Completely seized bottom bracket

My latest project is a 95 lava dome which looks to have sat for years and years. Consequently the seat post and bottom bracket are seized solid. I'm not too fussed about the post as I can always resort to caustic soda but the bottom bracket is a worry.

Tonight I've tried my usual method of holding the bottom bracket tool in place with a bolt screwed into the axle , clamping the bottom bracket tool in the vice and then using the frame add a lever to turn the BB .

however this bb does not want to move, and in the end my tool snapped.Thankfully the teeth on the BB are not damaged so all isnt lost yet.I'm going to order another tool and try again but has anyone got any handy tips that might help shift it?

it's a square taper by the way.

I got one out by using a g clamp to hold the tool in, then adding an extenion to the socket wrench on the tool. The extension was simply a random piec of pipe that fitted. Bike still had wheels on to make things easier.

dvatcmark":2n6z8l0c said:

Tonight I've tried my usual method of holding the bottom bracket tool in place with a bolt screwed into the axle , clamping the bottom bracket tool in the vice and then using the frame add a lever to turn the BB .

Click to expand...

I think your method for removal sounds perfect, seems like this bottom bracket is well seized and would benefit from a few days soaking in a penetrating oil such as "plus gas" before you try again.

Also if you're not too concerned about damaging the paint you could try applying some heat to the area.

Plus gas is worth its weight in gold, got me out of many problems especially with 25 year old suspension bolts on the old car

Sounds like a plan, is plus gas with the extra over a generic penetrating oil?
Regarding a new BB tool, are there any tried and tested one's out there? I'm drawn to the park bbt22, but it's it actually any stronger than something like the superstar one which is 1/3 of the price

I really don't know the science behind it but Plus gas just seems to do the job. It's a product that's been around years, I remember my dad using it to great effect on seized bleed nipples and such.

I've got a couple of bb tools, nothing fancy, one of them is this http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=14914 . Being a bit of a scrapyard scavenger, I'm no stranger to a difficult bb, but using the tool in the vice and bolted to the bb has never failed yet.

Grind a notch for a chisel in the BB body using an angle grinder. Then hammer loose clockwise(links).

For one off use buy cheap tools, for those you'll use over and over again go Park. My Park bb tool take a ratchet handle. Very definitely worth the extra money