'63 Panther : Fork seized

[cbbond]

Dear Forum Members:

Trying to dismantle my original fork (i.e., Schwinn Middleweight) from frame and it won't crack lose of head tube. I poured motor oil down inside {below neck}. Any ideas? Thanks, KC

 

[Tim the Skid]

Where is it frozen? Is the bearing at the bottom of the headset rusted? heat usually works, if you have oxy/acetylene set up or a propane torch.

 

[cbbond]

Reply #1

Where is it frozen? Is the bearing at the bottom of the headset rusted? heat usually works, if you have oxy/acetylene set up or a propane torch.

I removed the long bolt the slides through hole in neck (attached to handlebars).
Something is binding inside head tube, preventing fork from dropping out.

Please advise. Thanks, KC

 

[HIGGINSFOREVER]

Did the handle bar stem come out

 

[Duchess]

If you mean the stem, what I do is thread that bolt back in just enough that it's got a couple threads in the expander, but still sticking up a little from the stem. Then give the bolt head a whack with a mallet to pop the expander out of the inside of the stem from the bottom. If the bolt moves up and down freely a little bit, the stem should be able to be worked loose now.

 

[schwinnbikebobb]

Post some pics if you can. No 63 Panthers, 66 was the first year of the newer middleweight Panthers.

 

[Obi-Wan Schwinnobi]

Yeah...thread bolt,back in and whack it with mallet ... Tap tap tap...

 

[Adamtinkerer]

Rust is a funny thing. I bought a 62 Schwinn Hollywood for parts off ebay. I didn't need another girl's frame, so I had the seller just ship the parts. They couldn't get the stem out, so they cut the frame at the headtube. I tried every technique, eventually cutting the stem off to get the head tube off. Then, I set the fork over a truck frame, heated it, and tried to wrench the stem stub out. Ended up bending the fork legs, and that isn't easy!! Strange thing was, the bike was from Las Vegas, where one wouldn't expect much in the way of rust!

 

[cbbond]

Reply #1) '63 Panther : Fork seized

Should I try squirting WD40 or Liquid Wrench (down into head tube)? Motor oil is not helping the un-sieze the expander part. Please help! Thanks, KC

 

[rideahiggins]

WD40 or liquid wrench probably won't cut thru the motor oil any time soon. You never said if you tried screwing the bolt back in part ways and hitting it to drive it down.