



'96 Trek 850. I think it was outside for a while with the previous owner.
Plastic cap on the non-drive side disintegrated when trying to remove, teeth just ripped clean off. Decided to remove the drive side, required my wife to hold the frame and me standing/bouncing on the wrench to get the thing to move. 3 days of soaking in penetrating oil 😅.
Now the cap is still in there. I can remove some of the bits of plastic with a knife – bit I think I would not be able to get everything out. It looks like it's fuzed to the frame. What are my options?
by Razno_
3 Comments
Maybe if you get enough plastic out you can re-tap it to clear out the threads. Good luck.
Use a hacksaw and carefully cut through the plastic. Should be able to get it out with some time and effort.
Would be worth going to a shop and tapping the BB, or you could just send the new one if it goes in relatively smoothly.
Grease is your friend
Get a saw blade *through* the shell and carefully saw the plastic in 2 places. That should allow you to remove it. As someone else has said, you might be able to re-tap the thread afterwards (no experience with that, but good luck!)