I am a old tool maker, I had to remove many broken studs/screws etc. I would have used a masonery drill bit at a slow speed. I would use a small drill bit and work up to almost the tap drill size, then it may come out. You are lucky that you were able to tap it and get it out that way. Remember the harder the material, the SLOWER the speed of the drill. Everybody seems to want to go faster, all that will do is wear out the drill and yourself.
@@robertmcfadyen9156No, because if you're doing it that way, you're taking your time by default. The drill motor will only be working in phases, while you clear out the swarf from the drill tip. You'd most likely be using a drill that was rated for low speed anyway.
@@matthew7419 I've never tried that myself (it wasn't my suggestion, but the OPs) but I might, some time. I think the logic is that the tip and flutes are designed to grind more than cut, and most good masonry bits are assumed to be good for impact use in their normal environment, so they're adequately tough throughout. I suppose you could go full send and use an SDS bit...!
For anyone that might need help: 1.Try to tighten the bolt a bit then loosen it. 2.Tap fast with hammer on a bolt head,light fast blows -you can use a hammerdrill with cut off chisle. 3.Baby oil works as penetrant oil for fraction of cost. 4.if you heat something up use parafin wax candle and let the wax go trough treads -works 80% of time.Does wonders on rusty threads. 5.If you drill a hole and material is soft enough you can use torx socket and hammer it into a hole and use it as a nut.This works great if you heat up metal. 6 You can drill a hole in metal as large as hex key diagonal and then weld the gaps and use it as a wrench.-works lovely ,welding usually heats up metal. 7.If you are removing nasty bolt broken in hole and you need to weld make sure to put copper pipe around the treads in hole ,it will protect it from splatter ,since there is nothing worse than a thread with a little welding bead stuck on it.
I tried #2 on a stripped/seized bolt on an old car, it works great. this is after using penetrant oil for days. I called it million tap method, use a small hammer and very light tap the seize bolt head.
You do the best bike videos! Make sure to emphasize using a drill press vise like you did, and also how to handle the free arm after tapping it. I can see some disasters from less capable DIYers. I always tell people to watch your channel because you do "real" mechanics. Park and GCN are fine, but that's only if you've got a brand new bike, a workshop full of tools, it's not broken already, and everything goes exactly as planned. You teach people problem solving skills.
Congratulations! Another great and useful video on real problems solving. Thanks a lot. Those are the bikes I like to ride and fix. I have learnt, and keep learning, a awful lot from this channel.
I heat with a torch slightly then quench 4-5 times with PB Blaster and if that doesn't work, you can put an air hammer with a punch anvil in the hex hole and jar it loose. The key is be patient and don't strip it out with an impact.
Also: Destroying a perfectly fine vintage pedal that would've probably lasted another few decades ... (I once had a similar problem, but cut the dime-a-dozen shimano crank arm to save the pedal, not the other way round.)
I guess it is a personal preference. In my case, I hate automatic pedals and I don't think match too well this specific project either, so I would have chosen the same way RJ has.
I wouldn't have thought that the method would work - I've learned something! On the other hand, I would have heated the crank three or four times with the hot air gun and let it cool down again. Only then, in my opinion, would I make the first attempt with my beloved impact wrench. But of course the success proves you right. Very good work and a great video, thank you!
If you were going at something with an impact, I have found that it is helpful to not fully pull the trigger. Pull the trigger a quarter throttle and just let it hit for a while. Then up to half throttle and let it hit for a while. A lot of times all that hammering will loosen it without stripping it.
Good job! Last time I had a stuck pedal, I ended up using a hacksaw on the pedal housing to get to the spindle so I could use a wrench. This is much more elegant.
Great video. Pedals stuck in cranks always a problem. A little bit of grease on installation would help. I would have written that crank off. Having the right tools makes it possible to solve many engineering problems. Thanks for posting 👍
Quick tickle with the blow torch on the crank arm would have saved you a lot of trouble here. I have to do it all the time with stuck pedals, even bottom brackets Also, I see you learned your lesson when it comes to impact guns and hex bits. They don't usually go well together. The impact can destroy the threads in the aluminum crank arm pretty quick as well
Gotta be careful with a torch on aluminium, but yeah. Not everyone has a torch though. But a gas stove works as well, if you can get the crank off and aren’t too concerned about preserving the pedal. Heat the crank eye until a wet finger sizzles and not more. No gas stove? Can’t or don’t want to get the crank off? Tip a kettle of boiling water over crank eye and immediately lean on the wrench.
@@samuel_d Very true! Why I said "tickle" as you would be surprised how a very small amount of head applied can make a big difference! It will quickly expand aluminum which is a great conductor of heat. On top of that it can melt thread locking compounds
Love this man-- never take a No for answer! Once he brought out his gun, the First Leg ran away from him; the Second Leg stayed behind to ambush but RJ chased it down!! 😂
Thanks RJ. I have a stuck pedal I would like to pull off. I have tried the hex tool and impact. I have not rounded the shoulders or broke my hex tool yer, but I also do not have the pedal off yet. I really just want to regrease/rebuild the pedal bearings.
If the threads are very very stuck, trying to unscrew them cold turkey will cause more harm than good usually, therefore it's wisdom to aid the threads to loosen up with some oil first and then with heat gun, in most cases those will work and you avoid further hassle with tooling or machining.
Heat, and you can also use an oversized torque bit and jam it in there, before you totally round off the hex flats, and use a big lever or impact gun. Great video.
To anyone who maintains their own bikes... Pedals are self tightening. You don't need to bust a vein when installing them. Finger tight and then a tad bit more with a wrench is enough.
Pro tip from shop mech years ago (we were in hotel without full suite of tools) - use Allen wrench and either wedge it on floor and stamp on pedal or stand on fwd pedal while standing on wrench with other foot. Wear shoes or cleats (or same routine with pedal wrench).
I had a set of hex-only pedals freeze onto the cranks a few years ago. After that I vowed to never use pedals that don't have pedal wrench access again! Hex access is handy for quick spinning install/removal and emergency tightening on the road; not for primary securing.
Well done RJ. It looks like you used a tapered tap. If I did it and had a bottom tap I would have followed up with that but I can’t argue with success. Fred from RCB.
Put the crank arm and pedal in the oven for 30 mins at 250 degrees C. Use a slightly oversize Torx bit, hammer it in and wind it out. Job done Also if you hold the socket on the driver it will maximise the hammer action 👍
I had exactly the same problem a few days ago on an old road bike I was doing up. I had changed over everything apart from the frame and the pedals and one of them was stuck. I eventually solved it by using a length of hollow steel pipe into which I had the hex key having oiled it for a bit before. The extra leverage was what I needed. I thought I was going to do my back in but eventually it gave and the pedals were swapped.
Given the different metals in the crank and pedal shaft i think heat would have been the go to option. The difference in rate of expansion between the different metals would break the joint. Also using a power tool on that tiny hex hole was a sure fire way to strip it
There are tools called EZ-outs with an aggressive spiral. They are designed to wedge into the drilled hole and allow removal of stripped drives. They are normally spiraled for RH threads, but special ones for LH threads can be found. Probably not better than what you did other than your idea wouldn't have worked as well on the other side. Kudos for a clever solution, however.
A 1/4" imperial hex is 6.4mm; I would have tried hammering a 1/4" allen socket before totally rounding it out. Another option is to break the pedal body (cut it off with die grinder) so you can expose the spindle and use a pipe wrench.
I would have tried a 40mm Torx (or approximate size) bit tapped into the Rounded Hex bolt. Then tried an in-pack gun to remove the pedal. I recently did this to take out a screw from a Drill chuck that was stuck, worked great.
I feel rj buddy. I was today working on mountin bike one of the brake cable was stuck and whoukd not come out the nipple turned inside it was a night mare. In the end I drilled the centre put a self tapping g screw and carefully managed to free it. Yea at present sorted my road bike which I use daily to work and runs and my old Raleigh mountin bike its from 80 s and bike road a 80 s Peugeot old but gold steel frames. All the best john from the uk😊
The worst I ever experienced were completely corroded Shimano DX pedals in a 1990 Deore Crank. 15mm Hex on the axle, but did not move a bit. Had to clamp the crank arm in a heavy vice, attach heat with a blowtorch and use 3 ft steel tubing as lever, then it went with a horrible Scream and yes, it took parts of the thread with it ... but Cranks remained usable. The pedals were toast anyway, pitted bearings....
I have used metric multi spline socket. Find one that will hammer in tight. Clamp the crank in a solid vise and use the impact or impact driver. Impact driver is the heavy duty screwdriver that you would use a hammer, to strike the handle end hard to rotate the bit. Either it going to turn or you will be looking for another bit.🤣
Impact sockets and bits are made of softer steel, thats why that bit twisted like that. But i'm surprised that that pedal axle completely stripped, totally round. I thought this suppose to be hardened steel.
Hey we sent you a business email some weeks ago regarding a new series of replacement Rockshox Indy fork parts. Looking forward to hearing back from you :)
I had this problem in 1970 when I was 10 years old. I put the pedal and crank in my mums gas oven with the flame on the joint. It cracked the seizure open and it came apart easily when cold.
For more bike repair videos hit the subscribe button and click the notification bell ► bit.ly/SubRJTheBikeGuy
RJ doesn’t quit. He’s a fighter. He always wins. That’s why I like him. 🙏🏼
The master is back!!!! Glad to see you
I am a old tool maker, I had to remove many broken studs/screws etc. I would have used a masonery drill bit at a slow speed. I would use a small drill bit and work up to almost the tap drill size, then it may come out. You are lucky that you were able to tap it and get it out that way. Remember the harder the material, the SLOWER the speed of the drill. Everybody seems to want to go faster, all that will do is wear out the drill and yourself.
@@k.johnzarzeczny682 And burn out the motor possibly .
@@robertmcfadyen9156No, because if you're doing it that way, you're taking your time by default. The drill motor will only be working in phases, while you clear out the swarf from the drill tip. You'd most likely be using a drill that was rated for low speed anyway.
@@creepingjesus5106 Why a masonry bit? Just curious.
@@matthew7419 I've never tried that myself (it wasn't my suggestion, but the OPs) but I might, some time. I think the logic is that the tip and flutes are designed to grind more than cut, and most good masonry bits are assumed to be good for impact use in their normal environment, so they're adequately tough throughout. I suppose you could go full send and use an SDS bit...!
@@matthew7419 - Carbide tip, I assume.
Great to see your videos back. I hope you are doing well. Take care of yourself, Brother.
For anyone that might need help:
1.Try to tighten the bolt a bit then loosen it.
2.Tap fast with hammer on a bolt head,light fast blows -you can use a hammerdrill with cut off chisle.
3.Baby oil works as penetrant oil for fraction of cost.
4.if you heat something up use parafin wax candle and let the wax go trough treads -works 80% of time.Does wonders on rusty threads.
5.If you drill a hole and material is soft enough you can use torx socket and hammer it into a hole and use it as a nut.This works great if you heat up metal.
6 You can drill a hole in metal as large as hex key diagonal and then weld the gaps and use it as a wrench.-works lovely ,welding usually heats up metal.
7.If you are removing nasty bolt broken in hole and you need to weld make sure to put copper pipe around the treads in hole ,it will protect it from splatter ,since there is nothing worse than a thread with a little welding bead stuck on it.
Tightening it first has served me very well. It doesn't matter which way you turn it as long as you can break that seal.
I tried #2 on a stripped/seized bolt on an old car, it works great. this is after using penetrant oil for days. I called it million tap method, use a small hammer and very light tap the seize bolt head.
Great to see you back RJ, 🤟
Welcome back. Never give up, never surrender 👍💪
You do the best bike videos! Make sure to emphasize using a drill press vise like you did, and also how to handle the free arm after tapping it. I can see some disasters from less capable DIYers. I always tell people to watch your channel because you do "real" mechanics. Park and GCN are fine, but that's only if you've got a brand new bike, a workshop full of tools, it's not broken already, and everything goes exactly as planned. You teach people problem solving skills.
RJ's videos have saved me a lot of money and taught me a lot. What I like about his approach is he works on the kind of bikes most of us ride.
@@geoffpoole483you are so right man
Congratulations! Another great and useful video on real problems solving. Thanks a lot. Those are the bikes I like to ride and fix. I have learnt, and keep learning, a awful lot from this channel.
I just want to say I am happy seeing you make new videos RJ!
I heat with a torch slightly then quench 4-5 times with PB Blaster and if that doesn't work, you can put an air hammer with a punch anvil in the hex hole and jar it loose. The key is be patient and don't strip it out with an impact.
GREAT TO SEE YOU BACK!!! REGARDS FROM BRASIL!
Est. price of crankarm: 10$. Est. price of tools expired: 50$. That's determination, gentleman.
Also: Destroying a perfectly fine vintage pedal that would've probably lasted another few decades ...
(I once had a similar problem, but cut the dime-a-dozen shimano crank arm to save the pedal, not the other way round.)
I guess it is a personal preference. In my case, I hate automatic pedals and I don't think match too well this specific project either, so I would have chosen the same way RJ has.
I wouldn't have thought that the method would work - I've learned something!
On the other hand, I would have heated the crank three or four times with the hot air gun and let it cool down again. Only then, in my opinion, would I make the first attempt with my beloved impact wrench.
But of course the success proves you right. Very good work and a great video, thank you!
Glad to see you back, RJ!!!
love the tap and bolt idea. well done.
If you were going at something with an impact, I have found that it is helpful to not fully pull the trigger.
Pull the trigger a quarter throttle and just let it hit for a while. Then up to half throttle and let it hit for a while. A lot of times all that hammering will loosen it without stripping it.
Great to see you back on UA-cam 😊
Glad to see you back on UA-cam again!
Happy to see you back 😊
Very satisfying RJ!
Good job! Last time I had a stuck pedal, I ended up using a hacksaw on the pedal housing to get to the spindle so I could use a wrench. This is much more elegant.
Wow. A new RJ video. Today is a great day!
Glad you are back!
Great video. Pedals stuck in cranks always a problem. A little bit of grease on installation would help. I would have written that crank off. Having the right tools makes it possible to solve many engineering problems. Thanks for posting 👍
very glad to see you again !
Great work, nice video. Glad you are back!
RJ the BG on another bike rescue mission✌
Quick tickle with the blow torch on the crank arm would have saved you a lot of trouble here. I have to do it all the time with stuck pedals, even bottom brackets
Also, I see you learned your lesson when it comes to impact guns and hex bits. They don't usually go well together. The impact can destroy the threads in the aluminum crank arm pretty quick as well
Gotta be careful with a torch on aluminium, but yeah. Not everyone has a torch though. But a gas stove works as well, if you can get the crank off and aren’t too concerned about preserving the pedal. Heat the crank eye until a wet finger sizzles and not more. No gas stove? Can’t or don’t want to get the crank off? Tip a kettle of boiling water over crank eye and immediately lean on the wrench.
@@samuel_d Very true! Why I said "tickle" as you would be surprised how a very small amount of head applied can make a big difference! It will quickly expand aluminum which is a great conductor of heat. On top of that it can melt thread locking compounds
Yes, I 've tried the bloe torch and it's effective, and yes aluminium is a great conductor of heat so pay attention
Great to see you posting videos more often again!😊
The Marine of bike repair 😅! 👍👍
Rust shudders when a good man goes to war. So glad to see you victorious!
Love this man-- never take a No for answer!
Once he brought out his gun, the First Leg ran away from him; the Second Leg stayed behind to ambush but RJ chased it down!! 😂
Excellent. Glad you're back.
could have given this video a million likes that it deserves
Glad to have you back Mr RJ.
Great viewing and a great
addition to your extensive video library of bicycle problem solving.
Great job done using the hex bolt thread 👍🏼
That was pretty impressive. Great to see you making videos, again :)
RJ, great job! You are the man!
Thanks RJ. I have a stuck pedal I would like to pull off. I have tried the hex tool and impact. I have not rounded the shoulders or broke my hex tool yer, but I also do not have the pedal off yet. I really just want to regrease/rebuild the pedal bearings.
It's awkward but totally doable with the pedal still on the crank!
Nice job, RJ!
good to see u back
If the threads are very very stuck, trying to unscrew them cold turkey will cause more harm than good usually, therefore it's wisdom to aid the threads to loosen up with some oil first and then with heat gun, in most cases those will work and you avoid further hassle with tooling or machining.
Welcome back 😊😊😊 always great videos and advice 👍👌
Very good technique!
Heat, and you can also use an oversized torque bit and jam it in there, before you totally round off the hex flats, and use a big lever or impact gun. Great video.
Thank you for your work and showing us solutions:)))
glad you're back!
He's back!
To anyone who maintains their own bikes... Pedals are self tightening. You don't need to bust a vein when installing them. Finger tight and then a tad bit more with a wrench is enough.
Pro tip from shop mech years ago (we were in hotel without full suite of tools) - use Allen wrench and either wedge it on floor and stamp on pedal or stand on fwd pedal while standing on wrench with other foot. Wear shoes or cleats (or same routine with pedal wrench).
Nice! Great work, thanks
love the Dewalt impact wrench, best tool to remove BB and frozen seat posts.
Nice fix!
Nicely done! My first thought was throw crank arm w/ stuck pedal in the oven. My 2nd thought was dry ice.
Nice work!
Try, & accept that sometimes you fail but you learn from that. When you succeed it's great. Thanks RJ.
There's stuck...and then there's pedal stuck! 😵
I had a set of hex-only pedals freeze onto the cranks a few years ago. After that I vowed to never use pedals that don't have pedal wrench access again! Hex access is handy for quick spinning install/removal and emergency tightening on the road; not for primary securing.
Well done RJ. It looks like you used a tapered tap. If I did it and had a bottom tap I would have followed up with that but I can’t argue with success. Fred from RCB.
Put the crank arm and pedal in the oven for 30 mins at 250 degrees C. Use a slightly oversize Torx bit, hammer it in and wind it out. Job done
Also if you hold the socket on the driver it will maximise the hammer action 👍
Great to see you back doing repair videos again! When a pedal gets stuck like that can you add heat to the crank to help break the pedal loose?
Congrats! Giving up is no option.
That 90s DB Frame!!!! 😍
I had exactly the same problem a few days ago on an old road bike I was doing up. I had changed over everything apart from the frame and the pedals and one of them was stuck. I eventually solved it by using a length of hollow steel pipe into which I had the hex key having oiled it for a bit before. The extra leverage was what I needed. I thought I was going to do my back in but eventually it gave and the pedals were swapped.
missed you buddy
Always impressive
Given the different metals in the crank and pedal shaft i think heat would have been the go to option. The difference in rate of expansion between the different metals would break the joint. Also using a power tool on that tiny hex hole was a sure fire way to strip it
@RJtheBikeGuy is the threat to everything threaded 😂💪🏼
It worked! Thought that grade2 was going to strip, I was pleasantly wrong! 😊
Great video
Not only did you get the pedal off, you invented “RJ's Helical Hex Bit"©. Congrats!
he came back
That's a very nice crankset ☝️🚴♂️🚴♂️🚴♂️👍
While drilling the spindle it would have applied heat,sometimes heat from drilling/heatgun will release stuck threads.
There are tools called EZ-outs with an aggressive spiral. They are designed to wedge into the drilled hole and allow removal of stripped drives. They are normally spiraled for RH threads, but special ones for LH threads can be found. Probably not better than what you did other than your idea wouldn't have worked as well on the other side. Kudos for a clever solution, however.
welcome back
A 1/4" imperial hex is 6.4mm; I would have tried hammering a 1/4" allen socket before totally rounding it out. Another option is to break the pedal body (cut it off with die grinder) so you can expose the spindle and use a pipe wrench.
Vintage Deore LX crank is always worth to rescue 🎉
Now I know why pedals use spindles with 8mm hex.
Best bike chanel
What do you think of plumbers tape on the bolts while installing cranks?
The bolt was a great idea
I would have tried a 40mm Torx (or approximate size) bit tapped into the Rounded Hex bolt. Then tried an in-pack gun to remove the pedal. I recently did this to take out a screw from a Drill chuck that was stuck, worked great.
Nice!
There is something really satisfying about removing seized components from a bike, be it seat posts, stems, or pedals!
Miracle that you had enough material left on the crank arm, tbh I was sure oxydation would have wrecked havoc in there 😅
I feel rj buddy. I was today working on mountin bike one of the brake cable was stuck and whoukd not come out the nipple turned inside it was a night mare. In the end I drilled the centre put a self tapping g screw and carefully managed to free it.
Yea at present sorted my road bike which I use daily to work and runs and my old Raleigh mountin bike its from 80 s and bike road a 80 s Peugeot old but gold steel frames. All the best john from the uk😊
Love it.
Galvanic welding, RJ says: ‘make my day, punk’
The worst I ever experienced were completely corroded Shimano DX pedals in a 1990 Deore Crank. 15mm Hex on the axle, but did not move a bit. Had to clamp the crank arm in a heavy vice, attach heat with a blowtorch and use 3 ft steel tubing as lever, then it went with a horrible Scream and yes, it took parts of the thread with it ... but Cranks remained usable. The pedals were toast anyway, pitted bearings....
I have used metric multi spline socket. Find one that will hammer in tight. Clamp the crank in a solid vise and use the impact or impact driver. Impact driver is the heavy duty screwdriver that you would use a hammer, to strike the handle end hard to rotate the bit. Either it going to turn or you will be looking for another bit.🤣
Impact sockets and bits are made of softer steel, thats why that bit twisted like that. But i'm surprised that that pedal axle completely stripped, totally round. I thought this suppose to be hardened steel.
Hey we sent you a business email some weeks ago regarding a new series of replacement Rockshox Indy fork parts. Looking forward to hearing back from you :)
That is a greate idea to remove this kind of pedals! Good u Back!
I had this problem in 1970 when I was 10 years old. I put the pedal and crank in my mums gas oven with the flame on the joint. It cracked the seizure open and it came apart easily when cold.
Ive got some stuck pedals, they are stuck because the usual width where the pedal wrench goes is a lot more narrow than usual.
Don't pedal spindles usually have spanner flats on them?