Conference noted::bicycle

    Hi,   If I remember correctly, you can use the dust cover on the
    crank arm as the puller.  The allen wrench that fits the allen bolt
    should fit through the hole in the dust cover.  You shouldn't have
    to purchase a puller for this type of crank.  All you have to do
    is turn the allen bolt counter clockwise and when it hits the dust
    cover, the crank arm should start coming off.  It has been a little
    while since I've seen this so one thing that you should do is make
    sure that the dust cover is made out of metal.  If it is made out
    of plastic, it will just break.
    
    Hope this helps
    
    Dean Gagne, New to this notes file

	One other little thing is to check that there is the little plastic
	slippery washer behind the metal dustcap like part.  It makes it
	easier to turn.


	Does anyone know why they stopped making these? 

	As a touring biker, I thought that it was a great idea;  crank puller
	capability without having to carry the puller.  I have even used it to
	pull a friend's crank when he had stripped it with his regular puller.
	(It threads in further).

	-Jeff

    Watch out! That metal dust cap isn't very thick or strong -- when I had
    Shimano 600 cranks, I stripped the hex key holes in mine simply trying
    to take them off!  Then it was a REAL pain to remove.  Once I got them
    off, I threw the caps away.  Unless they've improved them drastically
    in the last year, I can't imagine how you could use them as crank
    pullers...
    
    MATT

    
    	It worked !!  Who would have thought, you can just turn the
    bolt and the crank will come off !
    
    	Thanks for the help.
    
    
    	John
    

    I was trying to overhaul my bottom bracket last night and I was
    unable to remove the left crank arm (Campy Chorus).  I have
    a Park crank removal tool (15mm) and it fits the crankset set, but
    the darn thing won't budge.  I slightly stripped the threads, so
    I decided to back off and consult this notes file.  The threads
    are still o.k. but the tool doesn't fit quite as snug as it used
    to and I'm afraid if I keep bearing down on it I'll be in the market
    for a new crank set.  I sprayed the crank bolt with WD40 before I tried
    to remove it, and I also tried tapping the crank tool with a hammer
    (lightly).
    
    Is there a solution that I can put on the crank bolt to free things
    up (e.g. the opposite of Lock-Tight)?  What should I do?
    
    
    Phil

> I have a Park crank removal tool (15mm) and it fits the crankset set, but
> the darn thing won't budge.  

	One thing you can try is to buy, rent or borrow a small automobile
	gear puller.  This would have arms to grab around behind the
	crank arm and a screw to press in on the end of the shaft.  It
	would probably be best for your crank if the fixing bolt (or nut)
	were not removed but just loosened a turn... this will hopefully
	protect the threads of the shaft from damage.  Many car parts
	dealers and rental places can rent you a gear puller.

	P.S.  A car battery clamp puller is almost the same device and
	would be about the right size.

    Re .5:
    
    Just a thought - why not pour boiling water over the crank arm just
    before you try to remove it? The expansion might make all the
    difference.
    
    
    Rod

    I had similar trouble with my Victory cranks - they'd been
    through some rain.  I was loathe to get too muscular with
    the allen wrench, but some WD40 did the trick.  
    
    -john

    I'm going to assume that you've never used a crank remover before, so
    forgive me if I'm wrong.
    
    First, have you removed the 15mm bolt? (I know it sounds stupid, but I
    just heard of this happening the other day to someone).
    
    Okay, next thing to check is the center part of the crank extractor:
    make sure it's backed off all the way so the threads on the outter part
    can achieve maximum engagement in the soft aluminum arm. If you didn't
    do this, I can understand why the threads got messed up: all that force
    was being concentrated on one small area. If that was the problem,
    before you try removing the crank again, read the next hint.
    
    Try the boiling water, WD-40 (overnight, at least) etc., mentioned in
    other replies. Then, do the following: 1) lean the bike on its side, so
    you can support the right side of the crank on a solid wooden block; 2)
    place a solid piece of wood (like a 2x3) squarely against the tight
    crank arm; 3) hit the wood with several sharp blows as if you were
    trying to push the crank ONTO the arm. This may seem silly, but the
    sharp impact, applied as it is, is sometimes sufficient to break the
    bond the forms between the aluminum crank and the steel.
    
    If you still can't budge it, it is still possible to remove the fixed
    cup (right hand side, and, if it's British B.S.C. threads, left-hand
    threads) and pull the axle out like that.
    
    If you get the arm off, put a thin film of grease on the axle before
    you reassemble it.
    
    Good luck!!!
    Roger

    A slight modification on .9 is to put crank extractor under tension,
    and then smack it with a hammer as described above.  (Be sure to
    use pieces of wood to support the down-side crank, and as a buffer
    between the hammer and the tensioning hex on the extractor.)  This
    worked very well for me once when I was having difficulty removing
    a crank.  
    
    Jim

    My Shimano 600 cranks have a washer underneath the bolt.  You must
    remove the washer also, or the crank extracter tool is bearing down
    on the washer instead of the bottom bracket axle.
    

    Another thing to check is that the middle part of the puller fits into
    the square hole.  Sometimes and old puller will be mashed enough that
    it doesn't fit anymore.

-Jeff

    All my cranks have a 14 mm bolt or nut.  Fortunately my tools for
    removing same are also 14mm.
    
    ed

    I have used a crank extractor tool before; I removed the right crank
    easily.  I also tried tapping the engaged crank removal tool with
    a hammer.  I'll try letting some WD40 soak in and then applying
    boiling water as suggested.  I'll let you know how I make out.
    
    Thanks for the advice.
    
    Phil

    Don't tap it, whack it!
    
    ed

    Thanks for all of the helpful suggestions.  Special thanks to Rod
    (.7) and Roger (.9) who suggested boiling water.  I used WD40 but
    I wasn't able to remove the crank arm until I poured boiling water
    over it.  SUCCESS!  Now I can sleep at nights knowing my bottom
    bracket is as clean as a whistle.
    
    FYI, when I thought I might have stripped the threads I inquired
    about purchasing a new crank.  I was somewhat relieved to find out
    that Campy will break up a set of cranks and sell them seperately
    if need be.  Fortunately I didn't have to go that route.  This
    notes file is great!
    
    Phil

re    < Note 481.16 by USCTR1::PJOHNSON >
                             -< thanks; it worked >-

>    Thanks for all of the helpful suggestions.  Special thanks to Rod
>    (.7) and Roger (.9) who suggested boiling water.  I used WD40 but
>    I wasn't able to remove the crank arm until I poured boiling water
>    over it.  SUCCESS!  Now I can sleep at nights knowing my bottom
>    bracket is as clean as a whistle.
>    
>    FYI, when I thought I might have stripped the threads I inquired
>    about purchasing a new crank.  I was somewhat relieved to find out
>    that Campy will break up a set of cranks and sell them seperately
>    if need be.  Fortunately I didn't have to go that route.  This
>    notes file is great!
>    
>    Phil


	Well,  what now ?

	

		Will you be reassembling it dry ?




			with WD 40 ?



				With grease ?



					Boiling water ? :-^)

	R

    RE: .17
    
    I cleaned everything out with kerosene and WD40, dried it off, put
    in new Campy bearings with Phil Wood grease.  I didn't put any grease
    on the axle/crank connection because I seem to remember some contro-
    versy about the grease/steel/aluminum bonding???
    
    Everything is back together.  I was all set to ride to work this
    morning but my thermometer said 18 degrees, so I chickened out.
    Maybe tomorrow.
    
    Phil

re  < Note 481.18 by USCTR1::PJOHNSON >
>                 -< crank/axle - to grease or not to grease? >-

>    some contro- versy about the grease/steel/aluminum bonding??? 

	You just experienced the steel/aluminum bonding problem.  
The controversy that was addressed recently in THIS conference was one
of incompatible specs., though most of the readership wanted to not
acknowledge that.

	R

    You must be working on your sprint!  :~)

    MATT

    re: .20
    
    Matt, you raised a point that I've wondered about.  How often should
    I do this type of maintenance?  I rode about 5k miles last year
    and I'm thinking of doing my headset soon.  Is a yearly overhaul
    too frequent for bearings (i.e. wheels, headset, crank, pedals,
    anything else?)?
    
    On my old bike I owned it for 12 years before I got into cycling
    enough (2 yrs ago) to venture into the crankset and wheel bearings.  
    By that time everything was pitted and replacement parts were impossible
    to find.  Am I over compensating for that mistake?

    Phil

    A complete overhaul once a year is a good idea.  Not just for the
    sake of cleaning the bearings, but to not allow any corrosion of
    threads.  When you overhaul the bike, the frame should be stripped
    completely then reassembled with grease/lube in appropriate places.
    If maintenance is needed on the road, it will be quicker to make
    the needed repairs.   If you do a lot of wet/dirty spring riding,
    it is advisable to repack the BB and perhaps hubs in early summer.
    
    steve

    RE: .22
    
    Unless I misunderstood, Phil's talking about REPLACING the bearings
    every year, not just cleaning and repacking them.  I'd recommend the
    latter, but I'd say the former is overkill. You can usually tell how
    worn a crankset/headset/hubset is by examining the cups or spindles
    that the bearings ride on.  (Also by seeing how dirty the grease is
    getting...) By the time you need to replace the bearings, you usally
    need to replace the cups.  (Kind of like replacing the chain when you
    replace sprokets.) 
    
    I remember disassembling my headset after a year, and finding the
    grease still bright blue, no wear, no pitting, nothing.  In a way, I
    was happy, but then I thought I had gone through so much work for
    nothing.  Worse, I wasn't sure if I could reassemble and adjust the
    thing as nicely as it obviously had been before I touched it. My
    father's dictum kept ringing in my ears: "If it's not broken, don't fix
    it." 

    MATT

    RE: .-1
    
    What kind of grease is blue?
    
    (I've seen plenty of lithium white and classic pink-translucent
    European grease, but...)
    
    -j

    I don't go for those little $3 tubes of "premium" grease.  Instead,
    I bought a lifetime supply of the blue stuff for about a dollar
    in some discount auto parts store.
    
    MATT

>  < Note 481.25 by CESARE::JOHNSON "Wanted to be an astronaut, but settled for space cadet." >
>                      -< Not quite what you'd call exotic >-
>
>    I don't go for those little $3 tubes of "premium" grease.  Instead,
>    I bought a lifetime supply of the blue stuff for about a dollar
>    in some discount auto parts store.
>    
>    MATT


	....and just  "by the way",  I'm convinced that the 
sooper_dooper_Fill_Would_greeen_greeece is just repackaged marine 
grease at a few thousand percent mark_up.

	Reg	{part time boater mechanic}

    
    >    I don't go for those little $3 tubes of "premium" grease.  Instead,
    >    I bought a lifetime supply of the blue stuff for about a dollar
    >    in some discount auto parts store.                                 
    
    By the "blue stuff", do you mean automotive axle grease ?  I don't
    like the fill_would ripoff either, but I find axle grease a little
    heavy for my tastes. You can get a lifetime supply of something middle 
    of the road that will do the job for a middle of the road price. 

	If you go to any auto parts store, you can get a big tub of
	lithium grease for the same price you'd pay for a little tube
	at a bike store.  As far as I can tell it's the same stuff.

	chris