I have a vintage nishiki and want to remove the quill stem. I already tried the hammer trick where you loosen the top screw and hit it with a hammer but it didnt work and now the screw will not lock into the stem. what could be happening?
The expander nut is probably rusted into the fork. Remove the bolt completely, then using the handlebars as leverage hold the front wheel and twist the stem out.
Once the stem is out, take a long piece of pipe or a big long screwdriver, insert it into the fork, and hit with a hammer until the expander comes loose. Turn the bike upside down so the expander falls out.
The hammer trick has the effect of dislodging the wedge or the expander nut from the stem. So far so good. The problem is if the stem slides down with the expander when you hammer, or is already all the way down, the expander gets jammed in the bottom of the steerer tube which is conical in the inside. So you now have the three pieces jammed together. The expander is pinned and can't go up nor down so it still hold the stem.
Try twisting after you spray WD40 or something like coca-cola. Spray in the inside of the stem, you want it to reach between the stem and the expander.
You can try inserting the bolt from the bottom of the fork and tap gently. The idea is to dislodge the expander from the inside of the tube. If you tap too hard, it will jam the stem even more.
If you get the stem out and the expander is still jammed do this.
Put the bolt in from the top. With the fork upside down, grab the bolt in a vise in such a way that the top of the tube contacts the vise. Turn the fork clockwise. the expander will come loose.
Comments
The expander nut is probably rusted into the fork. Remove the bolt completely, then using the handlebars as leverage hold the front wheel and twist the stem out.
Once the stem is out, take a long piece of pipe or a big long screwdriver, insert it into the fork, and hit with a hammer until the expander comes loose. Turn the bike upside down so the expander falls out.
The hammer trick has the effect of dislodging the wedge or the expander nut from the stem. So far so good. The problem is if the stem slides down with the expander when you hammer, or is already all the way down, the expander gets jammed in the bottom of the steerer tube which is conical in the inside. So you now have the three pieces jammed together. The expander is pinned and can't go up nor down so it still hold the stem.
Try twisting after you spray WD40 or something like coca-cola. Spray in the inside of the stem, you want it to reach between the stem and the expander.
You can try inserting the bolt from the bottom of the fork and tap gently. The idea is to dislodge the expander from the inside of the tube. If you tap too hard, it will jam the stem even more.
If you get the stem out and the expander is still jammed do this.
Put the bolt in from the top. With the fork upside down, grab the bolt in a vise in such a way that the top of the tube contacts the vise. Turn the fork clockwise. the expander will come loose.
http://sheldonbrown.com/gloss_st-z.html#steerer