I used some light taps with a hammer to dislodge the spacer that was above it but this one will not move. I left WD-40 on it for a while and tried again with the hammer but no budging.
I see that there’s a star spangled nut inside the headset, is it a good idea to remove that first?
I’d like to eventually replace the bearings in there but I can’t get the fork out to even see what the bearings are that need replacing. It’s not an urgent thing to do, so I can do this another time it’s just the first time I’ve serviced a bike.
by coffeefuelledtechie
12 Comments
My best guess is galvanic corrosion between copper and steel, this combo makes rust. Dump a little lemon juice on it, for a few minutes to dissolve the rust, then use a mallet and some brute force on the steerer tube to break them free.
Leave it inside a construction site and watch the copper magically disappear overnight. Either heat it up… or I would use a dremel and surgically remove enough material in a spot to get it off. Copper is pretty soft.
Pipe wrench, just grab and twist… It’s just a spacer and can be replaced fairly cheap
EA NASIR!!!
Soak it in PB Blaster over night then hit it with a heat gun. The thermal expansion differential between different materials typically helps a ton.
Dremel
I assume you already tried a lot of pb blaster…. Carefully Cut it w a dremel and chisel it off maybe? Don’t punch a hole in anything tho
Tube of ice inside the headset, torch on the outside of the copper.
Some careful work with a hacksaw or if you dont care for the bearings, especially the top race then beat the top down(bit of wood on the top of steerer tube to stop deformation).
Big mole grips or stilsons or water pump pliers to get a better grip and rotate until free.
Combination of the above.
A blow torch and a bit of heating and cooling can free things that are stuck as well as some.oil
Put a block of wood on top of the steerer tube and smack it downwards with a heavy thing .. or a sharp cold chisel and small hammer and care to cut it off. Heat would also work as the copper will expand much quicker than the steel tube
Have never seen a copper spacer before. Was someone improvising with a section of copper pipe?!?
I wonder if it was a tight fit so they heated it before sliding it on… that could render it on there permanently, although it’s soft enough that you could probably cut it off carefully with wire snippers.
My solution to this (especially when multiple spacers are fully corroded. Happened when my dad sweated into his headset for 12 years), has been to use a Park tool CRP-2 and a piece of bar stock inside as a spacer between the press head and the top of the steerer to make up for the lack of steerer tube exposed.
That’s after enough mallets and pb blaster for a lifetime.
If you dont have access to the tool or similar, and have a LBS, it’s worth checking with them, hopefully they’d only charge the equivalent of a crown race removal, but it’s the least destructive method.
Other methods suggested are totally good options, but some of the really aggressive ones could end up damaging the fork too (Although that looks like a steel steerer? So probably will hold up fine. Just be aware that really hammering on it could deform the steerer).