First Re-Lube since 1980's.... Square Taper Peugeot Branded 3 piece crank.
Plan is to Clean, replace bearings, and Re-Lube. Have tool for pulling arms.
My question...
If I find caged bearings, what is the conscientious.....????
Put in Loose bearings for more contact, (probably 11 because I won't find the original caged bearings....)
OR Try and find caged bearings... ?
Other than more bearings==better contact... Any suggestions?
I do have access to loose Grade 25 bearings at the local bike shop...
Thanks.
Don't worry about finding caged bearings, just put in loose. Grade 25 are actually better than you need for a bike - go ahead and use them - 11 1/4 inch. Use a heavy enough grease and it will hold the bearings in the cup for assembly. Do NOT remove/loosen the fixed cup unless you need to replace it - and if it is worn you need to determine whether you have English or French threads (look for writing on the cups 35x1 is French/Swiss.
Thanks again for the tip about not removing the fixed cup....
Using the Park puller tool, Got it apart without incident, but there is this dry, leathery tan colored 'stuff' that must be dried grease! I heard some noise with the chain & pedal arms off, but when apart, the Cups and shaft/cones look good, thank goodness.... Found 11 Loose bearings on each side.
I'm soaking the tan stuff with WD40.... as it doesn't want to come off easily... and I don't want to scratch surfaces I shouldn't...
Convienent stopping point.
The plastic 'accordion' thing I found is just a cover to keep dust/rust off the shaft & grease, right?
Cleaning begins!
This morning gave 'tan stuff' another coating of WD40.... Looks like it's helping...
One last thing from last night.... When I took the first pedal arm off the crank, I indicated which shaft corner of the mounting square faced the pedal.... Did same on Gear side when that came off...
I haven't seen information on this, but I decided in case there was some subtle manufacturing differences in this shaft, putting the pedal arms back on in exactly the same place that they came off from, would be a good thing..
WD40 isn't really a grease breaker. Mineral spirits, rubbing alcohol, even a strong detergent might do better at dissolving the old dry grease. If you want to scrub the bearing surfaces, just use something like a green scrubby pad or toothbrush. As long as you don't use anything metal, you won't harm the surface. Marking and reinstalling the parts in the same orientation is probably a bit of overkill, but it certainly won't hurt.
Good grease and getting the bearing adjustment right when you put it back together is the critical step. Sounds like you're proceeding well...
Yes, WD40 is not great at dissolving grease. Get some mineral spirits (the real stuff, not the fake "eco-friendly" kind. You could take the stuff off with a screwdriver and not be likely to do any damage to the bearing - scrub away.
between paint thinner, toothbrush and small screwdriver, got it off last night... (reporting got lost in the pedal & rear wheel work)....
Cleaning now continues in earnest! I hope to re-assemble Crank and install Sunday while Wife watches the Bear's Game...
On determining the tight-ness of bearings...
I would assume that I'd start loose, rotate the crank for a minute to seat the bearings in the grease in the cups... then tighten a bit, and repeat...
When I get to optimum position, do I: back off just a bit, assuming that the locking ring will tighten it slightly as it snugs?
As you see, I'm not averse to approaching this carefully, with more steps than normal!
When I am done, should I feel any hint of a movement when I grab and 'rock' the gear assy laterally from the crank? What should the correct "Feel" of a perfectly adjusted crank assy be?
Never having seen one done..... Thanks....
- Assemble the BB
- put on the drive side crank arm (you'll use it to help you tell if there's play in the BB)
- hand tighten the adjusting cup, give it a spin or two to seat the bearings
- tighten the lock ring
- the lock ring will actually loosen the adjusting cup, so take that into account
- the lock ring will also try to turn the adjusting cup, so ideally you hold the adjusting cup with one hand while you tighten the lock ring with the other.
- hold the end of the crank arm on the other side and gently try to feel if there is any side to side play in the BB. Test it at a couple different points of the clock (i.e. straight up, pointing back, etc.)
- if you feel no play, try the whole thing slightly looser until you get play, and then tighten one notch.
- you want it as loose as possible without play
- if you find that you can feel play at some angles but not at others, that means that everything in there is not perfectly straight. Best compromise is usually to have a tiny bit of play in some areas rather than trying to get rid of it completely.
- Final "feeling" should be smooth easy rotation, no binding, but no play either.
- check it again after you've ridden on it
Do be aware that a BB is never going to feel as smooth as a comparable quality hub - some "rumbling" feel is perfectly normal.
It's 24 degrees and 2" of snow outside, but the Peugeot crank is back in, and runs quite smooth!
I'm testing it the only way I can right now...Suspended from basement rafters by bunji cords...
At least I can test it that way! Thanks for the support information...
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