Bicycle Mechanics - Please help with repair the old shimano 3sc hub

I took apart the 3 speed hub from an old bike given to me. The thin bearing was broken. It's about 2 inches in diameter. Where do I go to buy the replacement bearing for this?

I appreciate any help. Thanks

i would just get another old wheel or parts bike

Which model hub?

Shimano F & G models usually have cartridge innards. When they act up, you just pull the cartridge and replace it with a new one (but they might be hard to source these days).

Shimano 3.3.3 hubs are rebuildable, but I'm not clear which part you're referring to. Is it the large bearing retainer at the bottom of this diagram?

http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/shimano0333.jpg

I took apart the 3 speed hub from an old bike given to me. The thin bearing was broken. It's about 2 inches in diameter. Where do I go to buy the replacement bearing for this?

I appreciate any help. Thanks

As above, you need to know the hob model to figure out an exact replacement. Parts for Shimano 3-speed hubs were hard to get even when they were being manufactured, so finding replacement parts now will be very tough. I like Reptiles suggestion of just getting a parts bike.

An alternative would be to remove the retainer and rebuild the hub using loose bearings. This is also tough, and requires advanced mechanical experience.

Thank you Jeff Wills and John Thompson for your inputs . I guess this bike looks like it is 20 years old. It will be hard to find the bearing for this. The marking on the hub is Shimano 3sc, so I guess that is the model number? It doesn't look like the diagram John posted. I will try to take a picture of the hub and post it.

Thanks,
Khanh

I have a Shimano 3sp hub I just wrecked with this thing (http://bikezilla.weebly.com/) (broke the axle)... it could be the same model... I'll have to check.

Might be able to mail you the bit you need, drop me a PM

If it's the cartridge type I have a spare. Looks different on F and G types, though: http://oldroads.com/shim3spd.html

I think you mean this bearing race.

Sorry to bump this over one year thread but there is very little info on the Shimano 3SC hub.

This site has some very useful info on bearing adjustment but there must be different models because mine is a bit different. I have Green's book on old 333 hub overhaul but it is very different.

http://www.lafn.org/~dave/trans/bicycle/shimano3sc.html

Anyway, I got a bike with this hub and I really liked it. It is a bit rough spinning even after solvent flush/oil so I took it apart last night. What I found was a deformed bearing cage as posted above. It has 16 ball bearings in it.

One ball bearing was already out of the cage and a couple cannot rotate freely.

I am trying to find one like this before I attempt loose balls.

The 3SC uses two of these large bearing cages and another smaller one fo the sprocket.

Most non-coaster brake bubs use one large cage and two small cages.