Ball Socket Replacement Problem

Hi,

I had a problem with my Ball Socket Joint where it popped out. I found a video for a quick fix where you turn the bike upside down and press the ball back in the socket with your foot. This worked and I’ve been cycling the strida for about a year now. I recently noticed that the joint is starting to break, so I decided to replace it.

I am trying to follow the instructions here. https://stridacanada.ca/strida-ball-joint-socket-explained/

However when I try to unscrew the phillips head screw it won’t come out. The screw is moving and I have made sure I’m unscrewing in the right direction. But it won’t come out of the housing. I do hear a click every now and then when I am trying to unscrew it. It won’t even come slightly out of the frame. Any ideas on how to fix this?

Thanks

conuil

Hi conuil,

welcome at Stridaforum! :smiley:

Very ugly issue indeed, unfortunately I can’t tell exactly how to fix, but maybe it helps to know what had happened.

The small Phillips screw (P. Nr. 273) was glued during installation into a standard drive-in nut (250).


Drive-in nut:

Either the glue was too much or the threads seized, however - nut and screw are connected now; the clicks you hear are the four claws of the nut, rotating inside the plastic insert over their initial positions.

I think there will be no other chance than to remove the plastic insert first (by cutting violence) and then try to lock the nut from outside (pair of pliers?).
It should be feasible then to separate screw and nut, perhaps could the screw’s head be heated additionally, that would break the glue’s bond - 200°C should last.

Good luck,

Chris

Hi Conuil, I have had the same problem when removing the screw. I should add this to my article.

What I did was to drill the head off the end of the screw. It wasn’t difficult but you need to be very careful. I wrapped the tube with tape for protection, I started with a small drill bit to make a pilot hole in the screw head. I then increased the size of the bit until it removed the head.

Bill

Thanks for the replies, in the end I decided to destroy the plastic socket part. I hacksawed the top off. Then used a hammer, screwdriver and pliers to slowly take it apart. Took about an hour of effort. I was then able to insert a pliers to hold the metal bit but still I couldn’t unscrew it so I hacksawed the screw head off.

Now trying to get the ball socket into the tube, which is proving very difficult. Its hard to know how to put pressure on it, obviously you want to be gentle so that you don’t break the socket.

Any tips on this?

Finally I got it to work. I had to pare off some bits of the plastic socket so that it would fit in the tube. I used a small stanley knife and some emery board (or some kind of sanding board). Getting the rear break cable back in through the tubing was a bit of a battle but managed it in the end. If you shine a light in the little hole at the bottom of the rear tubing you should see the break cable descending. I used a little scissors to grab it and pull it out.

Quite a tough job, glad I was able to get it all done. Just took it out for a spin and it all seems fine.

Thanks for your feedback, good to know that you were able to solve this nasty issue.

Have a safe ride!