Frozen seat post.

[elmore leonard]

I ran into a frozen seat post today and tried every thing I could think of to pull it back out. I even put a large bolt inside to stop the tube from getting crushed while I tried to just move it a bit with a 16" pipe wrench. Nocoulddo. I did notice it would move down with a good smack with my wooden mallet. In the end I sawed the seat post off at the frame and with another seat post I was able to drive what was left of the frozen post down into the tube to accommodate the full length of the replacement post. Not ideal but it worked.

[Eugbug]

(07-21-2015, 11:15 PM)elmore leonard Wrote:  I ran into a frozen seat post today and tried every thing I could think of to pull it back out. I even put a large bolt inside to stop the tube from getting crushed while I tried to just move it a bit with a 16" pipe wrench. Nocoulddo. I did notice it would move down with a good smack with my wooden mallet. In the end I sawed the seat post off at the frame and with another seat post I was able to drive what was left of the frozen post down into the tube to accommodate the full length of the replacement post. Not ideal but it worked.

As you're probably aware, heat sometimes helps to expand an outer part (the seat post and tube in this case) allowing it to be freed. Its important to only heat the outer part, if both parts are heated, they both expand, defeating the purpose. Sometimes you can use a hairdrier for "delicate" applications, or hot water from a kettle (useful for screwed plumbing fittings). A heat gun with a narrow nozzle attached is also great, but obviously not a good idea on flammable or painted surfaces!