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Got quite a lot of play in the BB so it needs changed. I tried to remove it about 2 years ago but couldn't. It's an aluminium frame, and steel BB, and having been through these topics before, I'm familiar with the issues these can cause. So I'm of the understanding a bit of Plus Gas maybe, and brute force is the way to proceed.
The one thing I have a problem with though, is securing the tool in place to stop it slipping out. The recommended advice is to secure it with a bolt, screwed into the BB. But the bolt from my crank arm isn't long enough.
So can anyone tell me where I can find a bolt long enough (with the correct threads), or a tool short enough that I can use the original crank bolt? Thanks.
if the axle is hollow then you can run a QR skewer through and use washers/spacers on the other side. it's only needs to hold the tool in place, it's not having much force applied to it.
Can't remember if it's hollow or not to be honest, but good idea!
It's just a cheapy though, so I suspect it may not be?
Once secure in the BB, Clamp the tool in the jaws of a bench vice and turn the frame around the tool, not the other way around. Less chance of damaging the frame.
There's a few ways to approach this, ordered from tame to extreme:
- Chemical: Plus gas, penetrating oil, WD40: this might help, usually doesn't and usually makes what you're trying to remove slippy
- Shock / Impact: Impact driver, nut gun, hammer, air chisel: you need to be careful that you're hitting something expendable which won't damage whatever it's connected to... but it's usually successful in breaking the bond between corroded threads
- Brute force: generally leads to breaking things, or rounding things off
- Heat: heat-gun, oxy torch: High chance of success, but I wouldn't try this on a bicycle frame as you could weaken the structure
- Drilling / cutting: Last resort as there's a high likelihood of collateral damage, but I have had success with a dremel and a nearly welded-in bottom bracket... even a shallow groove can relieve the tension on an over-torqued thread
Heat gun for paint stripping worked well for me!
+1 for QR skewer. Works perfect with the BB tool in my cheap aldi/lidl kit. Without it you will strip the tool/BB.
And make sure you are turning the right way (has to be said just in case!)
A long pipe for leverage eventially got mine out.
Thanks for all the advice.
The axle is not hollow, but despite having tried several times in the past, it turns out it came out relatively easy anyway! Bit of a non-event really.
butcher by name 😉