Not going to lie .. I chuckled a couple times watching her try to get the cylinder off. :) ... Then I cried when it was my turn and I struggled even more ... The video was very helpful!!
This comment is no joke. A word of advice to anyone getting ready to do this: pipe wrenches are $8 at Harbor Freight, and some liberal application of WD-40 is a must. Do it right, or do it with 2 hours and a lot of cussing.
@@Phoen1x883You saved me 2 hours. Thank you so much!! I first tried this with a wrench but it ain't no pipe wrench. Went straight to HF after reading your comment and it was over in 10 seconds with some WD-40!
@@priyanshuvettori5179 My advise is to return it unmounted if you can. I did not managed to remove it and I have scratched it badly and finally return it unmounted.
@@bestopinion9257 The pipe wrench worked for me to remove the bottom half from the rest of the chair, although it scratches the pipe pretty bad. Then I put the bottom half over a trash can with the wheels facing up, put a piece of wood over the part of the piston that sticks out, and whacked it really hard a few times with a hammer. The wood broke, but the pipe fell out. Hope that helps!
@@davidclayton9356 I have scratched already myself. I wanted to make a return. I return it as it is, unmounted and scratched. ;) I see the piston is not expensive, only $15. Those liars make videos with unused chairs. When I mounted it first time, the piston went out just pulling it a little.
I've spent several minutes turning the pipe wrench counter-clockwise to no avail until I watched your video turning it clock-wise. Counter intuitive for those used to removing bolts counter-clockwise but it worked. Thanks for your video.
Can we please get this comment at the top of the page. 15 minutes of beating at my $2k, 1yr old chair scared af I was going to break some type of mechanism. Came back to the comments, saw this, and a minute later I was done. Thank you internet stranger!
I did replace the piston and I did use this video. On my own I would not have realized how essential the pipe wrench is to loosening the old piston. It did take a few good reefs but eventually I felt the piston give a little and then it turned a bit more easily until I was finally able to loosen it a lot and eventually remove it. At first, I thought the pipe wrench might not be the correct tool but when I was finally able to remove the old piston I realized that it was the only correct tool for the job. I also went online to a different site to learn how to insert the new piston properly without damaging anything. But, I did start with this video because it was the most informative one. I just wish the video had shown the entire process of replacing the piston and not just the removal step. This video was really well presented in a simple yet thorough manner which made the process look very doable. I am indebted to the makers of this video. Thank you.
incredibly helpful; especially seeing the amount of effort you had to use to get it unscrewed...i thought maybe mine was fused on...i just needed to shift the wrench up higher and give it a good few pulls. thank you!
I did it today for the second time. What helped was a large pipe wrench, like shown in the video and a rubber mallet. Tighten the pipe wrench as much as it can be tightened as close to the seat of the chair, then hit the end of it with the mallet. With a few swings, you should get the cylinder from the seat off. With the base and the cylinder, it's a different story. I recommend disassembling it by pulling the pin, spraying some WD40 in between the base and cylinder on both sides, then trying to crimp it as much as possible all the way around with the wrench and mallet. Then go wild on the bottom with the mallet.
Thx for the video! I had one hell of a time getting the cylinder out of the chair. It's a very old chair that was sealed very tight. I am 6.2 and weigh 250, so I was putting a ton of torque on the pipe wrench after soaking the cylinder overnight in WD40 and other lubricants. I tried for several days, then just gave up. I was able to hammer off the bottom part (with a real hammer, the rubber mallet did not work), but could not get the top part to budge no matter how hard I pushed on the pipe wrench... the whole bracket assembly started to warp I was torquing so hard. What finally did it for me was after I had the pipe wrench firmly secured on the cylinder, I hit it several times hard with a large thor hammer, and it finally broke the seal and twisted off.... whew. So next time I will go straight for hammering the pipe wrench first. good luck everyone!
Thanks! The cylinder already detached from the top. the pain was getting the cylinder out of the base. A few wacks with a pipe wrench did the trick. Im glad you showed the host having trouble removing the top. Most vids make things look easy. Great Vid
Amazing how EVERYTHING on RUclips works with ease. My cylinder on my chair will NOT come off. I took a 10 lb hammer to it and it still wont move. Soaked it with Penetrating Blast over night and still wont budge out.
Wow... I knew I could count on you. I have been struggling with the removal of the cylinder of a new office chair we have to return. After 3 hours. I gave up and went to You Tube. Thank you so much it took me 2 minutes to remove the cylinder. I fit everything in the box and it is on it's way. I should have checked with you first...thank you.
If you have a 15 year old chair that's been in daily use, this is not as easy as the video. To remove the cylinder from the chair takes the biggest 'persuader' you have access too, and drenching in WD40 overnight, and also twisting it with a huge levered pipe wrench. After 20/30 minutes banging the dam thing for all you're worth, she'll come off easy LOL
Hi Stephen! You're not wrong about it being difficult on an older chair! This was a random chair I selected, and it is just used to show the process of removing the cylinder. I have had difficulty removing a cylinder on an office chair that was older, which I did a few months after this video. To everyone else, if it is a cylinder that you are recycling, I would definitely suggest hitting the sides of the cylinder to help loosen it. Glad you were still able to remove your cylinder, Stephen! - TK
Don't mess with those cheap rubberized mallets (they don't have enough weight/mass and they deform too easily asgainst the back of the pistion ridges), just use a sizable metal dead blow hammer (looks like a mini thor hammer) and a piece of wood, no need to mess around with fluids. it will knock it out trust me. its not easy to dislodge something with a tool that isn't as strong then what you are removing.
So true. I have personally experienced cold welded cylinders to the spider they were so case hardened. The metal will leave weld marks were it friction welded itself. You really don't want this to happen if it's a $2000 high end task chair. Might be better to gently heat the spider base and put a sack of dry ice to the cylinder to uncase harden it. Fortunately you will never friction weld or case harden an ABS chair spider though they occasionally crack at the sleeve socket.
I second (or fourth or fifth) this comment! My chair isn't even that old, and I'm assuming the huge levered pipe wrench is the difference because twisting that darn cylinder off with some locking wrenches and a mallet took forever. The chance of reusing that old cylinder is over! Either way, this video was super helpful to understand that in most cases, it's entirely friction fitted. Thank you, all!
Hi Stephen - I am going through this today and for my particular chair (That I bought at Staples about 15 years ago) - that cylinder will not budge even with lots of persuasion.
Boy, did that work slick. I used PB Penetrating Catalyst both where the chrome piston shaft goes into the chair seat and down at the bottom where the much thicker piston bottom goes into the chair base. Let the catalyst work for 15 minutes, and used a 24 inch pipe wrench and they both broke loose albeit with a pretty heavy force. I had a plastic lever extender, but did not need it. I did everything on the plastic floor pad and got sufficient leverage to apply to the pipe wrench. No need to put the chair on a counter or anything like that. Thanks for the tips from about 3 videos on the penetrating catalyst, a big pipe wrench and anyone can do it. It took me about 3 minutes not counting the soaking time for the catalyst.
What if the old cylinder is wedged super tight & hammering it with the mallet doesn't disconnect it from the base (and actually starts to destroy the mallet)?
A genuinely natural, sincere and honest presentation. Better even than showing that a woman (not some muscle headed jock) can do the removal. More to the point, how authentic was her attack to loosen the cylinder shaft. It very accurately shows how torque-tight-to-lock the factory assembles its products. One of the main battles the unsuspecting DIY’er confronts and frequently risks tearing up the “patient” before “surgery”. She mentions that the “cylinder is NOT SCREWED ON”. Are “all” cylinders thusly shrink-fitted? Otherwise, I would “try” the turning-direction in the COUNTERCLOCKWISE direction. Accept for law offices, pipe wrenches are a hard find in the rolling-desk chair environment. Thanks.
Thank You Taylor. I don't have a pipe wrench, just 2 channel locks and the base kept moving around so I screwed it back onto the chair to keep it stable, took a deep breath with the channel lock and it worked.!!!! Thank you.!!!
1:37 -> Out of all the videos I watched, this was the best one to watch. I did not have a rubber mallet like so but I used a kettlebell to bash that same spot and took it off in seconds!!!
I bought a new frame/mechanism for a nice used but wobbly executive chair. I am guessing the executive was plus sized and spent a lot of time in that chair. Your pipe wrench tip helped, but.... Two hours later after hammering, blow torching, crow barring, and finally cutting away the old frame with an angle grinder, the precious cylinder finally came loose. Scarred for life but still functioning. Now I have a nice leather non-wobbly executive chair. Amazon has the frames, mine is very nice for 16 some dollars.
My pipe wrench just digs into the cylinder and causes it to shred the metal on the cylinder, it won't turn. I think the cylinder has been sat on so much it has fused with the base. Does anyone have any other ideas? My cylinder now has so many bite marks. I have made it as tight as I can get it (even using other tools to tighten it more).
Absolutely Fabulous, I learned more in this videos then I did in the other three that I watched. It takes a woman to show you how. .Job well done. I would like to add a couple of thing about the process that made it a lot easier for me. 1) use a little of WD40 on the base of the wheel standard and also on the top hole nearest the chair seat. 2) I found that if I us a steel hammer or a hand sledge, a couple of taps on the pipe wrench makes much less stress. I really appreciate your video and will tell friends and family of BTODtv. Now I'm sliding around my office is perfect height. . . . You did it in 2:30 mins and I wasn't far behind. . . . LOL
I want to know if I can buy the chair that I want, which has no wheels, and then buy another cheap swivel chair with wheels and swap the bases. If the gas cylinders area standard guage then I should be able to do this right?
would it be bad to put grease in those joints? on the last two chairs i had i couldnt remove the piston with a 4lb dead blow so i was trying to find a way to make it easier on the next chair.
A lot of people will use WD-40 and let it sit for a long period of time. Once it works itself in that have better luck. Make sure you have a nice secure resting place for the five star based when hitting with the dead blow. We use a 4lb dead blow in our shop as well and they are removing cylinders from chairs that are 10+ years old everyday -GK
I love how you showed the struggle, i was so dejected watching all these RUclips tutorials do it with ease, while mine is just "nope, not budging an inch"
That's because the demos are made to look easy on purpose. I've never done one of these without hours of struggle. They do come loose eventually but it's long past time someone invented a better mechanism.
I'm a healthy enough chap with reasonable strength. I chose to watch this video first, hoping that, and I don't mean to be condescending, if she can do it I can ( I've already been bashing the thing without result). Big mistake, I tried to get the top part of my hitting it, I did not try the pipe wrench idea - now back to the workshop with renewed enthusiasm. It's great to see videos that are not shot in a professional workshop with a well experienced man making the job look easy.
Great video and will for sure use in future. I had the sinking problem too but when started to dismantle I discovered the adjust handle was bent and sitting proud of the mechanism which meant that the actual seat was pushing on the adjust rod which in turn pushed on the release button!! Hence the problem! I took off the handle, straightened it and filed the top of the rod just to be sure and now it's perfect.
Great video! Clear, concise, no nonsense. Have removed the piston cylinder from the 5 leg base, from 2 old chairs. Tough on timber & rubber mallet, but not a steel hammer lol.Fairly quick. The base.....grrr...first chair WB40 plus pipe wrench = warped based & bin. Working on 2nd chairs base atm, going to try bigger (better?) pipe wrench. Failing that tactical nuke might be the go....
Thank you, it worked perfectly: placing the wrench at the base of the cylinder is key, which is why I couldn't get it off before watching this video. 👍
THANK YOU!! MS. TAYLOR!! I FIGURED OUT ONE SECTION BUT NOT THE CHAIR-SEAT. BEING FRUSTRATED I ALMOST DESTOYED IT. NOT ONLY YOU;RE AS BEAUTIFUL FIXER AS BEAUTIFUL LOOKER. (This SUPER SOCKET is aka GATOR SOCKET from the early 1980's. Please...rename old items. It does work, I like it.)
Her struggling make me feel so much better tryna do this cuz I’m doing the same. I wish more how to videos would be someone just gettin the instructions and figuring it out
I've been banging on the piston with the rubber mallet and it won't go. I've hit it at least 30 times and no movement. The chair was sat in for less than 5 minutes and we are returning it for a refund. Not sure if there are any tricks or why this piston is refusing to budge.
Beautiful lady you save me lots of money, the bottom of my cylinder was scratching my floor, the base of chair is crack, i was a bout to buy a new gaming chair but i gonna just replace the base thank you a lots,god bless you
Thank you for the video. Worked for me but was a lot harder than in the video. 10 year old chair. Needed to use some WD40 before it would start turning. Once it got going, wasn't too bad. Knocking the cylinder from the base was pretty simple.
I just did my older high quality desk chair. It took 2 days. The bottom wheel carriage came off easily enough I guess, but then...... I soaked the part that goes to seat portion in Wd and PB Blaster, No Joy, and I have a large 18" pipe wrench. Tried it again after soaking overnight. No joy. I was putting so much force on it I was afraid I'd break the rest of the chair. I then removed the seat adjustment mechanism from the seat and put it in a large heavy vice so I could hold it in place better. No joy. Then I clamped the cylinder in the vice and tried a HF hydraulic spreader to try and pop it off while wailing on it first with a dead blow, then with a 4lb sledge, but no joy. I went back to the internet thinking maybe mine was bolted or welded on, but no. Finally, I took some of the more fragile parts off of the mechanism took it out side, placed a board on the ground and placed it on the board and then used the front end loader on my tractor to hold it down. I then put a 4' cheater pipe on the pipe wrench handle and gave it everything I had. Joy!!! My chair is now fixed and works great again. All you need is a tractor with a front end loader and a few thousand pounds of weight and 4' pipe wrench and 220lbs of fat man and it comes right off as easy as pie.
my chair is sometimes sinking. will this be fix for it? i mean i can buy new hydraulic system/cylinder and just replace it but is it the right fix for my problem or what is causing my chair to sink. i have pretty expensive chair, probablly out of warranty so i would be over the moon if i can fix it with just replacing some parts
I need help big time.... My cylinder in my office chair has pushed through to where it's dragging the floor and causing damage to my floors/carpet. It happened once hubby moved the chair upstairs and he started to use it. Chair model is 28570R-US. I've had this chair about 3 years. I need to know what to do to fix the cylinder and if I need to replace it, where do I get the part from and how to install it? Help me please. 🙏🏾🙏🏾
I used a claw hammer to tap the cylinder out of the base, a rubber mallet did not work. It loosened with one tap. I had a small pipe wrench to remove the cylinder from the seat but it did not have enough leverage. A couple of taps on the pipe wrench with the claw hammer and out it came.
You should be okay if you use a rubber mallet. Avoid using an actual hammer. Make sure you have a place for the cylinder to safely land once it is dislodged from the base. Also be careful using the pipe wrench. It may scratch up the cylinder and ruin the it. We now suggest using a strap wrench if possible. Hope this helps! -TB
Thanks, there's really no way to put a rag to protect the old one though. Mine was perfectly fine, and a relatively new chair. I just wanted it to be counter height. I tried the rag, and it just made the thing spin, so I put the jaws on the piston and made some marks but it came off relatively clean.
I have a brand new chair and I'm trying to remove the cylinder I did the first part no problem but the second part I even used a hammer but I don't want to keep hitting it because I feel like I'm damaging it.
It's 2024 and despite all our feats of technological and engineering achievements, THIS is the best design we can manage for a chair!?? 🤦♂ Disassembly instructions: Destructive brute force. I got the base off ok, but had 2 x pipe wrenches either side on the top shaft trying to get it out of the chair, with a huge amount of force and it wouldn't budge. Also tried shaking it out, tried prying it out, tried hammering it out, tried a combination. All no use. That thing is stuck in their for life. It's not like they're even cheap. Adjustable office chairs cost a fortune. And nobody thought about making something a bit easier to swap parts around.
Do you know if it's possible to replace the Steelcase Gesture chair cylinder with a Steelcase cylinder/footrest for stools? If so, do you know where to order? I'm trying to upgrade my Gesture to be a bit taller.
This was extremely helpful, thank you. Managed to fix a chair that came with the wrong piston. Pain to get out but this video helped. One tip once the piston has been removed from the chair's base (but still stuck in the wheel frame), place the wheel frame on a corner of something sturdy, like two good tables touching or a balcony's corner rails or chest-high concrete. Let gravity do some of the work for you while you hammer on the piston directly, not the base.
My gas lift cylinder is stuck. It did not come out easily like it did in this video. My mallet was demolished, and the cylinder is still stuck in there. Does anyone have any tips?
Oh it's easy, just buy a massive pipe wrench for the job and do it on the floor and not this weird "on the table" pose like in the video. I bought a cheap but giant 36" wrench off of Amazon and had the cylinder out within 10 seconds after hours of unsuccessful hammering and lubricating with WD40.
Great Video illustration but mine was not easy at all! I had to put it on the floor and a few bangs with the16oz rubber did the trick. Thank you very much.
You rock it worked like a charm but you need ALOT of muscle to get the piston to break the initial wedge. I'm 6' and 300 lbs so must chairs I'm sitting awkwardly. With extra tall piston off Amazon for 20$ I'm super comfy now
The trick I found was when you first put the cylinder in the chair for the first time put a little “never-seize” paste on before hand. Slight turn with the pipe wrench and out it came.
I think they use demo chairs that have been sat on for short periods over years. Any chair thats had 5 years or more (or less) daily use requires a pipe wrench and mallet just to get off the chair seat and a big hammer to to punch the strut out of the feet assembly. Twice the gas strut has only come out when destroyed (in pieces). Same methods as hers and yes you need to lubricate both connectors (to seat and to feet) overnight but you still will need a lot of elbow juice and likely both a mallet and a hammer . (a mallet can of course be a hammer with a rag wrapped a good few times around the head)
This, or a version of this, finally worked for me. I removed the cylinder from the chair first, vs trying to hammer it out from the base first. I had to put the chair on the floor and stand on the wrench, but it worked. And then using the hammer vs the mallot finally worked. The cylinder, wrench and hammer are a bit worse for wear, but I have an adjustable chair again!
I practically destroyed 2 rubber mallets trying to get the cylinder out of the base. But 2 hits from a 4 lb hammer and it came out quickly. Not sure why we're advised to use a rubber mallet.
Thanks BTOD. Really helpful video. Enabled me to repair my faulty chair and not have to buy replacement. Excellent presenter and thorough, well thought through presentation. 5* performance in every respect. Best wishes
Mines unscrewed counterclockwise , At first i tried clockwise like she did in the video and all it did was tighten even more . Anyhow it did come off with no problem
Hidden In Plain Sight Prop two legs of the five star base on a table like Taylor did and hit down on it hard a couple times with a rubber mallet. Can’t be afraid to take some good shots at it. Watch out for your feet and make sure something is protecting the floor. They almost always pop right out -GK
good lord I was hitting the top part of the piston with a hammer to try and knock it away from the underside of the chair and I think I deformed it so it has flattened over the sides and won't go through. Has anyone else made this mistake in a fit of passion? Is there anything else I can do to get it out or am I hosed?
This is the ONLY video that actually had a solution for me. I tried a rubber hammer/mallet with no success (it only chewed up the rubber), but 3 hard hits on the bottom with a real metal hammer (as suggested) popped the cylinder out of the base. As for the top of the cylinder, I had tried "tapping" it as the manufacturer recommended, that didn't work. I tried hitting it hard with a mallet, that didn't work. I bought vice grips and not even those could make it budge. In desperation I went back searching and found this video and BINGO, the pipe wrench! I went to home depot and bought the longest and reasonably priced one there, a 24" (for leverage) pipe wrench for $30. Once I got to the right angle (I put the chair on the floor so I could press down on the wrench) it took only a couple of turns and it slid right out. Hammer and pipe wrench. I could have done the job quickly rather than days had I known this. Thanks for posting this!
So a pipe wrench is 100% needed is what I'm seeing, as anything else doesn't work. Also how does the chair not even shift while you are trying to wrench it. When I've attempted to wrench it the entire chair wants to spin the same way I am trying to turn the piston. I imagine this example chair was a newly placed piston and so easily removed, compared to a piston that my be in the chair a few years or sunken further into the plate
Watch Next: The NEW Gaming Chair Everyone Wants | Herman Miller Vantum Review ruclips.net/video/feIaY_XlG4I/видео.html
Can Taylor just come to my place and repair my chair for me?
Not going to lie .. I chuckled a couple times watching her try to get the cylinder off. :) ... Then I cried when it was my turn and I struggled even more ... The video was very helpful!!
lol same
The original video showed angrier eyes and eyebrows, along with a red circle and "WHOOPS" inside of the circle that covered her mouth.
This comment is no joke. A word of advice to anyone getting ready to do this: pipe wrenches are $8 at Harbor Freight, and some liberal application of WD-40 is a must. Do it right, or do it with 2 hours and a lot of cussing.
@@Phoen1x883You saved me 2 hours. Thank you so much!! I first tried this with a wrench but it ain't no pipe wrench. Went straight to HF after reading your comment and it was over in 10 seconds with some WD-40!
It's friggin hard to loosen one of those things. She did alright.
Nice video. I like how its straight to the point and doesnt have useless information about how office chairs were built back in the 90's.
man all I wanted to do was return this chair I didn't realize I had to become Tim Allen out of pocket
Same here. Did you managed? How?
@@bestopinion9257 plz help me too
I also need to return
@@priyanshuvettori5179 My advise is to return it unmounted if you can. I did not managed to remove it and I have scratched it badly and finally return it unmounted.
The tools you are going to need are an anvil and Thor’s hammer
😂
Please tell me how. Mine doesn't want to release whatever I do.
@@bestopinion9257 The pipe wrench worked for me to remove the bottom half from the rest of the chair, although it scratches the pipe pretty bad. Then I put the bottom half over a trash can with the wheels facing up, put a piece of wood over the part of the piston that sticks out, and whacked it really hard a few times with a hammer. The wood broke, but the pipe fell out. Hope that helps!
@@davidclayton9356 I have scratched already myself. I wanted to make a return. I return it as it is, unmounted and scratched. ;) I see the piston is not expensive, only $15.
Those liars make videos with unused chairs. When I mounted it first time, the piston went out just pulling it a little.
@@bestopinion9257 not working for me too. At last I broke the rod now the chair is not usable 😭
I've spent several minutes turning the pipe wrench counter-clockwise to no avail until I watched your video turning it clock-wise. Counter intuitive for those used to removing bolts counter-clockwise but it worked. Thanks for your video.
Can we please get this comment at the top of the page. 15 minutes of beating at my $2k, 1yr old chair scared af I was going to break some type of mechanism. Came back to the comments, saw this, and a minute later I was done. Thank you internet stranger!
Yes!!! I saw the video and thought immediately.. LEFT HANDED THREADS!!
How is that any different? It is not screwed in, so all that matters is that you move it in any way, right?
@@manthejack Go ahead and try it out yourself. It defies logic as there are no threads yet it only seems to work best counter-clockwise.
I did replace the piston and I did use this video. On my own I would not have realized how essential the pipe wrench is to loosening the old piston. It did take a few good reefs but eventually I felt the piston give a little and then it turned a bit more easily until I was finally able to loosen it a lot and eventually remove it. At first, I thought the pipe wrench might not be the correct tool but when I was finally able to remove the old piston I realized that it was the only correct tool for the job. I also went online to a different site to learn how to insert the new piston properly without damaging anything. But, I did start with this video because it was the most informative one. I just wish the video had shown the entire process of replacing the piston and not just the removal step. This video was really well presented in a simple yet thorough manner which made the process look very doable. I am indebted to the makers of this video. Thank you.
Yes, i tried using a regular wrench and it anything but worked.
Using 16 or 20 inch groove joint pliers works for me.
incredibly helpful; especially seeing the amount of effort you had to use to get it unscrewed...i thought maybe mine was fused on...i just needed to shift the wrench up higher and give it a good few pulls. thank you!
I did it today for the second time. What helped was a large pipe wrench, like shown in the video and a rubber mallet. Tighten the pipe wrench as much as it can be tightened as close to the seat of the chair, then hit the end of it with the mallet. With a few swings, you should get the cylinder from the seat off.
With the base and the cylinder, it's a different story. I recommend disassembling it by pulling the pin, spraying some WD40 in between the base and cylinder on both sides, then trying to crimp it as much as possible all the way around with the wrench and mallet. Then go wild on the bottom with the mallet.
Thx for the video! I had one hell of a time getting the cylinder out of the chair. It's a very old chair that was sealed very tight. I am 6.2 and weigh 250, so I was putting a ton of torque on the pipe wrench after soaking the cylinder overnight in WD40 and other lubricants. I tried for several days, then just gave up. I was able to hammer off the bottom part (with a real hammer, the rubber mallet did not work), but could not get the top part to budge no matter how hard I pushed on the pipe wrench... the whole bracket assembly started to warp I was torquing so hard. What finally did it for me was after I had the pipe wrench firmly secured on the cylinder, I hit it several times hard with a large thor hammer, and it finally broke the seal and twisted off.... whew. So next time I will go straight for hammering the pipe wrench first. good luck everyone!
Great tip. Thanks!
I gave up at this step and bought a new chair
Thanks! The cylinder already detached from the top. the pain was getting the cylinder out of the base. A few wacks with a pipe wrench did the trick. Im glad you showed the host having trouble removing the top. Most vids make things look easy. Great Vid
Amazing how EVERYTHING on RUclips works with ease. My cylinder on my chair will NOT come off. I took a 10 lb hammer to it and it still wont move. Soaked it with Penetrating Blast over night and still wont budge out.
Are you trying to get it out of the 5 star base or the underside of the seat? -RB
@@btodtv 5 star base
Wow... I knew I could count on you. I have been struggling with the removal of the cylinder of a new office chair we have to return. After 3 hours. I gave up and went to You Tube. Thank you so much it took me 2 minutes to remove the cylinder. I fit everything in the box and it is on it's way. I should have checked with you first...thank you.
Thanks! Glad we were able to help! -TK
Are you using a hydraulic cylinder of some sort? It only took you 2 minutes?
If you have a 15 year old chair that's been in daily use, this is not as easy as the video. To remove the cylinder from the chair takes the biggest 'persuader' you have access too, and drenching in WD40 overnight, and also twisting it with a huge levered pipe wrench. After 20/30 minutes banging the dam thing for all you're worth, she'll come off easy LOL
Hi Stephen! You're not wrong about it being difficult on an older chair! This was a random chair I selected, and it is just used to show the process of removing the cylinder. I have had difficulty removing a cylinder on an office chair that was older, which I did a few months after this video. To everyone else, if it is a cylinder that you are recycling, I would definitely suggest hitting the sides of the cylinder to help loosen it. Glad you were still able to remove your cylinder, Stephen! - TK
Don't mess with those cheap rubberized mallets (they don't have enough weight/mass and they deform too easily asgainst the back of the pistion ridges), just use a sizable metal dead blow hammer (looks like a mini thor hammer) and a piece of wood, no need to mess around with fluids. it will knock it out trust me. its not easy to dislodge something with a tool that isn't as strong then what you are removing.
So true. I have personally experienced cold welded cylinders to the spider they were so case hardened. The metal will leave weld marks were it friction welded itself. You really don't want this to happen if it's a $2000 high end task chair. Might be better to gently heat the spider base and put a sack of dry ice to the cylinder to uncase harden it. Fortunately you will never friction weld or case harden an ABS chair spider though they occasionally crack at the sleeve socket.
I second (or fourth or fifth) this comment! My chair isn't even that old, and I'm assuming the huge levered pipe wrench is the difference because twisting that darn cylinder off with some locking wrenches and a mallet took forever. The chance of reusing that old cylinder is over! Either way, this video was super helpful to understand that in most cases, it's entirely friction fitted. Thank you, all!
Hi Stephen - I am going through this today and for my particular chair (That I bought at Staples about 15 years ago) - that cylinder will not budge even with lots of persuasion.
Boy, did that work slick.
I used PB Penetrating Catalyst both where the chrome piston shaft goes into the chair seat and down at the bottom where the much thicker piston bottom goes into the chair base. Let the catalyst work for 15 minutes, and used a 24 inch pipe wrench and they both broke loose albeit with a pretty heavy force. I had a plastic lever extender, but did not need it.
I did everything on the plastic floor pad and got sufficient leverage to apply to the pipe wrench. No need to put the chair on a counter or anything like that.
Thanks for the tips from about 3 videos on the penetrating catalyst, a big pipe wrench and anyone can do it. It took me about 3 minutes not counting the soaking time for the catalyst.
This helped me take apart my new uncomfortable chair to send it back to the seller, thanks!
What if the old cylinder is wedged super tight & hammering it with the mallet doesn't disconnect it from the base (and actually starts to destroy the mallet)?
A genuinely natural, sincere and honest presentation. Better even than showing that a woman (not some muscle headed jock) can do the removal. More to the point, how authentic was her attack to loosen the cylinder shaft. It very accurately shows how torque-tight-to-lock the factory assembles its products. One of the main battles the unsuspecting DIY’er confronts and frequently risks tearing up the “patient” before “surgery”. She mentions that the “cylinder is NOT SCREWED ON”. Are “all” cylinders thusly shrink-fitted? Otherwise, I would “try” the turning-direction in the COUNTERCLOCKWISE direction. Accept for law offices, pipe wrenches are a hard find in the rolling-desk chair environment. Thanks.
Thank You Taylor. I don't have a pipe wrench, just 2 channel locks and the base kept moving around so I screwed it back onto the chair to keep it stable, took a deep breath with the channel lock and it worked.!!!! Thank you.!!!
1:37 -> Out of all the videos I watched, this was the best one to watch. I did not have a rubber mallet like so but I used a kettlebell to bash that same spot and took it off in seconds!!!
Glad it helped! Thank you for the kind words -GK
I bought a new frame/mechanism for a nice used but wobbly executive chair. I am guessing the executive was plus sized and spent a lot of time in that chair. Your pipe wrench tip helped, but.... Two hours later after hammering, blow torching, crow barring, and finally cutting away the old frame with an angle grinder, the precious cylinder finally came loose. Scarred for life but still functioning. Now I have a nice leather non-wobbly executive chair. Amazon has the frames, mine is very nice for 16 some dollars.
My pipe wrench just digs into the cylinder and causes it to shred the metal on the cylinder, it won't turn. I think the cylinder has been sat on so much it has fused with the base. Does anyone have any other ideas? My cylinder now has so many bite marks. I have made it as tight as I can get it (even using other tools to tighten it more).
Very easy with this method! Once I found my pipe wrench took less than 10 minutes to swap in a new one. Thanks!
Thank you it work perfectly for my chair
Absolutely Fabulous, I learned more in this videos then I did in the other three that I watched. It takes a woman to show you how. .Job well done. I would like to add a couple of thing about the process that made it a lot easier for me. 1) use a little of WD40 on the base of the wheel standard and also on the top hole nearest the chair seat. 2) I found that if I us a steel hammer or a hand sledge, a couple of taps on the pipe wrench makes much less stress. I really appreciate your video and will tell friends and family of BTODtv. Now I'm sliding around my office is perfect height. . . . You did it in 2:30 mins and I wasn't far behind. . . . LOL
Hi guys. I have an eames office chair that is stuck in recline. Got any videos on how to fix this?
I want to know if I can buy the chair that I want, which has no wheels, and then buy another cheap swivel chair with wheels and swap the bases. If the gas cylinders area standard guage then I should be able to do this right?
would it be bad to put grease in those joints? on the last two chairs i had i couldnt remove the piston with a 4lb dead blow so i was trying to find a way to make it easier on the next chair.
A lot of people will use WD-40 and let it sit for a long period of time. Once it works itself in that have better luck. Make sure you have a nice secure resting place for the five star based when hitting with the dead blow. We use a 4lb dead blow in our shop as well and they are removing cylinders from chairs that are 10+ years old everyday -GK
I love how you showed the struggle, i was so dejected watching all these RUclips tutorials do it with ease, while mine is just "nope, not budging an inch"
That's because the demos are made to look easy on purpose. I've never done one of these without hours of struggle. They do come loose eventually but it's long past time someone invented a better mechanism.
I'm a healthy enough chap with reasonable strength. I chose to watch this video first, hoping that, and I don't mean to be condescending, if she can do it I can ( I've already been bashing the thing without result). Big mistake, I tried to get the top part of my hitting it, I did not try the pipe wrench idea - now back to the workshop with renewed enthusiasm. It's great to see videos that are not shot in a professional workshop with a well experienced man making the job look easy.
Great video and will for sure use in future. I had the sinking problem too but when started to dismantle I discovered the adjust handle was bent and sitting proud of the mechanism which meant that the actual seat was pushing on the adjust rod which in turn pushed on the release button!! Hence the problem! I took off the handle, straightened it and filed the top of the rod just to be sure and now it's perfect.
Great video! Clear, concise, no nonsense. Have removed the piston cylinder from the 5 leg base, from 2 old chairs. Tough on timber & rubber mallet, but not a steel hammer lol.Fairly quick. The base.....grrr...first chair WB40 plus pipe wrench = warped based & bin. Working on 2nd chairs base atm, going to try bigger (better?) pipe wrench. Failing that tactical nuke might be the go....
Do I really need to detach the mechanism from the cylinder if all I want to replace is the chair base?
Thank you, it worked perfectly: placing the wrench at the base of the cylinder is key, which is why I couldn't get it off before watching this video. 👍
Are all chairs made this way? I have a Harpers, and there's 4 rivets around the cylinder holding a plate. The whole base is riveted together.
NO> I can't get it loose from the chair base!! Nor can my husband. *cries.
same
I used a pair of vice grips. Great tool to have around.
SHE LIED!
Not sure what vitamins she takes but my 18 yr son, my steel vice and I need to take them to remove the shaft from our chair.
THANK YOU!! MS. TAYLOR!! I FIGURED OUT ONE SECTION BUT NOT THE CHAIR-SEAT. BEING FRUSTRATED I ALMOST DESTOYED IT. NOT ONLY YOU;RE AS BEAUTIFUL FIXER AS BEAUTIFUL LOOKER.
(This SUPER SOCKET is aka GATOR SOCKET from the early 1980's. Please...rename old items. It does work, I like it.)
Her struggling make me feel so much better tryna do this cuz I’m doing the same. I wish more how to videos would be someone just gettin the instructions and figuring it out
will the cylinder damaged if removed using a pipe wrench?
I've been banging on the piston with the rubber mallet and it won't go. I've hit it at least 30 times and no movement. The chair was sat in for less than 5 minutes and we are returning it for a refund. Not sure if there are any tricks or why this piston is refusing to budge.
Beautiful lady you save me lots of money, the bottom of my cylinder was scratching my floor, the base of chair is crack, i was a bout to buy a new gaming chair but i gonna just replace the base thank you a lots,god bless you
what should i do if the cylander is too tight in the wheel-base?
Thank you for the video. Worked for me but was a lot harder than in the video. 10 year old chair. Needed to use some WD40 before it would start turning. Once it got going, wasn't too bad. Knocking the cylinder from the base was pretty simple.
I just did my older high quality desk chair. It took 2 days. The bottom wheel carriage came off easily enough I guess, but then......
I soaked the part that goes to seat portion in Wd and PB Blaster, No Joy, and I have a large 18" pipe wrench. Tried it again after soaking overnight. No joy. I was putting so much force on it I was afraid I'd break the rest of the chair. I then removed the seat adjustment mechanism from the seat and put it in a large heavy vice so I could hold it in place better. No joy. Then I clamped the cylinder in the vice and tried a HF hydraulic spreader to try and pop it off while wailing on it first with a dead blow, then with a 4lb sledge, but no joy. I went back to the internet thinking maybe mine was bolted or welded on, but no. Finally, I took some of the more fragile parts off of the mechanism took it out side, placed a board on the ground and placed it on the board and then used the front end loader on my tractor to hold it down. I then put a 4' cheater pipe on the pipe wrench handle and gave it everything I had. Joy!!! My chair is now fixed and works great again. All you need is a tractor with a front end loader and a few thousand pounds of weight and 4' pipe wrench and 220lbs of fat man and it comes right off as easy as pie.
I fucked up, I used a sledge and it deformed it, should I use a grinder or should I push it out from the top?`
This video will help me look like a super smart and capable mechanic tomorrow!
Thanks, i have a chair not even 2 months old and the cylinder doesn't work, i just received the replacement and wondered if there was a better way
is the cylinder unusable once it's removed? I forgot to put the metal cover and need to remove it :/
my chair is sometimes sinking. will this be fix for it? i mean i can buy new hydraulic system/cylinder and just replace it but is it the right fix for my problem or what is causing my chair to sink. i have pretty expensive chair, probablly out of warranty so i would be over the moon if i can fix it with just replacing some parts
My cylinder keeps dragging the surface and scraping against the slip mat. Is there a way to preserve it and adjust its height?
Many thanks in advance!
How do I replace the cylinder on a Hinobi Pro?
I need help big time.... My cylinder in my office chair has pushed through to where it's dragging the floor and causing damage to my floors/carpet. It happened once hubby moved the chair upstairs and he started to use it. Chair model is 28570R-US. I've had this chair about 3 years. I need to know what to do to fix the cylinder and if I need to replace it, where do I get the part from and how to install it? Help me please. 🙏🏾🙏🏾
I used a claw hammer to tap the cylinder out of the base, a rubber mallet did not work. It loosened with one tap. I had a small pipe wrench to remove the cylinder from the seat but it did not have enough leverage. A couple of taps on the pipe wrench with the claw hammer and out it came.
Great advice. Get as close as possible to the mechanism
how do u get the red cap offf
Will it damage the cylinder, as I am disamling the chair only to make transportation easier?
If you use a rubber mallet and make sure to have it land on something soft, you should be okay -GK
I need to replace the star, but keep the original cylinder. By hitting the cylinder with a hammer, may damage it?
You should be okay if you use a rubber mallet. Avoid using an actual hammer. Make sure you have a place for the cylinder to safely land once it is dislodged from the base. Also be careful using the pipe wrench. It may scratch up the cylinder and ruin the it. We now suggest using a strap wrench if possible. Hope this helps! -TB
@@btodtv Thanks, done with a normal hammer with a school rubber on its head, tied up with tape. lol
Thanks, there's really no way to put a rag to protect the old one though. Mine was perfectly fine, and a relatively new chair. I just wanted it to be counter height. I tried the rag, and it just made the thing spin, so I put the jaws on the piston and made some marks but it came off relatively clean.
I have a brand new chair and I'm trying to remove the cylinder I did the first part no problem but the second part I even used a hammer but I don't want to keep hitting it because I feel like I'm damaging it.
Thank you but what about the replacing part? Is it just everything in reverse with a new cylinder and are they pretty much universal?
I appreciate the instructions, but I've done this twice now, and it's been a lot harder than what's shown here.
Can i remove the base without taking out the cylinder?
It's 2024 and despite all our feats of technological and engineering achievements, THIS is the best design we can manage for a chair!?? 🤦♂
Disassembly instructions: Destructive brute force.
I got the base off ok, but had 2 x pipe wrenches either side on the top shaft trying to get it out of the chair, with a huge amount of force and it wouldn't budge. Also tried shaking it out, tried prying it out, tried hammering it out, tried a combination. All no use. That thing is stuck in their for life.
It's not like they're even cheap. Adjustable office chairs cost a fortune. And nobody thought about making something a bit easier to swap parts around.
Do you know if it's possible to replace the Steelcase Gesture chair cylinder with a Steelcase cylinder/footrest for stools? If so, do you know where to order? I'm trying to upgrade my Gesture to be a bit taller.
This was extremely helpful, thank you. Managed to fix a chair that came with the wrong piston. Pain to get out but this video helped. One tip once the piston has been removed from the chair's base (but still stuck in the wheel frame), place the wheel frame on a corner of something sturdy, like two good tables touching or a balcony's corner rails or chest-high concrete. Let gravity do some of the work for you while you hammer on the piston directly, not the base.
My gas lift cylinder is stuck. It did not come out easily like it did in this video. My mallet was demolished, and the cylinder is still stuck in there. Does anyone have any tips?
Thanks a lot. The hint of laying on a table up side down, was the killer for me
its not as easy as it looks it takes alot more effort if u have a old chair.
Oh it's easy, just buy a massive pipe wrench for the job and do it on the floor and not this weird "on the table" pose like in the video. I bought a cheap but giant 36" wrench off of Amazon and had the cylinder out within 10 seconds after hours of unsuccessful hammering and lubricating with WD40.
@@Terkzorr True, It took a max of 5-10 seconds with a giant wrench
Best instruction. Short and sweet. And Beautiful!
Great Video illustration but mine was not easy at all! I had to put it on the floor and a few bangs with the16oz rubber did the trick. Thank you very much.
My chair is not reclining anymore ...any suggestion
You rock it worked like a charm but you need ALOT of muscle to get the piston to break the initial wedge. I'm 6' and 300 lbs so must chairs I'm sitting awkwardly. With extra tall piston off Amazon for 20$ I'm super comfy now
Taylor YOU ARE A BOSS AND A HERO! had no idea how to remove itb
THANK YOU! Happy to help! -TK
It is hard but with the right tools it becomes easy. I bought a 24in pipe wrench and had a 20oz metal hammer. It was less than 1 min.
Thanks for the pipe wrench idea and glad that you mentioned protecting the cylinder if you need to re-use it.
The trick I found was when you first put the cylinder in the chair for the first time put a little “never-seize” paste on before hand. Slight turn with the pipe wrench and out it came.
Thanks for showing me how to remove the old one. But how do I install the new one????
Just drop it in the base with the thick part on bottom. -Ryan
Does the cylinder has thread to fit on the chair?
No, it's friction fitted. Not all chairs are the same, but I've never seen one threaded.
I think they use demo chairs that have been sat on for short periods over years.
Any chair thats had 5 years or more (or less) daily use requires a pipe wrench and mallet just to get off the chair seat
and a big hammer to to punch the strut out of the feet assembly. Twice the gas strut has only come out when destroyed (in pieces).
Same methods as hers and yes you need to lubricate both connectors (to seat and to feet) overnight but you still will
need a lot of elbow juice and likely both a mallet and a hammer . (a mallet can of course be a hammer with a rag wrapped
a good few times around the head)
mine is stuck.
several full power wacks
and it doesn't move
Clear, concise and helpful.
Thank you for the video, it only took a couple mins to remove the old one.
rotate clockwise to loosen?
Cylinders are not screwed in. So you can rotate in either direction to loosen. It is about breaking it free - RG
Makes it look so easy, I'm taking a break from my first unsuccessful try. Darn thing is really in there.
This, or a version of this, finally worked for me. I removed the cylinder from the chair first, vs trying to hammer it out from the base first. I had to put the chair on the floor and stand on the wrench, but it worked. And then using the hammer vs the mallot finally worked. The cylinder, wrench and hammer are a bit worse for wear, but I have an adjustable chair again!
Thanks so much. It worked. I worked up a little bit of a sweat, but I'm an old lady!
I practically destroyed 2 rubber mallets trying to get the cylinder out of the base. But 2 hits from a 4 lb hammer and it came out quickly. Not sure why we're advised to use a rubber mallet.
this is great. I used a little wd-40 first letting that soak in for a minute then I used your technique which worked flawlessly. Very little effort.
Awesome! Glad it worked for you! -TB
Thanks BTOD. Really helpful video. Enabled me to repair my faulty chair and not have to buy replacement. Excellent presenter and thorough, well thought through presentation. 5* performance in every respect. Best wishes
Mines unscrewed counterclockwise , At first i tried clockwise like she did in the video and all it did was tighten even more . Anyhow it did come off with no problem
I struggled a lot until I got a pipe wrench. Thanks for this video!
Glad it helped! -GK
Looks like I need a pipe wrench.
Yes, I would recommend a 14" pipe wrench from Home Depot or Harbor Freight -GK
BTOD.com Oh. Thank you. Because I was almost got a 10” one.
Worked like a charm. Getting the cylinder off of the base was the hard part.
Hidden In Plain Sight Prop two legs of the five star base on a table like Taylor did and hit down on it hard a couple times with a rubber mallet. Can’t be afraid to take some good shots at it. Watch out for your feet and make sure something is protecting the floor. They almost always pop right out -GK
Pipe Wrench relevant: ruclips.net/video/8HE9OQ4FnkQ/видео.htmlm49s
The piston on my chair was ULTRA stubborn. I had to put it in a vice to do all of this stuff. Finally did it though.
Does this actually work ?
Just used your video to repair my chair and it's like new again . Thanks for the info in the video .
Ya my 14" pipe wrench and all 225 pounds of me hanging off the end bouncing up and down told me... give up. I may need to try a pneumatic jack.
Thank you !!! I was really struggling to get the cylinder out.
Glad this video helped! Thanks for watching! -TK
very help full. I used a large Channel Lock as my pipe wrench was unavailable. Thanks,
good lord I was hitting the top part of the piston with a hammer to try and knock it away from the underside of the chair and I think I deformed it so it has flattened over the sides and won't go through.
Has anyone else made this mistake in a fit of passion? Is there anything else I can do to get it out or am I hosed?
This is the ONLY video that actually had a solution for me. I tried a rubber hammer/mallet with no success (it only chewed up the rubber), but 3 hard hits on the bottom with a real metal hammer (as suggested) popped the cylinder out of the base. As for the top of the cylinder, I had tried "tapping" it as the manufacturer recommended, that didn't work. I tried hitting it hard with a mallet, that didn't work. I bought vice grips and not even those could make it budge. In desperation I went back searching and found this video and BINGO, the pipe wrench! I went to home depot and bought the longest and reasonably priced one there, a 24" (for leverage) pipe wrench for $30. Once I got to the right angle (I put the chair on the floor so I could press down on the wrench) it took only a couple of turns and it slid right out.
Hammer and pipe wrench. I could have done the job quickly rather than days had I known this. Thanks for posting this!
So a pipe wrench is 100% needed is what I'm seeing, as anything else doesn't work. Also how does the chair not even shift while you are trying to wrench it. When I've attempted to wrench it the entire chair wants to spin the same way I am trying to turn the piston. I imagine this example chair was a newly placed piston and so easily removed, compared to a piston that my be in the chair a few years or sunken further into the plate