Originally Posted by BigChief

Start hitting the cotters with penetrating oil right away. I hope I'm not jinxing myself here, but I have never experienced the trouble with cotters that I've seen other people here have. I'm thinking this may be due to my system of oiling them a few days before I start a BB service. I take the nut and washer off and fill the well with PB Blaster. Only twice did I have cotters bend so badly that I had to drill and drive them out with a hammer and punch. Sometimes the threaded end will bend slightly. In that case I put the nut on, chuck it up in the bench vise and tap it straight again. It used to be a big tragedy if I wrecked a cotter getting it out. Filing those cheap cotters they sell these days to fit and align the crank arms at the same time is a pest. Now, with some Bike Smith cotters on hand, I don't have to worry about that anymore.