Stuck stem/gooseneck

[PD Monkey]

I am trying to take apart a 1980 Cruiser and the stem is STUCK. I have tried oil, all types, heat, more oil, more heat, soaked for days, more heat, more oil and even beat the crap out of it with a sledgehammer. This sucker won't budge.

Any ideas????

 

[gkeep]

Is it an aluminum stem in a steel frame? That combination is the worst if it's been together a few decades.

 

[PD Monkey]

No, steel stem.

 

[redline1968]

Use oil again and pound side to side of the goose neck each day and continue to oil.. this could take a long time but if you have orig paint and a fork of value this will work

 

[WillWork4Parts]

I've solved more than a few of these problems now. Make sure the stem bolt threads are good as well as the wedge threads on the other end and make sure you tap the wedge down and away from the stem.
This previous post is one of the most seized stems I've had.

Finally got tired of staring at this one sitting outside the basement door and freed the stem up!
Started with re-soaking the pivot pins in the lowers, tapped them out with a punch .
View attachment 1742727
Wanted the lower legs removed so I could mount the fork in the vice to have a place to twist and have a solid surface to back up the hammer blows. Wedge was very stuck. The stem bolt and 5/16" punch had no success and ended up blowing through the threads.
View attachment 1742728
Sssooo, I ended up drilling the stem hole up to fit a 3/8" punch and went at it with the air hammer. No love!
View attachment 1742729
It actually ended up swelling and chipping the punch, as you can see below. The punch was stuck and had to be tapped out from the bottom. That tapping was finally what broke the wedge loose.
View attachment 1742731

Got a little bit of twist from the stem after that and it was on like Donkey Kong! Looking at the wedge after getting it out, it had been broken for years. The 5/16" punch may have split it at the threads though.

View attachment 1742730
Now I need to find somebody to weld the legs back together....

The only one worse than this was a 69 Fastback that I twisted/warped the stem on. I cut the top off of that stem and used oxalic acid to dissolve some of the rust, before finding the damaged wedge threads and then pounding the wedge out with a 3/8" punch. Stem came loose with a pipe wrench after that.

Getting the wedge loose will keep you from damaging more than what is necessary.

Pictures always help us determine how to better solve your specific situation.