Square taper bottom bracket stuck

I had exactly this tool popping out. Tried plus gas, no joy, tried gentle heat no joy.

New Tool with flats for a spanner in the bench vise, g clamp holding it in place heat applied and frame use as leverage.

If you have a bench with a vice on it its a case of put tool in vice, add bike and turn, its surprising the amount of torque you can apply this way and ive released a lot of ‘stuck’ threaded BB’s by doing it this way.
Option two is to clamp the tool to the BB axle,which will stop it from jumping out, add a long spanner and to that add a long length of pipe.

If you take it to someone like an engineer, its likely he’ll not have a clue of these things and first attempt will chew up or rip up the splines making removal nigh on impossible. Same goes for many bike shop who dont have a real well trained and experienced mechanic working there. This is old school remember, and you need an old school bike mechanic to get it out.

Adds – You are turning it the correct way ?. Always worth triple checking.

Well, I did reply to this thread last night, but the post has vanished, there must have been a restore to solve the 502 problems that took the forum down last night. Anyway…

Here’s the tool in place. You can see it has a hole to allow access, but at the moment I have no M8 fine thread bolt to lock it in place

I’ve double checked and the axle / spindle is definitely solid

I dug under the workbench and it turns out I don’t have G-Clamps, I have F-Clamps

Guess what?

IT STILL DIDN’T MOVE. The only thing I have that I could use as an extension is a piece of copper tubing. It’s not really solid enough, even though the walls are reasonably thick, it was just bending. I even tried standing on the spanner, but at that point the tol just slipped out even despite the f-clamp. I am wondering if the splines in the BB shell might be wrecked by this point 🙁

However, I’ve recalled that a neighbour is a power tool fan and she has said sh’ll pop round with her impact driver tonight so hopefully that wlil sort it

Longer term plan is to get a proper spanner to fit this tool (i’m using an adjustable at the moment) and some kind of breaker bar/extension. Shamefully, I don’t have a bench vice (at least not one that’s fitted and usable, I have a lovely old vice in the corner of the garage but I’ve no space for it until I have a proper clean-up / reorganisation and there’s no plates on the jaws)

When you first posted I thought that spanner was a bit short, iirc last one I did I had some proper long wrench on it (2 foot one). I reckon a bit more leverage and it’ll go (that and turning it the right way 😉 )

Also, could just be seized… Water gets in there. I ditched a road bike frame long ago cos the bb was properly seized. That spline system was rather crap, hence hollowtech style bbs.

Just thought of another method I’ve used in the past – putting the opposite cup back in and tightening to within an inch of it’s life, until it moves the drive side cup. Only works if the non-drive cup hasn’t got a lip (and isn’t plastic).

the NDS sleeve is metal, but has a collar to stop it going to too far 🙁

Tried tightening that one just to get the thread moving? Doesn’t look like it has a collar/lip.

I’ve used a 6ft scaffold bar over a breaker bar before. Careful it will let go with a crack.

As you have done, keep the wheels on to avoid frame damage and have someone hold the bike while you swing on the spanner with extension.

Be double sure the tool won’t pop out and trash the splines. Get an M8 fine bolt to hold it in properly. Also best to use a socket and breaker bar over this but your tool looks a bit long. The short shimano tool is best with a socket over it. Is it a decent quality tool?

Use heat on the BB shell if you can. A blow torch, heatgun, whatever you have.

Metre long bar or get someone to weld a bar to it the actual BB

I had a four hour nightmare where a tapered crank wouldn’t come off the BB (angle grinder) after the threads fell apart using a puller. Then the BB itself was stuck tight and I had to cut sections out of the drive side and tap it using a drift to start it unscrewing after using a 4ft bar on the non-drive side.
Not a fan of square taper for these sorts of reasons (plus it was a S/H bike and maybe hadn’t had much love during it undoubtedly long life)

JWT-

are you a fan of copaslip?

I’m a fan of cartridge bottom brackets because they have lifespans measured in decades not months.

@nbt make sure your neighbours impact driver is a 1/2″ Square drive impact driver and not one of the smaller 1/4″ hex drive ones. As the 1/4″ hex ones simply do not have the torque required to loosen it.

Spurred by this, went to work and managed to get the ST BB (not hole through, just bolt thread) out of my M2. I might have been turning it the wrong way before, and was definitely using a standalone tool before. This time used a BBB tool with integrated bolt – worked a treat…

This time used a BBB tool with integrated bolt – worked a treat…

Got a link to that please?

are you a fan of copaslip?

ballsofcottonwool – Yes I am but, this was on a bike bought 2nd hand, so no idea what it had been through before I attempted to change the BB and crankset!

BBB Pullstar

More expensive than an 8mm bolt from ebay!

@nbt – something a lot like this (not sure of length of the handle on mine) – when in stock –
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/bbb-bottom-bracket-tool-pullstar-btl20l/rp-prod87604

Will handle octalink, ISIS and traditional (ST).

I thought the locking threads were wider on an octalink BB? The crank extracter certainly needs a bit to go into the hole

The crank bolt threads on the tool are two-step – thinner then fatter.

This has probably already been thought of or suggested! but if you had a BB tool with a hole and a bit of stud (or long bolt) through it bolted to the axle, that’d hold it in place while you wrenched it..

I done a diagram

Yep Dez, that’s the idea, just need to get a fine thread M8 bolt and some nuts to lock the tool in place. If the impact driver doesn’t work, I’ll order some (and some proper spanners and maybe an extension bar too)

The old Tacx ones (just found my Campag one in the garage) used to have that built in, if you could find one of those. Separate plastic bit to screw the bolt in
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/tacx-bottom-bracket-cartridge-removal-tool

Sorry, I’ll shut up after this!
eBay has em
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tacx-T4430-Splined-Tool-For-Shimano-Taper-15-x-1-32mm-Wrench-/133783953335?_trksid=p2349624.m2548.l6249

make sure your neighbours impact driver is a 1/2″ Square drive impact driver and not one of the smaller 1/4″ hex drive ones

My impact wrench the hex drive pulls off to reveal a 1/2 underneath. Assuming you are talking about a hammer blow one rather than a rattle gun.

Much better option than farting about with scaff poles etc.

Neighbour loaned me her DeWalt Impact driver. It doesn’t have a 1/2 drive so won’t help me 🙁

It’s one of these
https://www.dewalt.co.uk/products/dcf886n-xj–18v-xr-brushless-impact-driver-bare-unit

I’ve ordered a threaded rod with nuts and washers. I’ll pick up a proper length fixed spanner and maybe some kind of extender

https://www.halfords.com/tools/hand-tools/screwdrivers-and-hex-keys/halfords-advanced–impact-driver-and-bits-178172.html?istCompanyId=b8708c57-7a02-4cf6-b2c0-dc36b54a327e&istFeedId=367c5610-f937-4c81-8609-f84582324cd6&istItemId=xwxwmwtri&istBid=t&_$ja=tsid:94971|cid:865695754|agid:42483195983|tid:pla-331014970935|crid:203186066553|nw:g|rnd:17505445743904244887|dvc:m|adp:|mt:|loc:1007382&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2tCGBhCLARIsABJGmZ5MkEqDK1jjd3i4nbsVjwAhIH9YnDacg3fBP6NoeVlMDFCHfm0i02kaAnRDEALw_wcB

Seriously just get one of these. You want hard sharp application of force not long high torque slow application.

Handy things (the half inch drive is hidden under a hex adapter in the photo)

If that doesn’t get it moving you’re going to start snapping thing and removing splines and then you’re popped.

You want hard sharp application of force not long high torque slow application

Back to my never to be forgotten lesson from MrsP have you tried clamping the tool (as best you can) and repeatedly tapping the spanner? It worked for her so it’d be good to get some benefit from my never ending suffering…

Just bumping this, I manage to get it freed eventually. I ordered a threaded rod and managed to lock the BB adapter to the axle, as per the diagram supplied by @DezB

Tapping the adjustable spanner with a hammer did nothing, but I realised that I could use my tandem roof rack as act as a 7 foot long breaker bar. On trying that though I could see the jaws of the adjustable opening – what I really needed was a bigger, preferably fixed size spanner.

Thankfully I was able to lay my hands on @IHN’s massive tool and that was able to do the job, you can see the difference in size between his massive 15 incher versus my measly 8-incher and the “little” siz incher

though I did have to stand on the tool and heave on the bars to get it to move