Pedal Off?

[Richard Pattle]

The project that is my car boot bargain is loathe to let me change its
pedals. Any tips for shifting pedals that appear to have welded themselves
to the cranks?

[Peter Clinch]

Richard Pattle wrote:
> The project that is my car boot bargain is loathe to let me change its
> pedals. Any tips for shifting pedals that appear to have welded themselves
> to the cranks?

Your friendly neighbourhood hardware store will probably have
penetrating oil, or equivalent thereof (the mech workshop downstairs use
stuff called "PlusGas"). A good long soak in that (at least overnight,
not a few minutes) followed up by the attentions of a ******* Size pedal
spanner (your LBS may well lend you one for a brief attack if you take
it along) is probably your best bet.

A proper pedal spanner designed specifically for the job should improve
your chances over a standard spanner. If it's possible to extend it
with a bit of pipe that'll give you a little more leverage.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

[Just zis Guy, you know?]

Peter Clinch wrote:

> the mech workshop downstairs use stuff called "PlusGas"

That's the one I use, when the need arises, long experience having shown
that it is vastly superior to anything else which I could find back in the
80s when mending sick motor cars was my main hobby.

--
Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

Victory is ours! Down with Eric the Half A Brain!

[Richard Pattle]

"Just zis Guy, you know?" > wrote in message
...
> Peter Clinch wrote:
>
> > the mech workshop downstairs use stuff called "PlusGas"
>
> That's the one I use, when the need arises, long experience having shown
> that it is vastly superior to anything else which I could find back in the
> 80s when mending sick motor cars was my main hobby.
>
> --
> Guy
> ===
> May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
> http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk
>
> Victory is ours! Down with Eric the Half A Brain!
>
>
Thanks guys.

I've succeeded in moving it now. At first I thought I couldn't get my
largest adjustable spanner on it because the pedal cage got in the way, but
then it dawned on me (doh!) that as I was going to be throwing that one away
I could easily dismantle the old pedal from the other end, leaving just the
axle. Then the application of said spanner and my considerable bulk did the
trick.

[Helen Deborah Vecht]

Penetrating oil
Patience
Hair dryer or other tame source of heat to crank
Pedal spanner (usu 15mm)
Patience
Remember left pedal comes off clockwise (ie left hand thread)
20 stone friendly helper
Patience
Strip thread

SWEAR!

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.

[Fredster]

"Richard Pattle" > wrote in message
...
> The project that is my car boot bargain is loathe to let me change its
> pedals. Any tips for shifting pedals that appear to have welded themselves
> to the cranks?
>

Park Tools produce a pedal spanner that matches Peter's description. I
couldn't shift the pedals on one of my bikes, took it into the LBS and they
set to it with a Park spanner and shifted it in seconds. I bought one on
the spot.

[Roos Eisma]

Helen Deborah Vecht > writes:

>Penetrating oil
>Patience
>Hair dryer or other tame source of heat to crank
>Pedal spanner (usu 15mm)
>Patience
>Remember left pedal comes off clockwise (ie left hand thread)
>20 stone friendly helper
>Patience
>Strip thread

>SWEAR!

And, in my case, give up and buy very nice new bike.

Roos

[Just zis Guy, you know?]

Richard Pattle wrote:

> I've succeeded in moving it now. At first I thought I couldn't get my
> largest adjustable spanner on it because the pedal cage got in the
> way...

A good long pedal spanner is a cheap and useful tool :-)


--
Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

Victory is ours! Down with Eric the Half A Brain!

[Zog The Undeniable]

Richard Pattle wrote:

> The project that is my car boot bargain is loathe to let me change its
> pedals. Any tips for shifting pedals that appear to have welded themselves
> to the cranks?
>
>
A big pedal spanner, with a piece of scaffold pole over the end if
necessary. Forget allen keys.

[Simon Brooke]

in message <40cddb84.0@entanet>, Zog The Undeniable
') wrote:

> Richard Pattle wrote:
>
>> The project that is my car boot bargain is loathe to let me change
>> its pedals. Any tips for shifting pedals that appear to have welded
>> themselves to the cranks?
>>
>>
> A big pedal spanner, with a piece of scaffold pole over the end if
> necessary. Forget allen keys.

AND REMEMBER THE REVERSE THREAD!

With the spanner sticking out from the pedal towards the rear of the
bike, always push downwards.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
There's nae Gods, an there's precious few heroes
but there's plenty on the dole in th Land o th Leal;
And it's time now, tae sweep the future clear o
th lies o a past that we know wis never real.

[Ricardo]

Richard Pattle wrote:
> The project that is my car boot bargain is loathe to let me change its
> pedals. Any tips for shifting pedals that appear to have welded themselves
> to the cranks?

Having had exactly that problem yesterday, all of the previously
aforementioned, plus a blowtorch on the crank for a minute or so to
expand it.

[NC]

Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:
> Richard Pattle wrote:
>
>> I've succeeded in moving it now. At first I thought I couldn't get my
>> largest adjustable spanner on it because the pedal cage got in the
>> way...
>
> A good long pedal spanner is a cheap and useful tool :-)

And a 4ft length of old car exhaust pipe or scaffold pole even cheaper.
Possibly one of the most useful large tools I own, can be used to massively
increase leverage on a mirriad of stuck threads.

However, you do need a decent quality spanner of the right size fitted over
the nut/bolt first, otherwise things just get rounded off.



--
NC - Webmaster for http://www.2mm.org.uk/
Replies to newsgroup postings to the newsgroup please.

[Julian Symondson]

On Mon, 14 Jun 2004 22:54:47 +0100, NC > wrote:

> Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:
>> Richard Pattle wrote:
>>
>>> I've succeeded in moving it now. At first I thought I couldn't get my
>>> largest adjustable spanner on it because the pedal cage got in the
>>> way...
>>
>> A good long pedal spanner is a cheap and useful tool :-)
>
> And a 4ft length of old car exhaust pipe or scaffold pole even cheaper.
> Possibly one of the most useful large tools I own, can be used to
> massively
> increase leverage on a mirriad of stuck threads.
>
> However, you do need a decent quality spanner of the right size fitted
> over
> the nut/bolt first, otherwise things just get rounded off.
>
>
>

A wooden mallet has proved invaluable for this - just be careful.


--

J u l i a n

__o
_`\(,_
(_)/ (_)

[Fraggle]

"Richard Pattle" > wrote in message >...
> The project that is my car boot bargain is loathe to let me change its
> pedals. Any tips for shifting pedals that appear to have welded themselves
> to the cranks?

With the bike on its side I put a bucked under the stuck crank and
poured a kettle full of boiling water over the crank and pedal then
quickly got my weight on the spanner. This worked like a charm. Be
very sure you have worked out which way to turn the spanner :p and be
carefull of the hot crank... its hot!

[Pete Biggs]

Julian Symondson wrote:
>
> A wooden mallet has proved invaluable for this - just be careful.

Yes, whack end of spanner with club hammer or mallet.

~PB

[Mark South]

"Ricardo" > wrote in message
...
> Richard Pattle wrote:
> > The project that is my car boot bargain is loathe to let me change its
> > pedals. Any tips for shifting pedals that appear to have welded themselves
> > to the cranks?
>
> Having had exactly that problem yesterday, all of the previously
> aforementioned, plus a blowtorch on the crank for a minute or so to
> expand it.

This will also neatly buggerise any heat treating that was performed on the
crank at the time of manufacture.
--
"I would recommend Iowa or North
Dakota for your dip into reality."
- Ed Dolan in alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent

[Dave Larrington]

Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:

> A good long pedal spanner is a cheap and useful tool :-)

Especially if acquired by Stealth. Mine materialised in the back of my car
after a BHPC race meeting...

--

Dave Larrington - http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/
================================================== =========
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
http://www.bhpc.org.uk/
================================================== =========

[Tony Raven]

Mark South wrote:
>>
>> Having had exactly that problem yesterday, all of the previously
>> aforementioned, plus a blowtorch on the crank for a minute or so to
>> expand it.
>
> This will also neatly buggerise any heat treating that was performed on the
> crank at the time of manufacture.

Only if you overdo it. Sheldon as usual is on hand to tell you to heat it
until water dropped on it sizzles and then apply the spanner. Used it once or
twice myself in the past.

Tony

[Mark South]

"Tony Raven" > wrote in message
...
> Mark South wrote:
> >>
> >> Having had exactly that problem yesterday, all of the previously
> >> aforementioned, plus a blowtorch on the crank for a minute or so to
> >> expand it.
> >
> > This will also neatly buggerise any heat treating that was performed on the
> > crank at the time of manufacture.
>
> Only if you overdo it.

Which is pretty easy to do. I mean, blowtorch.

> Sheldon as usual is on hand to tell you to heat it
> until water dropped on it sizzles and then apply the spanner.

Water dropped on it will sizzle as long as it's above a certain temp. It
doesn't tell you that you have kept the temp low enough.

> Used it once or twice myself in the past.

"If it doesn't move, don't force it. Use a very large hammer."
--
"Mango sorbet is clearcut proof that we have progressed beyond the
bare needs of survival and have progressed to the transcendant."
- Marc Goodman in talk.bizarre

[Ricardo]

Mark South wrote:
plus a blowtorch on the crank for a minute or so to
>>expand it.
>
>
> This will also neatly buggerise any heat treating that was performed on the
> crank at the time of manufacture.

'tis true. I should've mentioned I wasn't planning on using the crank
again, just the pedal. :-)

[Peter Clinch]

Mark South wrote:

> "If it doesn't move, don't force it. Use a very large hammer."

"If it jams, force it, if it breaks, it needed replacing anyway" ;-)

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

[Mark South]

"Peter Clinch" > wrote in message
...
> Mark South wrote:
>
> > "If it doesn't move, don't force it. Use a very large hammer."
>
> "If it jams, force it, if it breaks, it needed replacing anyway" ;-)

And next time you *will* remember to use the copper antiseize grease when you
install the part :-)
--
"To ... just not care that there are naked triathletes running
across your lawn, that's just a waste of exhibitionism."
- Kibo, in alt.religion.kibology