I took it to Evans and they said it was seized and they couldn't remove it.

I assume that they just used the normal spanners. Are there any more unorthodox methods that might be employed? I heard something about heating it.

The thing is that its a nice frame and would make a great hack or singlespeed. I don't want to throw it in a skip.

Any suggestions?

Comments

  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,673
    soak in plus gas and or use a proper tool and extension

    scroll down to the Marin near the bottom.
    http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopi ... c&start=60

    A normal tool can be held in place with a rear Qr or a bolt and washers.

    have fun.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Take it to a more traditional bike shop with an experienced mechanic - most have done one of these in their time. As well heat and plus gas, there's always the cold chisel!
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    If the fixed cup/RH side is the problem then grab a 1/2"dia bolt with two nuts and feed through the cup and screw the nuts on and keep tightening.
    I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.
  • lae
    lae Posts: 555
    ^ all good methods.

    Using the proper tool (my LBS has a massive wall-mounted jobbie that clamps the frame in place) will be the easiest way to do it, and the least likely to damage anything. Soak it in Duck Oil or similar penetrating oil for a few days first (WD40 is... reasonable... but not as good as Duck Oil).

    If that doesn't work, try heating up the frame with a blowtorch and then using the tool again (wear welding gauntlets/gloves obviously!)

    If that doesn't work, as an absolute last resort, you can clamp the frame down and drill a progessively larger hole in the cup until there's only a few mm left, then you can knock it with a chisel and it'll buckle and you can get it out with pliers. If you don't have big drill bits, you can take a junior hacksaw and saw the cup into two or more bits, being very careful not to go into the thread (pretty much impossible, but try!) and then remove the bits with a pair of pliers. These methods will usually damage the outermost threads a tiny bit, but hopefully not enough so that they need re-tapping.

    If you do end up paggering the threads, velosolo.co.uk do a cheap 'threadless' bottom bracket specially designed for damaged threads. Not amazing, but much cheaper than getting it re-threaded, so if it's a cheap bike it's not uneconomical to repair.
  • Wappygixer
    Wappygixer Posts: 1,396
    Heat is your best bet IME.
    Its been in a long time and if a shop cant shift it with normal methods then lubrication wont help you at home much either.
    Buy or borrow a blow lamp and heat the whole area, it will smoke lots as it burns off the old oil and grease but it will come out.
    Try a centre punch if you don't have a pin spanner.
    Remember that the drive side is a left hand thread too.
  • Nigel Bennett
    Nigel Bennett Posts: 653
    you can take a junior hacksaw and saw the cup into two or more bits,

    No chance. The cups are well hardened and you'll rip the junior hacksaw teeth off in seconds. Possible alternative is one of those tungsten carbide rod saws you can get for sawing tiles. Sod of a job, though.

    I've often resorted to clamping the fixed cup in a big bench vice and using the frame as a spanner. You need a good vice and a bench affixed to the planet, though!

    Soaking in plus-gas or other penetrating oil will certainly help.


    ....and remember that the RH (fixed) cup is probably LH thread....
  • ride_whenever
    ride_whenever Posts: 13,279
    i can attest that the cups are MUCH harder than any hacksaw blade! They didn't mark it other than removing the grime.

    For my recent one, tried heat, soaked it, the damn thing wasn't moving. Ended up cleaning the splines with a cold chisel that i'd sharped, then holding the tool in place with a headset press. Easy to use then undoing it with an 18" adjustable spanner and a lot of heaving. Need to keep slacking the headset press off as you remove the cups though.
    Neeermad
    Carbon 456
    456 lefty
    Pompino
    White Inbred
  • mmacavity
    mmacavity Posts: 781
    LDNTrailRider wrote:
    I have an old Falcon Reynolds 501 frame. The bottom bracket (it is one of the old cup and cone type) is shot and needs replacing. I took it to Evans and they said it was seized and they couldn't remove it.

    I assume that they just used the normal spanners. Are there any more unorthodox methods that might be employed? I heard something about heating it.

    The thing is that its a nice frame and would make a great hack or singlespeed. I don't want to throw it in a skip.

    Any suggestions?

    http://loctitefreezeandrelease.com/

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