In the weeds - crank removal 1993 Marin Muirwood

[markwoollard]

Hi.

Me again.

I'm stuck getting the cranks off..... i bought a Park Tool CWP-7 Crank Puller. "can be used to remove most square taper cranks,as well as splined Octalink & ISIS Drive cranks".

It has 2 attachments - i'm using the smaller 11.3mm tip, which looks right, but i just cannot get the crank to budge at all. Even with all my weight bearing down on the long adjustable spanner attached for leverage.

Any tips? What am i doing wrong? or can this be totally seized like the seatpost?

Thanks, Mark

 

[marc two tone]

Re:

Firstly, make sure your tip fits within the square boundaries. So the tip fits within and pushes back against the crank.

I've dealt with this before, once had to drop a small washer in the void for better contact.

 

[marc two tone]

Re:

Drop a washer, other flat and hard thing for contact against axle end.

 

[RetroDavy]

Re:

If the problem is seizure of the parts instead of/as well as enabling the tool to seat properly...

I had a stuck crank on a 1993 Bear Valley.

I freed it by boiling a full kettle of water and slowly pouring it over the crank. It got so hot it was painful to touch.

The slight expansion of the alloy relative to the steel spindle enabled the crank extractor to pull it off.

Did the same on both sides and with both pedals, all seized solid.

And the boiling water killed all the grass underneath. I was popular at home that day.

Good luck.

 

[markwoollard]

Thanks for the pointers chaps. I tried pretty much everything.

Got there in the end - used candle wax into the inside ahead of the crank puller - a tip from a friend who's dad restores old cars - apparently it's quite common method for big old seized bits of cars. Prior to trying it i had myself AND a friend trying to pull the damn thing free. with the candle wax i did it on my own. guess we may have loosened it a touch before, but we couldn't free it.

Bottom bracket cam out after 2 blowtorches and cold water, and a hammer drill.

 

[coomber]

Thanks for the pointers chaps. I tried pretty much everything.

Got there in the end...

Bottom bracket came out after 2 blowtorches and cold water, and a hammer drill.

That's the retrobike spirit!

 

[Danthefestaman]

Another tip is grab the wifes hair drier and give it a warm. If it can work miracles on a woman's wiry hair its bound to help!!

 

[brocklanders023]

Re:

These lads do the trick.

https://www.halfords.com/tools/hand-too ... ViEALw_wcB

 

[coomber]

Re:

As above or of you think the crank is ovalised or scrap just cut with hacksaw or dremel and bang it off with a lump hammer