I am trying to remove the cranks from my frame and I have obviously done something wrong in a former life, the thread that the little outside screwy thing goes in on the drive side is threaded and I can't pull the crank, it worked fine on the non-drive side.

I need to pull this crank to put it on the new frame and can't work out what to do. I have racked my brains, anyone got a bright singletrack idea ??

Cheers
Sean

I'm assuming you mean this is the older style Octalink sort?

the thread that the little outside screwy thing goes in on the drive side

Are you sure you don't mean the non-drive side? There is nothing on the drive side. If you have removed the non-drive side crank arm all you should need is a rubber mallet to knock it all through. The drive side arm and rings are all one unit and shouldn't come undone

…unless of course it is a different type of XT crankset

like an Octalink HT I sort?

Does it say 'Octalink' on the cranks? How old are they / the bike?

No it just says Hollowtech, its a few years old and comes with a splined BB. I think its Hollowtech 1

It is this one….

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Sean.Parr/BIKES#5382641413483521506

Sorry not great pic, but gives you an idea. Its not the one where the driveside crank forms the crankset.

Are you going to reuse the BB? Has the BB got an internal or external spline (I am assuming it will be internal but hoping external).

Its an external spline and yes, I would like to reuse it….

Its a Hollowtech I system with Octalink axles like I had on my old Stumpy that uses crank bolts.

Hmm – I think as said before most of the options result in you trashing the cranks?

you could try using a hub puller (car type) with the arms over the chainrings and the pin in the hole.

you're going to have to look at getting it rethreaded/helicoiled if you want to reuse it tough as you'll have the same problem very time you try and take it off.

getting it rethreaded/helicoiled

Yeh and you could buy new cranks probably for that price on CRC or else? 🙂

well, yes, but they may have sentimental value 😉

If you are using the crank and BB on a new frame can you take BB out with the crank still attached?

Good luck with trying to cut the bb axle 😉 I stopped after 10min trying to cut through it and there was just a scratch. It's quicker to cut a wedge out from the crank arm and than use a hammer to take it off. You will be able to re use the bb, but not the crank arm. I almost cried when I was cutting my almost new XT cranks. Quicker way would be using a drill as it will take You some time with a hacksaw. It didn't hurt that much when it happened in an Alivio crank, got a new crank puller (lost the self extracting screw somewhere in the Pentlands) and it stripped the thread, I asked myself "WHY ME?!" 😉

I went to two bike shops and they couldn't come up with anythin more creative than cutting the wedge out and that will make knocking the crank arm off the axle easier.

Only thing I can add is that although the BB was ok, due to the hits and hacksaw it developed some creaking noise and play after about 2 weeks (was fine before).

"can you take BB out with the crank still attached"

you can't get to the BB cups with the arm on, unfortunately.

I was thinking of the BB on my SS which has an external spline. You can locate a tool on the BB without removing the crank.

Buggeration…..

Anyone got the spacers for a Howitzer BB then to take it down from 73mm to 68mm????

roadiesean, please follow link, read and check.

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=120

Hope you sort it as it is an easy job when you know how it's put together an have the right tools.

Always read the manual on Shimano website too.

Thanks Zaskar, but the problem is that the dustcap (which had been on the non drive side) won't fit on the drive side as the drive side is threaded. So I am stuck ! As is the crank arm.

Boring

Oh this is easy, plan an epic ride miles from home, get really excited about it, drive three hours to get there, and the crank arm will have fallen off before you leave the car park!

Seriously, try riding around with the bolts out, should work loose, failing that rubber mallet to the back of the crank after loads of WD40/GT85

I'm confused… surely you just need an extractor tool to pull the drive-side crank?

Like this one?

ie what zaskar said up there ^^^

Stop using the phrase "threaded" people, come on. But….

jonathan – he's stripped the thread used for the puller to grip it, so he can't use one of those. Although I have had good success with the old pack-the-tool-thread-with-alu-foil-and-try-again-with-care method.

I'm afraid its a sacrifice the cranks time, unless you want to use the same method of extraction each time.

Stop using the phrase "threaded" people, come on.

I'm glad it's not just me that thinks that.

Coffeeking, YGM

If it is just the puller thread is stripped, and you can get the bolt out, then you need a 2 prong car bearing puller. Hook the prongs round the back of the crank, pushy bit in the middle, with possibly something in the way like a 5p coin to give it something more to push on. I'm not sure what you do about chainrings if it is that side, probably take them off.

Car repair garages have all manner of puller tools, you might be best to go to one of those and ask them nicely.

Joe

crossthreaded…..sorry too upset to type correctly !

Nope it is completely fcuked. It is amazing that such a strong junction can all come completely unstuck with the smallest amount of hamfistedness. I am hanging my head in complete and absolute shame.

Oh, the pain !!! 😳

If it's crossthreaded and only the first few threads are damaged then the steel threads of a crank extracter, if carefully started, may be able to recut the softer alloy thread in the crank.

This happened to me on an FSA carbon road crank, I did not want to hit it in one place fearing it might break so I ziptied an old fashioned headset spanner to the crank to spread the load and then thwacked that with a rubber mallet. It came off after about 5 mins. Make sure everything is clear in that direction it certainly travelled at speed when it can off. The crank survived but I don't use it anymore because it was the cause of a creak that was really annoying me.

crossthreaded…..sorry too upset to type correctly !

Ahh… now it makes sense 😉

I'll second the hammer method. It's probably the most likely to succeed. Just make sure you protect the crank arm at the point where you'll be hitting it. If the bike's still more or less rideable, try riding it without the crank bolts in for a while, to slacken it off a bit.