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Successful Stem Removal Review

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Successful Stem Removal Review

Old 09-25-20, 05:17 PM
  #1  
Sjtaylor
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Successful Stem Removal Review

I finally got the stuck stem from the steer tube. The steer tube was unscathed. I thought I would review the process.

The stem was slammed into the steer tube. The bike had some really rough treatment so I imagine the slamming may have been done with a 2x4 by the same guy who slammed the seat stem and rode the bike without a front tire and road rashed the rim. I wanted that 25” Maruishi Tour Ace 18 pretty bad to take on this build.

i soaked the stuck stem with liquid wrench for 24 hours and then got the stem to spin slightly back and forth with a hammer handle stuck in the fork right below the crown for leverage. With a block of wood I was able to impact the the stem out about 1/8” and it locked up once more.After beating and wrenching for a while I cut the stem off to leave as much sticking out as possible and filed the OD of stub with a farrier’s rasp so I could remove the nuts and then the stem from the frame. I was getting worried that I would damage someth8ng leaving the fork attached to the frame with all the hammering that was going on. It was easier to soak the stem in vinegar for another 24 hours without the bike frame attached.

No luck removing the stem after the vinegar soak so I cut the stem off flush with steer tube preparing the stem to be drilled out. I used a .810” diameter drill bit mounted in a cordless drill. The hole in the center of the stem kept the drill centered enough to not dig into the steer tube. After drilling in 2” I used a 3/4” drift to tap the stem and wedge out together from the other end. I would have had to drill in anther 2” to drill through the entire stem.

The wedge end of the stem looks pretty mangled. The tip of the wedged end of the stem is swaged out like maybe undue torque was given to the quill stem bolt. Looking at the results I’m not quite sure what kept the stem from coming out after I could get it to rotate a little. I’m just glad to have it out with the loss of just the stem.

Check out the photo.

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Old 09-25-20, 05:34 PM
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Thanks for the update. In some respects it may have been better to add this to the other thread to give it a solution. Otherwise it might wake you up 10 years from now when your email notification goes off and someone else has a fix to suggest <grin>

Have you been to the C&V forum and looked at the other Maruishi's? https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...why-not-4.html
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Old 09-25-20, 05:46 PM
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So was it the drill or the 3/4" drift from below that knocked it loose?

Just wondering what actually made the difference
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Old 09-25-20, 06:21 PM
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Sjtaylor
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You’re right and thanks for mentioning it. I’m kinda new at this forum stuff.

Once I deal with the mushroomed brake caliper pivot post I’ll have a bare frame ready for reassembly. I don’t have many spare parts to build up another bike so I’ll probably put the frame aside for a while. I can reinstall the bottom bracket, triple crank and cantilever brakes but I’ll be missing wheels and a stem. That will keep me busy for a couple evenings.
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Old 09-25-20, 06:31 PM
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Vinegar (a weak acid) is the wrong thing to use to loosen stuck aluminum stems and seatposts in a steel frame or fork Lye (aka sodium hydroxide or caustic soda) will preferentially dissolve aluminum without harming the steel.

BTW, good work at getting it out.
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Old 09-25-20, 07:37 PM
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Not sure. Looking at the extracted stem segment I drilled through the area that looked to be seized. I was avoiding driving out the stem by hammering on the wedge.

Actually I probably wouldn’t recommend drilling out the stem like I did. I think it would be pretty easy to severely scar the inside of the steer tube by drilling crooked or off center. I was a machinist and I happen to have 1/2” shank drill bits of the larger sizes so I could pick out exactly the size I wanted.

This bike better be nice rider for all stress that stuck stem caused me.
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