hey,

i've acquired a cannondale prophet, the previous owner hasn't used it a huge amount so is in excellent condition bar the shock bushings requiring replacement sooner, rather than later.

after removing one side of the hex-headed screw, we tried removing the bolt and it appears stuck in the bushing. a good whack or two with a hammer & small drift have done little (nothing) to cause it to budge.

I was thinking a good dose of plusgas on it tomorrow (post ride) and then squirt some more around that area, hopefully it should come out.

if it doesn't, does anyone have any suggestions? I am loathed to start bashing the hell out of it as I don't want to damage the frame (unless i rest the frame on some timber with a little hole/cut out for the bolt to drop into?)

any thoughts would be most welcome and appreciated

thanks,
jonathan

Kettle of boiling water *MAY* help

Can you make a reservoir (plastic bag, zippy plasticine etc) and leave it to soak in plus gas for a week, giving it a few taps each morning and night.

I had a stuck bolt on a DT175 monoshock, that was the garage advice, it eneded in the garage and a bloke heated it with a welding torch and used a BIG hammer in then end. Don't consider a mountain bike would be able to stand this treatment though.

I don't know the design, so apologies if this is a dumb suggestion, – but could you cut the head off and drift it through, or can you get something (like a punch) on the other end and ry drifting it out ?

The punch in the end is the only option. Heat torch would **** up the shock thats attached to it

Have always removed shock bolts both sides at the same time i.e back one of against the other as usually one side is a threaded female and the other the bolt male, undoing both usually works a treat. have you tried refitting the bolt you have removed then taking the other one out first?

Hi all,

thank's for the replies and rob for attempting to sort it out, saturday night at 10pm… what a leg end 😉

the thing with these bolts is the bolt-side of it is approx 15mm long at the most, the female end goes right through the shock bushings.

I'll be putting the frame on its side and squirting plenty of plusgas down there, my thoughts are that with the plusgas' only exit being down the exterior of the female bolt, couple this with turning the allen head during plus-gassing and *hopefully* it'll come out without any damage to the frame *fingers crossed* i'll be on the phone to TFT monday morning to order bushings, and all being well will have the new shock in without any great hassle.

i'm not sure whether a bit of localized heat would help, perhaps enough to cause it to get warm (wouldnt take too long with a butane torch) … will have a think about that one though if the plusgas doesn't do its stuff.

thanks again,
Jonathan

Tawny – spoke to amate who knows his metals inside out. Boiling water – lots of it on the BUSH and ice on the pin – then **** it with a hide mallet or similar. Centre punch in the pin and a black of wood.

how the hell am i going to get ice on the pin? aye, the usual expand/contract method … will give it a shout but not today as im knackered! (not enough sleep all week and two quick laps of sherwood pines)

(bike performed well, shifting without hassle and a joy to be on 😉

hold ice cube on the head dumb ass

THEN pour on water from kettle

tawny – as the bushings are rotating against the frame when the suspension compresses it will very quickly **** up your frame when some grit gets in. I would NOT ride the bike until its sorted. Peak grit Vs soft alu = 1 winner!

Try this, it worked when I got a steel "sex" bolt firmly stuck in my Ellsworth Truth back end (I now know only aluminium ones fit properly).

Give the bolt a good long squirt with a plumbing pipe freezing spray (from B&Q, Homebase etc). Much safer for the rest of the frame than a blow torch. Might need to fashion a bit of a "resevoir" around the bolt head with the foam insulation included with the spray. Have a pair of winter gloves to hand as the bolt will be very cold.

Good luck.

I would suggest you try a longer bolt than the male allen bolt, thread it all the way into the female threaded bolt. Support the opposite side on a suitable sized socket and the attempt to whack it through. I'm assuming the through bolt has fused to the aluminium mount kit spacer washers? Maybe also try using a large diameter punch to give the spacer washers a good crack at 90 degrees to the through bolt, this might free them off a bit.

have just remembered during my time as some geeky electronics dude, we used to use freezer spray, so i'll see about picking a can of that up, along with the 'ol boiling water, and plusgas, and the big hammer 😉

thanks again 😉

I tend to try to remove these things with a bearing puller or a small vice and some sockets by applying a bit of pressure whilst heating. As soon as it moves – remove heat. You'd be surprised how little heat can be needed.

just to let ya'll know that bolt came out with very little effort, a good squirt of plusgas which I left to rest for a while (time for a brew) and then pouring boiling water over it – enough for the kettle to empty, a swift, short tap and out it came.

thank's for your help!
jt