I’m working on a 90’s specialized crossroads and I went to remove the top cap screw to clean the rust off of it but when I went to go screw it back in, it couldn’t reach the threads at the bottom of the vertical tube of the stem (All parts are as they were when I took it apart). Why is that? How do I get the screw to reach the threads and screw in?
by TinyCarob3
1 Comment
Remove the top cap and thread the bolt into the wedge that is lodged in your steerer tube. Don’t thread it all the way tight — five or six turns should do it. Then give the bolt and the inserted Allen wrench a sharp tap or two with a mallet to break the wedge free. Then lift the entire stem out of the frame, and the bolt and the wedge will come with it. Put the top cap back on and re-install.
This [video](https://www.parktool.com/en-us/blog/repair-help/stem-removal-installation-quill-stems) should help.