Rusted stuck

[royalv2]

Hi folks, one of my (T6) bike rack clamps is stuck. The lockable hand screw (pictured) spins when locked (as it should do), but when unlocked, I can’t move it. The thread is rusty and despite a good WD-40 soaking, it won’t shift. Has anyone had any success freeing or dismantling these? (I see it’s got three screw heads on the underside). Thanks in advance.

 

[Azteccamper]

Hi folks, one of my (T6) bike rack clamps is stuck. The lockable hand screw (pictured) spins when locked (as it should do), but when unlocked, I can’t move it. The thread is rusty and despite a good WD-40 soaking, it won’t shift. Has anyone had any success freeing or dismantling these? (I see it’s got three screw heads on the underside). Thanks in advance.

View attachment 96039

Likewise. I managed to get mine off but it was damaged. Ridiculous price to replace so I got these. Fit ok and have always bike locked the bikes to carrier anyway.

 

[jeff]

Likewise. I managed to get mine off but it was damaged. Ridiculous price to replace so I got these. Fit ok and have always bike locked the bikes to carrier anyway.

View attachment 96050

Damaged my locking one, ordered new ones from dealer three locking ones cost in the region of £35.00.
I still use extra locks but wanted to keep them original.

 

[dspuk]

In the army as very young mechanics we were taught to take a can of full fat coke and spray it on rusted parts, we'd give it 20 mins and the coke would have eaten the rust. Now I'm not saying to try this or that 30 years later it still works but if you hit last resort it's worth a try....

 

[Azteccamper]

Damaged my locking one, ordered new ones from dealer three locking ones cost in the region of £35.00.
I still use extra locks but wanted to keep them original.

I’m sure they’re about £35 each!

 

[Ch1pbutty]

If its a similar design the the T5 rack, then it also has a nut on the other end on the arm, so you should be able to clamp a mole grip on the long threaded metal arm and rotate it until the nut comes off and then remove the arm from the carrier. . Its then easier to soak the rusty hand screw.

Put copper grease the thread on the replacement one, then it won't happen again.

 

[Alan Andrews]

If its a similar design the the T5 rack, then it also has a nut on the other end on the arm, so you should be able to clamp a mole grip on the long threaded metal arm and rotate it until the nut comes off and then remove the arm from the carrier. . Its then easier to soak the rusty hand screw.

Put copper grease the thread on the replacement one, then it won't happen again.

Yep, I had same issue on most of the clamps.

Easiest route was to remove the arm from the rack and then work on each in turn.

WD40 is not a penetrating fluid, so you need to buy something like PB Blaster or Kroil.

Once eventually free, I wound a die down the threads and used copper grease to keep them free of corrosion. No issues since.

An old mechanics tip is to actually tighten the nut a bit before you try to untighten a bit. Then repeat this action until the nut is free. Be careful not to go gun-ho or you risk shearing the threads.

 

[Elmo3]

One of the threads on mine was rusted to the point of no return. Cut with a hacksaw, ordered a new thread for a few quid (M8 I think) and a new knob similar to the above (Azteccamper), job done.

 

[royalv2]

Many thanks all for the various tips, I’ll experiment and report back.

 

[KBR]

I had to replace one of mine as it could not be salvaged. Tip for future though, get some grease and give the threads a good coating once a year. Does the job of keeping them in good order.

 

[keith morris]

Hi folks, one of my (T6) bike rack clamps is stuck. The lockable hand screw (pictured) spins when locked (as it should do), but when unlocked, I can’t move it. The thread is rusty and despite a good WD-40 soaking, it won’t shift. Has anyone had any success freeing or dismantling these? (I see it’s got three screw heads on the underside). Thanks in advance.

View attachment 96039

Hi folks, one of my (T6) bike rack clamps is stuck. The lockable hand screw (pictured) spins when locked (as it should do), but when unlocked, I can’t move it. The thread is rusty and despite a good WD-40 soaking, it won’t shift. Has anyone had any success freeing or dismantling these? (I see it’s got three screw heads on the underside). Thanks in advance.

View attachment 96039

I had exactly the same, did the Wd40 let it soak for a week and it eventually moved after a bit of force, rather disappointed that the VW premium rack has this issue,

 

[royalv2]

Success!

After WD-40 application for a week, I got a good amount of movement, and then it got properly stuck. So I tried undoing the three little screws on the underside of the knob. This then exposed the internals (see photo) and a 13mm nut. With a socket in a vice and a long lever, I got it fully unscrewed. I haven’t got a dye, but gave the threads a good wire brushing, greased the internals of the knob before reassembly and now it’s running (relatively) smoothly. Thanks to all those who’ve gave guidance above.