I have a rivnut in my frame...

raymond82

Hello there,

One of the rivnuts in my down tube had come loose and there was no way to remove the bolt from it, I tried and tried but in the end had to let go and the rivnut ended up in the frame. It's rattling in there so I would like to get it out, the problem is there's no access from the BB to the downtube and only a small hole from the steerer tube.

One option I though of is to enlarge the hole in the steerer tube until the rivnut fits through but I'm not sure if that's a good idea. Is there any other way to silence the nut in the frame? I'm thinking of glue or something like this to stop the rattling.

wishitwasallflat

raymond82 wrote:

Hello there,

One of the rivnuts in my down tube had come loose and there was no way to remove the bolt from it, I tried and tried but in the end had to let go and the rivnut ended up in the frame. It's rattling in there so I would like to get it out, the problem is there's no access from the BB to the downtube and only a small hole from the steerer tube.

Are you sure - is your down tube not made from a tube? Is the end sealed where it joins the BB Shell?

One option I though of is to enlarge the hole in the steerer tube until the rivnut fits through but I'm not sure if that's a good idea.

That doesn't sound a good idea to me - altering the frame to remove a nut!

Is there any other way to silence the nut in the frame? I'm thinking of glue or something like this to stop the rattling.

I wouldn't use glue you could spray this stuff down and let it set -

http://www.emotorspares.co.uk/car-plan- ... 1583-p.asp

it's a rust inhibitor so if your frame is Al, Steel or Titanium not problem - not sure if it s ok on CF though - It dries to a kind of sticky paste which should hold a little thing like a rivnut still

raymond82

wishitwasallflat wrote:

raymond82 wrote:

Hello there,

One of the rivnuts in my down tube had come loose and there was no way to remove the bolt from it, I tried and tried but in the end had to let go and the rivnut ended up in the frame. It's rattling in there so I would like to get it out, the problem is there's no access from the BB to the downtube and only a small hole from the steerer tube.

Are you sure - is your down tube not made from a tube? Is the end sealed where it joins the BB Shell?

One option I though of is to enlarge the hole in the steerer tube until the rivnut fits through but I'm not sure if that's a good idea.

That doesn't sound a good idea to me - altering the frame to remove a nut!

Is there any other way to silence the nut in the frame? I'm thinking of glue or something like this to stop the rattling.

I wouldn't use glue you could spray this stuff down and let it set -

http://www.emotorspares.co.uk/car-plan- ... 1583-p.asp

it's a rust inhibitor so if your frame is Al, Steel or Titanium not problem - not sure if it s ok on CF though - It dries to a kind of sticky paste which should hold a little thing like a rivnut still

Thanks for the quick reply!

I'm pretty sure yeah, there's a hole from the seat tube to the BB but not from the down tube. I could check if there's a connection between the down tube and the seat tube but I doubt it.

The rustproofing sounds good, it needs to be something fluid that hardens over time. I will have to figure out what this is called in dutch as I'm from Holland but it's probably the best option.

raymond82

Is this a similar product?

http://www.valvolineeurope.com/english/ ... _190_black

frisbee

As you say, you could open up the hole in the steerer tube, in theory the material in the middle of the hole won't be taking much, if any, load.

And it would reduce weight, rather than adding it!

raymond82

frisbee wrote:

As you say, you could open up the hole in the steerer tube, in theory the material in the middle of the hole won't be taking much, if any, load.

And it would reduce weight, rather than adding it!

You're probably right that it won't take much load, but I'm still hesitant to try (in spite of the weight loss)... It would be quite difficult to access anyway and the steering part of the bike is something I don't really like messing with. The rustproofing option sounds less risky...

wishitwasallflat

raymond82 wrote:

Is this a similar product?

http://www.valvolineeurope.com/english/ ... _190_black

Sorry im not familiar with that stuff but it looks completely different from Waxoil. Waxoil is basically a waxy substance in a carrier solvent so it sprays as a fluid and the sets to a brownish waxy solid. If a bust rivnut lay in the Waxoil pool it should be stuck there. That product may also work but it looks to me more like a paint kind of thing. Surely most online suppliers will deliver to Netherlands?

pinarellokid

I would try pumping some silicone into the hole and moving the frame so the rivnut gets caught in the silicone, then allowing it to dry, then it won't ever rattle and it doesn't weigh too much to worry about

raymond82

wishitwasallflat wrote:

raymond82 wrote:

Is this a similar product?

http://www.valvolineeurope.com/english/ ... _190_black

Sorry im not familiar with that stuff but it looks completely different from Waxoil. Waxoil is basically a waxy substance in a carrier solvent so it sprays as a fluid and the sets to a brownish waxy solid. If a bust rivnut lay in the Waxoil pool it should be stuck there. That product may also work but it looks to me more like a paint kind of thing. Surely most online suppliers will deliver to Netherlands?

I checked around a bit and it's not that easy to find, there's a specialized car shop close by and I'll just ask there. There are a couple of similar products and in the shop they'll probably be able to tell me what to use. I thought of silicone too but I'm not sure if it's fluid enough.

cesco

This is MacGyver-esque, but couldn't you use a big magnet (from a speaker or so) to move it toward on of the holes or at least to hold it in place when you glue it down?

raymond82

cesco wrote:

This is MacGyver-esque, but couldn't you use a big magnet (from a speaker or so) to move it toward on of the holes or at least to hold it in place when you glue it down?

A magnet is not a bad idea, the problem is that the flange of the nut is too wide for the hole and it needs to come out fully because the bolt is stuck inside. I could try to get it towards the hole to see if there's a way to take it apart so it fits, using a magnet is a very good idea!