stuck seat post

muzza31
muzza31 Posts: 19
edited November 2008 in Road general
help my seat post is stuck am retoring a old rd frame for a fixed wheel beast . however the seat post is stuck alloy type into steel frame.. have tried the following..
twisting pulling tapping the post.
coke down the tueb to get the acid burn throiugh
ammonia to disolve the al oxide nothing is working any ideas.. really pissing me off now. besides cutting it out

help..
:oops:
rip it up like crazy.. feel the burn...

Comments

  • cool it down, the al with contract more than the steel, a CO2 cannister is a good way to do this.

    Read sheldon browns web-page on removing stuck seat posts.
  • man the ammonia is giving me a headache. flooded the tube and left it for 1 hour slowly rotating it round still no luck loooks like it could be the c02 next. may be even a strong vice on a bench and a rotate.


    yes and i have read sheldon browns page as well.
    rip it up like crazy.. feel the burn...
  • LeighB
    LeighB Posts: 326
    I have a bike that had been stored in a damp garage for a few years and the seat post was stuck firm. For about two weeks I applied WD40 and twisted with various implements to no avail. As a last resort I removed the wheels and clamped the top of the seat post in a large bench vice and twisted the frame. After a bit of twisting the post began to move, more WD40 and the post came out. Cleaned up and greased the bike has been fine for the past eighteen months. My next problem is the quill stem is stuck and pretty soon the bike will need new paint.
  • am going to try the cooling method then i will find a big clamp and twist.. think the co2 cooolant is arriving in a day or too.
    rip it up like crazy.. feel the burn...
  • GarethPJ
    GarethPJ Posts: 295
    Cooling is a good way of doing things.

    My favoured way, however is a pad saw or similar. You do need a steady hand for this.Cut a slot in the post deep enough that you're all the way through or just about through the wall of the post but not cutting into the frame. The aluminium post being softer than the steel frame makes this easier than you'd expect. Having done this you can then crush the post which should break the bond between post and frame.

    Trying to do it with any kind of solvent can cause more problems than it solves. It's almost impossible to get the solvent all the way down the post so what happens is you melt some of the aluminium oxide, but not all of it so you still can't remove the post. Then the gloop sets up like glue bonding the post in even harder than before.


    Oh and don't bother with WD40, it's not a release fluid. Good for keeping water out of an old Mini's ignition system, but not a lot else.
  • no luck with co2 so will try the cut method.. wish me luck.. getting really frustrated now..
    :evil:
    rip it up like crazy.. feel the burn...
  • edhornby
    edhornby Posts: 1,780
    have you tried putting a cold chisel inbetween the seat post bolt spurs and giving it a tap?

    alternatively take it to the LBS ??? they have ways of sorting stuff that are only known to them :)
    "I get paid to make other people suffer on my wheel, how good is that"
    --Jens Voight
  • GarethPJ
    GarethPJ Posts: 295
    edhornby wrote:
    alternatively take it to the LBS ??? they have ways of sorting stuff that are only known to them :)

    Don't be so sure. A friend of mine had his frame ruined by an LBS who tried to remove a stuck seatpost by taking a torch to the seat tube. Not good. They overheated the seat tube and it cracked.

    Don't make the assumption that your LBS knows everything about bikes.
  • GarethPJ
    GarethPJ Posts: 295
    edhornby wrote:
    alternatively take it to the LBS ??? they have ways of sorting stuff that are only known to them :)

    Don't be so sure. A friend of mine had his frame ruined by an LBS who tried to remove a stuck seatpost by taking a torch to the seat tube. Not good. They overheated the seat tube and it cracked.

    Don't make the assumption that your LBS knows everything about bikes.