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Tips for raising / removing stuck seat post?

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Acetone and ATF mixed 50/50 is the best penetrant.
Ruins paint though. I've found that Motor Oil and Mineral Spirits also mixed 50/50 is good as well and won't harm paint. The mineral spirits thin the motor oil so it can penetrate deeper and then the mineral spirits will evaporate. It's good for lubricating chains also. They do tend to separate so you have to shake up your mixture every time you use it, and the mineral spirits will eventually evaporate when stored.
 
Ruins paint though. I've found that Motor Oil and Mineral Spirits also mixed 50/50 is good as well and won't harm paint. The mineral spirits thin the motor oil so it can penetrate deeper and then the mineral spirits will evaporate. It's good for lubricating chains also. They do tend to separate so you have to shake up your mixture every time you use it, and the mineral spirits will eventually evaporate when stored.
Acetone is definitely bad for painted surfaces.
 
Acetone and ATF mixed 50/50 is the best penetrant.
I second this! Also I've had some that are really stuck so first I try the stem clamped around them to wrench them. If that doesn't work then I use a pipe wrench and put a piece of solid stock down the middle to keep the post from crushing. If all else fails then I drill it out to the point where the side walls of the post are so thin you can crush them in and pull it out. Sometimes you can't save a post but that beats not being able to save a frame.
 
steel in steel usually isn't much of a problem, but on road bikes that have aluminum alloy posts in steel frames that have been out in the rain for a decade or two there is alumiferric intercorrosion where aluminum oxide actually bonds into iron oxide and that can be a real bear. I knew one dealer/mechanic who had a late 1980s Hi-end Japanese road bike with a stuck post, He tried to turn the post with a pipe wrench and the entire frame folded into scrap metal. The moral to this story folks is always slime the inside of the mast with a thin coating of grease before sliding the also slimed post into it. Lubrication keeps everyone smiling.
I once bought a late 1980s Shogun 1000 triple-triangle lugged Tange2 steel framed roadie, a real classic featuring the "Miami-Vice" PINK paintjob. Of course the profit killer was the stuck post, I battled it and battled it, and eventually it snapped off into the mast below the cinch. Because the stub was aluminum, and the frame steel, I was able to drill out the aluminum. I must have put $1000. worth of labor in that battle. In the end though, it was one of the coolest roadies I ever owned.
 
Sometimes you don't know what to do. Your post is stuck. You just sit there thinking, "How am I ever going to get this thing out without ruining everything? Won't somebody help me?"

IMG_3405.jpeg
I'll cover both stuck seat posts and stems: For the badly stuck seat post .....Picture a long tunnel.
IMG_3430.jpeg
You're standing at one end of it, but the problem is at the other end, and you can't get there...... That's how a rusted stem or seat post is. It's rusted all the way down for sure, but the bottom part is the worst. Pumping oil around the area of seat post clamp may not always be enough. You gotta get to that rust and it's way down there! If I don't care about the paint, I'll heat the frame where the post is until it's red hot. If you don't want to do that, take the crank out. Look inside and you will see an opening where the down tube is welded to the top of the bottom bracket. Turn the frame upside down and pump your favorite penetrating solution in there. Go one step more and plug up the hole on the end of the seat post. Fill the whole stinken tube with that open can of transmission fluid that's been setting on your garage shelf for the last 5 years. Let it set upside down for a couple days, or more. As far as tools to remove stuck stems and posts. I try not to beat stems to death pounding them out, but If your goose is really stuck, sometimes the shock from hammer blows to the underside of the stem works better than twisting with a big bar or pipe wrench. Set the frame out on the lawn and go to town. Just don't hit the badge or frame with your hammer. I have twisted, crushed and ruined head tubes and seat posts. I have broken them off. Easy to do if the bike is real a rust bucket. One way I like, is removing the front wheel and placing the fork over a metal fence post as I attempt to twist out the stem. I once bent the fork blades doing this, so be careful. I have two vice grips made in the 50's that are indestructible.[ unlike the junk Irwin sells today ] I'll clamp these on the seat post and whack them upwards with a hammer with the frame lying flat on the ground and me with one foot on it holding it from moving as I whack the daylights outta the side of the vice grip. As far as hopelessly stuck seat posts, give them a couple light whacks "in" first. Sometimes that's all it takes to bust the rust. What I do first, is take a sharp pencil and mark the stem or seat post. That way I can tell if it's moved , even a fraction tells me the rust is giving. I'm pretty much done working on old bikes., but I'm a sucker for old Rangers. This past fall this Ranger frame was for sale at a swap and I know why it was so cheap. [30 bucks]. Even had the head badge on it.
IMG_3542.jpeg
A previous owner did his best to remove the stem and seat post, but failed. The seller mentioned the frame came out of a flooded basement. That explained everything. One can see from the photo the hopelessly stuck stem in the partially disassembled fork. The seat post was almost entirely in. I heated that stem and what I could see of the tube until it was red hot. That did the trick busting the stem loose. A few good hammer hits up and it was out. I heated the frame red hot, then gave the seat post a whack in. It moved a hair. After it cooled, I did the penetrating oil thing and let it set overnight. I have an old plumber's vice that clamps and firmly holds a seat post without crushing it.
IMG_3548.jpeg
With the post secure in the vice, I can twist the frame back and forth, while pulling away from the vice. And out it comes...... That's all I know folks. Have fun, but remember, if something appears to be really stuck, don't think that big pipe wrench gramps has is the answer. Breaking one of these things off will ruin your day. Heat.....oil...... patience.
IMG_3410.jpeg
 
Sometimes you don't know what to do. Your post is stuck. You just sit there thinking, "How am I ever going to get this thing out without ruining everything? Won't somebody help me?"

View attachment 2170774 I'll cover both stuck seat posts and stems: For the badly stuck seat post .....Picture a long tunnel.

View attachment 2170775You're standing at one end of it, but the problem is at the other end, and you can't get there...... That's how a rusted stem or seat post is. It's rusted all the way down for sure, but the bottom part is the worst. Pumping oil around the area of seat post clamp may not always be enough. You gotta get to that rust and it's way down there! If I don't care about the paint, I'll heat the frame where the post is until it's red hot. If you don't want to do that, take the crank out. Look inside and you will see an opening where the down tube is welded to the top of the bottom bracket. Turn the frame upside down and pump your favorite penetrating solution in there. Go one step more and plug up the hole on the end of the seat post. Fill the whole stinken tube with that open can of transmission fluid that's been setting on your garage shelf for the last 5 years. Let it set upside down for a couple days, or more. As far as tools to remove stuck stems and posts. I try not to beat stems to death pounding them out, but If your goose is really stuck, sometimes the shock from hammer blows to the underside of the stem works better than twisting with a big bar or pipe wrench. Set the frame out on the lawn and go to town. Just don't hit the badge or frame with your hammer. I have twisted, crushed and ruined head tubes and seat posts. I have broken them off. Easy to do if the bike is real a rust bucket. One way I like, is removing the front wheel and placing the fork over a metal fence post as I attempt to twist out the stem. I once bent the fork blades doing this, so be careful. I have two vice grips made in the 50's that are indestructible.[ unlike the junk Irwin sells today ] I'll clamp these on the seat post and whack them upwards with a hammer with the frame lying flat on the ground and me with one foot on it holding it from moving as I whack the daylights outta the side of the vice grip. As far as hopelessly stuck seat posts, give them a couple light whacks "in" first. Sometimes that's all it takes to bust the rust. What I do first, is take a sharp pencil and mark the stem or seat post. That way I can tell if it's moved , even a fraction tells me the rust is giving. I'm pretty much done working on old bikes., but I'm a sucker for old Rangers. This past fall this Ranger frame was for sale at a swap and I know why it was so cheap. [30 bucks]. Even had the head badge on it. View attachment 2170773 A previous owner did his best to remove the stem and seat post, but failed. The seller mentioned the frame came out of a flooded basement. That explained everything. One can see from the photo the hopelessly stuck stem in the partially disassembled fork. The seat post was almost entirely in. I heated that stem and what I could see of the tube until it was red hot. That did the trick busting the stem loose. A few good hammer hits up and it was out. I heated the frame red hot, then gave the seat post a whack in. It moved a hair. After it cooled, I did the penetrating oil thing and let it set overnight. I have an old plumber's vice that clamps and firmly holds a seat post without crushing it.View attachment 2170776 With the post secure in the vice, I can twist the frame back and forth, while pulling away from the vice. And out it comes...... That's all I know folks. Have fun, but remember, if something appears to be really stuck, don't think that big pipe wrench gramps has is the answer. Breaking one of these things off will ruin your day. Heat.....oil...... patience.View attachment 2170834
Patience being the most important ingredient! It took me three weeks to get a post out of an original paint Bluebird one time-spray, wait, nudge, repeat.
 
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