MacB
Lover of things that come in 3's
- Location
- Farnborough, Hampshire
we know that he finally found the secret ingredient, some real muscle, probably supplied by the 10 year old from down the street
F***** Seat Post
- Thread starter J4CKO
- Start date
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Landslide
Rare Migrant
- Location
- Called to the bar
Uncle Phil said:
Percussive maintenance.
Brahan
Über Member
- Location
- West Sussex
Uncle Phil said:
Are you sure you haven't just shoved the wrong size of mamory card in and got it stuck?
Landslide
Rare Migrant
- Location
- Called to the bar
Brahan said:Are you sure you haven't just shoved the wrong size of mamory card in and got it stuck?
If you have, it may well go tits-up.
Amanda P
Legendary Member
- Location
- York. Well, York-ish...
Here's the full story.
Caustic soda drain cleaner was the solution (pun fully intended).
I mixed up a small amount, added a dash of detergent (to stop it beading up and dribbling away, rather than going where it was wanted), and over a couple of days, squirted small amounts down the flutes whenever I was passing.
There was grey froth coming out at the top, suggesting a reaction was going on.
Last night I tried some more slide hammering - no effect. I tried drilling through the seat post Frankenstein fashion...
...and putting a 10 mm steel rod through, and heaving on that..
So I resorted to my previous tactic of putting the seatpost head in the vice, with the rest of the bike upside down on top, then twisting and heaving up on the bike frame.
It twisted OK, but it had done that before. Then it suddenly started twisting easier. Then, it shifted out a couple of millimetres (I'd marked it with a pen so I'd know).
Another five minutes of twisting and heaving and it came out!
The sticking seems to have been caused by that brown gunge, because when I'd cleaned up the inside of the seat tube and the outside fo the seat post, it fits nicely - clearly, the right size. I've bought a new 27.2mm seat post and that, too, fits nicely.
Could the grey gunge have been something to do with using lithium grease when it was installed?
Caustic soda drain cleaner was the solution (pun fully intended).
I mixed up a small amount, added a dash of detergent (to stop it beading up and dribbling away, rather than going where it was wanted), and over a couple of days, squirted small amounts down the flutes whenever I was passing.
There was grey froth coming out at the top, suggesting a reaction was going on.
Last night I tried some more slide hammering - no effect. I tried drilling through the seat post Frankenstein fashion...
...and putting a 10 mm steel rod through, and heaving on that..
So I resorted to my previous tactic of putting the seatpost head in the vice, with the rest of the bike upside down on top, then twisting and heaving up on the bike frame.
It twisted OK, but it had done that before. Then it suddenly started twisting easier. Then, it shifted out a couple of millimetres (I'd marked it with a pen so I'd know).
Another five minutes of twisting and heaving and it came out!
The sticking seems to have been caused by that brown gunge, because when I'd cleaned up the inside of the seat tube and the outside fo the seat post, it fits nicely - clearly, the right size. I've bought a new 27.2mm seat post and that, too, fits nicely.
Could the grey gunge have been something to do with using lithium grease when it was installed?
Amanda P
Legendary Member
- Location
- York. Well, York-ish...
Oh, and the camera... couldn't get the camera to read the card either, in the end, but when we put the card in Mrs Uncle Phil's Vista computer, it did some clever stuff and fixed it. It's just that second image which seems to have got corrupted and fouled everything up.
Chris James
Über Member
- Location
- Huddersfield
Uncle Phil said:
I hope not, I have only ever used lithium grease. I have never had a seat post stuck (touch wood) although on my recent bike I have made a habit of regreasing the seatpost every year.
Grats on getting the bugger out, but i have to be honest and say im a little disapointed that you figured out the memory card problem so fast as it sadly spells an end to this very entertaining saga. (...
i knows thats a horrible thing to say.)
Brahan
Über Member
- Location
- West Sussex
Yay well done! Like just4fun though, I am a bit sad that the whole thing's over.
MacB
Lover of things that come in 3's
- Location
- Farnborough, Hampshire
magnatom said:Is it just me, or was the ending a bit of an anti-climax. I'm looking forward to the directors cut and the DVD with the alternative ending...
nope, not just you, all that anticipation and the end result will be released straight to DVD
Arch
Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
Passing by the Pumping Station in Leicester at the weekend, they had the beam engine steamed up. Apparently they will soon be able to run all 4 beams*, due to finally unsticking one piston that had been stuck since 1960. I wonder if someone has been dribbling caustic soda on it every day since...
*But only for about a minute, due to low modern water pressure.
Anyway, well done on getting that seat post out!
*But only for about a minute, due to low modern water pressure.
Anyway, well done on getting that seat post out!
MajorMantra
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Edinburgh
Sorry to go reviving old(ish) threads, but I'm dealing with a similar problem. The aluminium seatpost on my beloved fixed is very stuck in the 520 steel frame. I've tried injecting ammonia into one of the bottle cage holes with the frame upside down, but this doesn't seem to have had any effect. It's possible I didn't leave it anywhere near long enough though - I don't really have a secure place I can leave my bike outdoors for prolonged periods.
I'm now wondering if I should try the caustic soda idea. Uncle Phil, did it do any damage to your paintwork? I'm a bit leary of using such aggressive chemicals on my bike as it has a rather nice white paintjob.
Matthew
I'm now wondering if I should try the caustic soda idea. Uncle Phil, did it do any damage to your paintwork? I'm a bit leary of using such aggressive chemicals on my bike as it has a rather nice white paintjob.
Matthew
