Removing a broken, frozen, aluminum stem from a steer tube with drain cleaner

[Couch tater]

Be careful folks. Sodium hydroxide is not an acid.

It is a base.

It will react violently with any strong acid.

Oops, good catch. I'm not conversant in a lot of (most) chemicals and got some bum information from the internet on the acid/base part of the drain cleaner.

 

[RustySprockets]

A quick search revealed that my local Home Depot does indeed sell the crystal stuff at about $6.00 for a one-pound container.

 

[Ulu]

Don’t get it near ammonia.

(Now that I said that, I know somebody’s gonna try it. It gets hot and if you do it right it gets really hot and if you do it wrong it blows up because it gets hot so fast.)

Same thing with bleach and ammonia. Don’t get them together.

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

Same thing with bleach and ammonia. Don’t get them together.

Ypres, Belgium

 

[JA331]

I had a similar issue with a broken seat post in a chromoly frame years ago. A frame specialist deemed it a write off. I discovered the drain cleaner fix on youtube. I took all the precautions. After several applications the wall thickness of the post was reduced to that of an aluminium can. I pulled the remnants out with long nose pliers. This is the bike I saved.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

This is the bike I saved

Very nice. Slice and dice

 

[GuitarlCarl]

Hmm. Just saw this. I'm surprised that you didn't just torch it out. The melting point of aluminum is lower than steel for sure. I would think flipping the fork upside down and getting it red hot around the middle where it was stuck with a torch, and it outta just fall out. But dissolving the aluminum is pretty wild.

GC.

 

[Couch tater]

Hmm. Just saw this. I'm surprised that you didn't just torch it out. The melting point of aluminum is lower than steel for sure. I would think flipping the fork upside down and getting it red hot around the middle where it was stuck with a torch, and it outta just fall out. But dissolving the aluminum is pretty wild.

GC.

I don't have a torch set at home anymore, I sold off my welding gear when I stopped racing. I was going to thin it out with reamers but decided to look for a method that anyone with limited access to tools could reliably use. And there was no rush on my part to get it done. Hopefully this method will save some forks and frames that otherwise would have been written off.

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

Heat and steel do not always go well together and weakening a steerer tube is not a great idea. I would have used excessive heat on the stuck stems I'm working against, but would not be able to sell a bike in good conscience that may have a weakened fork steerer.

 

[Kevin B]

I don't have a torch set at home anymore, I sold off my welding gear when I stopped racing. I was going to thin it out with reamers but decided to look for a method that anyone with limited access to tools could reliably use. And there was no rush on my part to get it done. Hopefully this method will save some forks and frames that otherwise would have been written off.

Is the paint still staying good like it was early on for you? The lye I used destroyed the paint. I was repainting anyway.

 

[Couch tater]

Is the paint still staying good like it was early on for you? The lye I used destroyed the paint. I was repainting anyway.

The paint wasn't harmed at all.

 

[Kevin B]

That's great. If I ever encounter the problem again I'll likely use your method.