Hey guys
I have these damn pedals, that really don’t wanna come off, I have tried anti corrosion spray, heat, a lot of force and they are STUCK!
Do you guys have any really good tips on getting these damn things off?
I am considering taking the angle grinder and cutting the pedals off and taking the really big pliers for the “bolt” in the arm!
by mplys3
14 Comments
Give me a lever long enough etc.
Whack the wrench with the palm of your hand. I’ve never met a pedal I can’t get loose using that method. Works like an impact wrench.
They are reverse thread, try turning the other way.
Would not recommend your idea. A long pedal wrench has always done it for me. Usually I leave the crankset on the bike, position the pedal wrench horizontally and stand on the pedal wrench to crack it loose. Best to do this with the bike leaning against a wall or table and someone else holding the bike and brakes.
I’ve never failed standing on a good quality pedal wrench – one foot on the BB/chainset and the other on the end of the wrench and slowly transfer your weight and it starts to move.
You get much better leverage with it on a bike too – upright with the wheels on and hold the front brake while you’re doing it.
Some penetrating oil wouldn’t hurt either.
Heat the crank arm with a torch
I’ve tried jumping on the wrench, buying a true pedal wrench tomorrow.
It is still attached to the frame, but I took everything off the frame!
I will try even more force tomorrow!
One the the best things I’ve found is to wrap an old tube or a ratchet strap around the crank arm to your wrench as tightly as you can, then heat the pedal axle, from the back. As the axle cools hit the wrench with a dead blow hammer. The combo of sustained pressure, heat and sudden impact will break it free. It’s likely not that tight, the dissimilar metals have corroded together, you need break that bond somehow.
Check if the screws are cracked. That’s what happened to me and I couldn’t get them off without drilling them out to which point the threads were toast and had to buy a whole new crank.
No amount of penetrating lube will help, these are put on with lots of force. Much easier if they are still on the bike because you have no way to stabilize the crank side. Then with the bike on the ground position the crank arm at 3:00 and the pedal wrench at 9:00. Put your foot on the non-drive side and reach over the bike to push the wrench down.
Easier to do it when the crank is on the bike
Last pedal like that I had to remove, I held the crank in a bench vice (use soft jaws if you want to reuse the crank) and used a hex key from the backside of the crank with a 60cm cheater bar. It moved.
5 foot breaker bar
I would place the spanner in a wise.
Then insert the pedal arm in the spanner and apply torque.
With torque applied, use a hammer to hit the threaded joint from the side. This will compress the threads and the torque will loosen the joint.