# crank puller problem. Quick question



## baker92 (Nov 18, 2013)

hey guys so my crank puller got delivered finally and I've been itching to swap it over to my new frame.

problem is when i tightened the puller up to take the arm off, instead of pushing the arm away from the bottom bracket its pushed the bit that screws into the crank out of the thread and threaded the crank arm badly. I've got a feeling this is very bad new as now when i tighten it up it just pops out. 

Is it even possible to get the crank off now?

sorry if this isn't worded very well but i hope you get what i mean

Dan


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## Zuarte (Nov 21, 2010)

The cause of the problem might make more sense if you can tell us what type of bottom bracket interface your bike has. Is it square taper, Isis, octalink, etc?

Crank pullers come in different shapes to fit different interfaces. Some fancier crank pullers come with detachable buttons and heads to fit different cranks and bottom brackets. like this http://www.rei.com/skuimage/723014

Using the wrong head could mean your puller tool was pushing up against the inside face of the crank arm itself, and ripped it's own threads apart.

If it really is stripped and you can't use the crank puller anymore, it's not impossible to get the arm off, but it will probably involve destroying something in the process. You're sort of into anything-goes territory. Might be worth taking it to the local bike shop and maybe they can still salvage the operation, or they might know the right tricks. Short of that, you might be looking at hammers, chisels, anti seize, a gear puller, or whatever else you can come up with.


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## lyra (Oct 21, 2013)

Yikes. When you threaded the tool, did it initially go on smoothly? Were the threads in good condition to begin with? Are you certain you were using the right tool for your particular crankset?


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## smilinsteve (Jul 21, 2009)

Yikes!
Subscribed.
This doesn't sound good.


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## watts888 (Oct 2, 2012)

If you did destroy your cranks, you're not the first. 

If you're positive it's toast, ie.. if the threads are stripped and your crank puller's not staying in, just pull the crank bolts out, spray with penetrating oil and pedal it hard. eventually, your cranks will loosen/fall off. Of course this will destroy the crank arms and your bottom bracket, but it's the easiest way to get them off.


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

I've seen that happen many times, done it myself a few. Older square taper bb's often used bolts with washers, if you forget to pull the washer out before threading the remover in that would do it.

More commonly people don't thread the remover all the way in before attempting to remove the arm. Try to install the removal tool without the lever arm on, there may still be a few threads left at the bottom. You may also have the wrong tool as mentioned above.


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## mack_turtle (Jan 6, 2009)

either you cross-threaded the tool into the crank arm or the crank arm was made of soft aluminum and stripped easily.

if the crank arm has to come off and it's officially trashed, here's what you do: remove the wheels, pedals, and anything you can to lighten the bike. lift up the bike and put the offending crank arm in a table-mounted vice and clamp the arm in the vice. rock the bike side-to-side until it pops the crank arm off the spindle. this is faster and safer than riding it until it falls off.

after you do that, are you replacing the cranks or the BB? make sure the BB and cranks you intend to use are the right size for each other. putting a crankset on a BB that is a few millimeters too long or too short is a giant headache.


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## Rcksqrl (Aug 29, 2013)

J.B. Weld said:


> I've seen that happen many times, done it myself a few. Older square taper bb's often used bolts with washers, if you forget to pull the washer out before threading the remover in that would do it.


This is my guess.... Happened to me, caught it before it destroyed the crank...

Sent from magic wish granting phone


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## baker92 (Nov 18, 2013)

hey guys it's not the tool thats threaded it the crank arm sorry if i didn't explain that very well and its a square taper.

it went on fine nice and smooth i think mack_turtle may be right about the soft aluminum.

thing is i wasn't replacing the crank i was putting it onto my new frame!!! guess even if i do get it off now its gonna be toast and impossible to put back on anyway

back to the drawing board on that one i think

cheers Dan


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## mack_turtle (Jan 6, 2009)

sounds like a junk crankset anyway. be glad it failed on the work stand and not on the trail with your full weight on it while going down a hill.


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## jeffj (Jan 13, 2004)

I hope you used a wrench to thread the puller all the way in. You don't need to torque it down, just be bottomed out at the end of the threads. It's not unusual for the threads to be gunked up and you think the puller is bottomed out. Simple way to tell is if the threads are pulled out all the way down. If it happened, I wouldn't feel too bad about it (unless the cranks were expensive). 

I also learned that lesson the hard way :cryin:


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## big_papa_nuts (Mar 29, 2010)

It should be mentioned that there are tools to remove and salvage that arm, Stein has one that comes to mind, although they are expensive so they are only worth it if the replacement part is more so.


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## Jwiffle (Jan 26, 2004)

I'm confused...why were you using a crank puller to put the crankarm ON? They're only for removing the arm. If the threads are stripped, still shouldn't stop you from installing the arm, just won't be able to get it off again without destroying it as others have already described


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## watts888 (Oct 2, 2012)

Swapped some cranks on a budget bike for a friend, and noticed something. The crank puller I have (one of the sette budget tool kits) has a cap at the end of the puller. When I looked at it, I noticed the spinny cap at the end wouldn't clear the square hole in the crank arm, and if I used it as is, I'd strip out the threads on the crankarm. The cranker arm puller came from sette like that, so I'm led to believe that's what happened to the OP. Took off the cap from the crank puller, swapped some cranks and bottom brackets, and all was right with the world.


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