Removing Stuck Pedals. Fails And Success. It's WAR!!!

I was working on a old mountain bike that had Time ATAC clipless pedals (1st gen). They were completely seized. They didn't have flats for a pedal wrench. I had to use a 6mm hex socket. A ratchet wrench by itself wasn't enough. I tried a cheater bar, and broke the hex socket. Then I tried a impact hex socket with a impact wrench. I got one pedal off, but the other one, destroyed the impact socket, and stripped the hex fitting on the pedal. From there, I drilled/tapped the pedal spindle. I screwed in a bolt. Then I used my impact wrench and was able to get the pedal off. If it had been the left side, the right hand threaded bolt wouldn't have worked. I could have probably used an extractor tool. I mounted some new pedals. I still have a lot of clean up to do on this bike.
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[@RJTheBikeGuy]

For more bike repair videos hit the subscribe button and click the notification bell ► bit.ly/SubRJTheBikeGuy

[@Luudking]

RJ doesn’t quit. He’s a fighter. He always wins. That’s why I like him. 🙏🏼

[@k.johnzarzeczny682]

I am a old tool maker, I had to remove many broken studs/screws etc. I would have used a masonery drill bit at a slow speed. I would use a small drill bit and work up to almost the tap drill size, then it may come out. You are lucky that you were able to tap it and get it out that way. Remember the harder the material, the SLOWER the speed of the drill. Everybody seems to want to go faster, all that will do is wear out the drill and yourself.

[@robertmcfadyen9156]

@@k.johnzarzeczny682 And burn out the motor possibly .

[@creepingjesus5106]

​@@robertmcfadyen9156No, because if you're doing it that way, you're taking your time by default. The drill motor will only be working in phases, while you clear out the swarf from the drill tip. You'd most likely be using a drill that was rated for low speed anyway.

[@Eduardo-hy3ow]

The master is back!!!! Glad to see you

[@zumbazumba1]

For anyone that might need help: 1.Try to tighten the bolt a bit then loosen it. 2.Tap fast with hammer on a bolt head,light fast blows -you can use a hammerdrill with cut off chisle. 3.Baby oil works as penetrant oil for fraction of cost. 4.if you heat something up use parafin wax candle and let the wax go trough treads -works 80% of time.Does wonders on rusty threads. 5.If you drill a hole and material is soft enough you can use torx socket and hammer it into a hole and use it as a nut.This works great if you heat up metal. 6 You can drill a hole in metal as large as hex key diagonal and then weld the gaps and use it as a wrench.-works lovely ,welding usually heats up metal. 7.If you are removing nasty bolt broken in hole and you need to weld make sure to put copper pipe around the treads in hole ,it will protect it from splatter ,since there is nothing worse than a thread with a little welding bead stuck on it.

[@Mad4400]

Tightening it first has served me very well. It doesn't matter which way you turn it as long as you can break that seal.

[@peterbaskind9872]

Great to see your videos back. I hope you are doing well. Take care of yourself, Brother.

[@51actual]

Great to see you back RJ, 🤟

[@jasonbusch3624]

I heat with a torch slightly then quench 4-5 times with PB Blaster and if that doesn't work, you can put an air hammer with a punch anvil in the hex hole and jar it loose. The key is be patient and don't strip it out with an impact.

[@cycleistic1365]

If the threads are very very stuck, trying to unscrew them cold turkey will cause more harm than good usually, therefore it's wisdom to aid the threads to loosen up with some oil first and then with heat gun, in most cases those will work and you avoid further hassle with tooling or machining.

[@Gregorius421]

Est. price of crankarm: 10$. Est. price of tools expired: 50$. That's determination, gentleman.

[@Duettoholger]

I wouldn't have thought that the method would work - I've learned something! On the other hand, I would have heated the crank three or four times with the hot air gun and let it cool down again. Only then, in my opinion, would I make the first attempt with my beloved impact wrench. But of course the success proves you right. Very good work and a great video, thank you!

[@michellesharpe6159]

Rust shudders when a good man goes to war. So glad to see you victorious!

[@basemahmed1779]

Happy to see you back 😊

[@valkyrie_cain86]

Good job! Last time I had a stuck pedal, I ended up using a hacksaw on the pedal housing to get to the spindle so I could use a wrench. This is much more elegant.

[@sergiografbike]

GREAT TO SEE YOU BACK!!! REGARDS FROM BRASIL!

[@matbillings2533]

There's stuck...and then there's pedal stuck! 😵

[@Stewie4238]

Glad you are back!

[@billinhouston3291]

love the tap and bolt idea. well done.

[@ddahstan6876]

Love this man-- never take a No for answer! Once he brought out his gun, the First Leg ran away from him; the Second Leg stayed behind to ambush but RJ chased it down!! 😂

[@marcdaniels9079]

Welcome back. Never give up, never surrender 👍💪

[@coypatton3160]

Thanks RJ. I have a stuck pedal I would like to pull off. I have tried the hex tool and impact. I have not rounded the shoulders or broke my hex tool yer, but I also do not have the pedal off yet. I really just want to regrease/rebuild the pedal bearings.

[@Jeesus353]

It's awkward but totally doable with the pedal still on the crank!

[@sank2841]

The Marine of bike repair 😅! 👍👍

[@rojapu]

Great video. Pedals stuck in cranks always a problem. A little bit of grease on installation would help. I would have written that crank off. Having the right tools makes it possible to solve many engineering problems. Thanks for posting 👍

[@trigs1441]

Great viewing and a great addition to your extensive video library of bicycle problem solving.

[@rustyjunkgarage1418]

Quick tickle with the blow torch on the crank arm would have saved you a lot of trouble here. I have to do it all the time with stuck pedals, even bottom brackets Also, I see you learned your lesson when it comes to impact guns and hex bits. They don't usually go well together. The impact can destroy the threads in the aluminum crank arm pretty quick as well

[@samuel_d]

Gotta be careful with a torch on aluminium, but yeah. Not everyone has a torch though. But a gas stove works as well, if you can get the crank off and aren’t too concerned about preserving the pedal. Heat the crank eye until a wet finger sizzles and not more. No gas stove? Can’t or don’t want to get the crank off? Tip a kettle of boiling water over crank eye and immediately lean on the wrench.

[@rustyjunkgarage1418]

@@samuel_d Very true! Why I said "tickle" as you would be surprised how a very small amount of head applied can make a big difference! It will quickly expand aluminum which is a great conductor of heat. On top of that it can melt thread locking compounds

[@nuArk-eq9mq]

Yes, I 've tried the bloe torch and it's effective, and yes aluminium is a great conductor of heat so pay attention

[@carolyvonfaula1622]

very glad to see you again !

[@mrJayGarage]

Glad to have you back Mr RJ.

[@richardbauer8195]

Glad to see you back, RJ!!!

[@daviddahlmann7562]

Great job done using the hex bolt thread 👍🏼

[@TheValueBikeAdvocate]

Glad to see you back on KZbin again!

[@theinspector1023]

Excellent. Glad you're back.

[@komoonkh]

Great to see you posting videos more often again!😊

[@edwardsjohnpaul]

Heat, and you can also use an oversized torque bit and jam it in there, before you totally round off the hex flats, and use a big lever or impact gun. Great video.

[@WARDANT1]

Try, & accept that sometimes you fail but you learn from that. When you succeed it's great. Thanks RJ.

[@AnttiBrax]

To anyone who maintains their own bikes... Pedals are self tightening. You don't need to bust a vein when installing them. Finger tight and then a tad bit more with a wrench is enough.

[@Jim-be8sj]

Wow. A new RJ video. Today is a great day!

[@kloginow2417]

love the Dewalt impact wrench, best tool to remove BB and frozen seat posts.

[@AN-kg4ei]

Pro tip from shop mech years ago (we were in hotel without full suite of tools) - use Allen wrench and either wedge it on floor and stamp on pedal or stand on fwd pedal while standing on wrench with other foot. Wear shoes or cleats (or same routine with pedal wrench).

[@sokoloft3]

Nice! Great work, thanks

[@andrewbray2924]

glad you're back!

[@qwertyuiopjoel]

I just want to say I am happy seeing you make new videos RJ!

[@runningsig]

Nicely done! My first thought was throw crank arm w/ stuck pedal in the oven. My 2nd thought was dry ice.

[@layton3503]

Great work, nice video. Glad you are back!

[@dorianjlp]

heating it with a torch works great as the alloy of the crank arm and steel of the spindle will expand at different rates breaking loose the corrosion. I heat it up for a good while then it comes loose with a breaker bar. nice trick with the bolt though! that or an easy-out would be my next step if the torch didn’t work.

[@wasifzihan4662]

good to see u back

[@hamadysack3157]

Very satisfying RJ!

[@thomasmoran1799]

Good job very clever

[@KonaUte]

he came back

[@user-bz8dv3lx5x]

You sir are a wizard.

[@jamesragus1577]

It worked! Thought that grade2 was going to strip, I was pleasantly wrong! 😊

[@ericsande5345]

I had a set of hex-only pedals freeze onto the cranks a few years ago. After that I vowed to never use pedals that don't have pedal wrench access again! Hex access is handy for quick spinning install/removal and emergency tightening on the road; not for primary securing.

[@TheRokko66]

RJ the BG on another bike rescue mission✌

[@SeeMeRoland]

He's back!

[@jooch_exe]

Nice fix!

[@88sstraight]

Pedals without flats, wtf are manufacturers thinking!

[@oefzdegoeggl]

You don't need the flats for click pedals, they're just in the way. I always pick the flatless ones.

[@88sstraight]

@@oefzdegoeggl Do you mean clipless pedals? That is literally what RJ just had to get the big guns out to remove…

[@kentjoosten8149]

Not only did you get the pedal off, you invented “RJ's Helical Hex Bit"©. Congrats!

[@kennethmcdonald4807]

Nice work!

[@alanosborne1947]

Great to see you back doing repair videos again! When a pedal gets stuck like that can you add heat to the crank to help break the pedal loose?

[@hennings3938]

@RJtheBikeGuy is the threat to everything threaded 😂💪🏼

[@freds4703]

Well done RJ. It looks like you used a tapered tap. If I did it and had a bottom tap I would have followed up with that but I can’t argue with success. Fred from RCB.

[@tmayberry7559]

Welcome back 😊😊😊 always great videos and advice 👍👌

[@HighFell]

Put the crank arm and pedal in the oven for 30 mins at 250 degrees C. Use a slightly oversize Torx bit, hammer it in and wind it out. Job done Also if you hold the socket on the driver it will maximise the hammer action 👍

[@jfkcamelot]

Congrats! Giving up is no option.

[@oscarfoxman785]

That was pretty impressive. Great to see you making videos, again :)

[@neilcrompton3488]

While drilling the spindle it would have applied heat,sometimes heat from drilling/heatgun will release stuck threads.

[@craigpuetz7020]

There are tools called EZ-outs with an aggressive spiral. They are designed to wedge into the drilled hole and allow removal of stripped drives. They are normally spiraled for RH threads, but special ones for LH threads can be found. Probably not better than what you did other than your idea wouldn't have worked as well on the other side. Kudos for a clever solution, however.

[@Mike-z7r3m]

The bolt was a great idea

[@DiamondbackAxis]

That 90s DB Frame!!!! 😍

[@michals2000]

Thank you for your work and showing us solutions:)))

[@thedude2178]

Galvanic welding, RJ says: ‘make my day, punk’

[@cup_and_cone]

A 1/4" imperial hex is 6.4mm; I would have tried hammering a 1/4" allen socket before totally rounding it out. Another option is to break the pedal body (cut it off with die grinder) so you can expose the spindle and use a pipe wrench.

[@renegadeflyer2]

I have used metric multi spline socket. Find one that will hammer in tight. Clamp the crank in a solid vise and use the impact or impact driver. Impact driver is the heavy duty screwdriver that you would use a hammer, to strike the handle end hard to rotate the bit. Either it going to turn or you will be looking for another bit.🤣

[@ed-gw3ov]

I would have tried a 40mm Torx (or approximate size) bit tapped into the Rounded Hex bolt. Then tried an in-pack gun to remove the pedal. I recently did this to take out a screw from a Drill chuck that was stuck, worked great.

[@FuchsHorst]

Time ATAC, pedals that may last almost forever

[@aixpert291]

Lost this battle last week. Oh well, good excuse to go from 172mm to 165mm cranks! 😂

[@Jeesus353]

There is something really satisfying about removing seized components from a bike, be it seat posts, stems, or pedals!

[@isbemorph]

Impact sockets and bits are made of softer steel, thats why that bit twisted like that. But i'm surprised that that pedal axle completely stripped, totally round. I thought this suppose to be hardened steel.

[@oswaldconsultancyltd3150]

I had this problem in 1970 when I was 10 years old. I put the pedal and crank in my mums gas oven with the flame on the joint. It cracked the seizure open and it came apart easily when cold.

[@anonymously241]

That's a very nice crankset ☝️🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️👍

[@bradleyhovan9390]

Hey we sent you a business email some weeks ago regarding a new series of replacement Rockshox Indy fork parts. Looking forward to hearing back from you :)

[@kosti116]

That is a greate idea to remove this kind of pedals! Good u Back!

[@triumphrat05]

missed you buddy

[@johnwilson230]

I feel rj buddy. I was today working on mountin bike one of the brake cable was stuck and whoukd not come out the nipple turned inside it was a night mare. In the end I drilled the centre put a self tapping g screw and carefully managed to free it. Yea at present sorted my road bike which I use daily to work and runs and my old Raleigh mountin bike its from 80 s and bike road a 80 s Peugeot old but gold steel frames. All the best john from the uk😊

[@RileyVenus]

You need to use impact rated accesories to make the impact driver more effective and avoid striping stuff

[@giacomootto4857]

Great video

[@GeneticVehicle]

Best bike chanel

[@FGIRAFFE]

What a suspens!

[@zahadou]

these days - at least once a week - i spanner-off loosen my peddles - just a little and i've put some copper grease on the threads. i change flat peddles for Winter and Summer.

[@marcdaniels9079]

Copper grease rocks

[@einufo]

Lucky that the crank thread didn't tear out! Gruß Tino

[@WilyTuber]

Good job. Key is correctly remembering CW vs CCW threading, should have a diagram next to you I STILL GET THIS WRONG FREQUENTLY.

[@mr.bianchirider8126]

At the end of every biking season I remove the pedals, clean and lube them.

[@cerulyse]

Impact drivers are dangerous lol I had a similar experience with a rather soft bolt on a brake lever held in with some sort of thread lock I think. I got lucky and managed to get it out with a better bit. Mind you I suspect someone tried to untighten that pedal the wrong way😮

[@peterbedford2610]

Reminds me of trying to removing an old seat post

[@majun26]

I once had a bb seized in a frame, nobody could get it out, poured boiling water over the shell, and it came out easily.

[@pascalbruyere7108]

I heard heat can work magic. Heart gun or better a small propane torch. No need to strip anything. Also, use copper grease on the new pedal’s threads.

[@rommelreyes2209]

Maybe an impact driver is a better starting point as it will have lesser torque

[@MyKharli]

i did the threads in and went for bolt bodge fix .

[@mirkomeyerhoff2700]

Ad astra per aspera! Citius, altius, fortius! 🧐

[@AdelBazzine]

Nice, you could also use a screw extractor

[@RJTheBikeGuy]

Maybe on left crank. Wrong direction for the right crank

[@AdelBazzine]

Ok 👍​@@RJTheBikeGuy

[@jeremystclair6709]

Made me a.little sad to see the the destruction of the Time ATAC pedal. I have several pairs of those that have outlasted many bikes.

[@markifi]

he only destroyed the axle although i'm not sure how available replacement axles are for these

[@freds4703]

You can find the pedals oneBay at time, even NOS

[@jeremystclair6709]

@@freds4703 I probably have 4 pairs of that generation that I have moved from bike to bike, plus a couple of newer generation.