Adiankur

I have completely broken down and old bike that I am working on and after cleaning a couple of the parts, I found that, even after drying, they will get a little bit of rust. I added some oil to them, as they will sit until all of the bike parts are cleaned and ready to put back on. Dont worry, I have a complete second bike to follow as a diagram to put the first back together.

My question is, do I need to put some degreaser on the parts, to remove the oil, before putting the grease on?

Also, I have some High Temp, disc drum, wheel bearing, automotive grease. It's blue in color, if that helps. Is this acceptable to use on bike parts, or should I get something else?

mike

The important thing is to completely clean the parts before relubrication. You don't want any remaining grit to damage the parts.

Degreaser is a good part of cleaning. However, it is VERY important to get all of the degreaser off the parts and make sure the part is dry before you re-lube.

Adiankur

The parts were very clean. Degreaser and toothbrush, water submersion/rinse and dried. The oil was just there after the cleaning in the interim, until I put them back together. I had read that some oils/greases shouldnt be used together, and was worried that the oil placed on the parts could interfere with the grease I will use when I finally assemble the bike.

Cadfael

There are some aerosol product that will completely remove any lubes and then evoporate completely away. I use electrical cleaner to get the same effect. Deb's also produce a water soluable decreaser, it is mainly for automotive parts, but it works just as well wth bikes... but having said that there are many water soluable citrus degreasers for bikes.

supcom

Unless you're planning to repaint the frame, there's really no reason to strip everything off the bike before reassembly. In general, you'd be better off removing, cleaning, and reassembling each component as you go. there's less chance of losing or damaging parts that way.

If you're worried about mixing whatever oil and grease you use, then simply wipe down the parts with a rage before reassebly. However, a little oil on the parts is not likely to cause a problem. As far as I know, most grease is made by using a thickening agent with oil and should not be a problem.

Adiankur

Well, I took it apart because the bike was sooooooo filthy, and all the parts were getting in the way of cleaning it. Also, I have individual ziplock baggies for each part, front brake, rear brake, bottom bracket, etc...They are all labeled, and set aside for re-assembly. I also took it apart, because I have never taken anything off of a bike before, and I wanted to see how it all worked. The only thing I havent been able to get off yet, is the freewheel, as I dont have an extractor, and am not sure what type to buy yet.

I was a bit surprised when everything came off of the bike so easily though. I was expecting some parts to be more trouble. Considering the bike is 30 years old, I was expecting more wear on the inner workings, but the bearings, which i will replace anyway, were all pretty bright and had a nice shine. All the grease inside had turned into a solid paste, almost like caramel though.

bkaapcke

Let's see, citrus degreaser is acidic, and water based. Precisely the wrong thing to put on lubricated, precision parts. Brake Klean is what you need guys. bk

splytz1

What kind of freewheel is it? There are several common types of old freewheels - old Suntour ones, which will have 2 notches inside the freewheel, newer Suntour ones, 4 notches, and Regina and Atom freewheels, which have splines inside the freewheel but use the same extractor tool. If it's a piece of crap like a Falcon, you're screwed and will need to destroy it to get it off the hub!

Adiankur

Says shimano on the wheel...I think, but there are two little notches on it. maybe its so dirty, it just looks like shimano. everything else on the bike is shimano, mid 1970's

splytz1

sounds like an early suntour freewheel. You need a special tool to remove it, but, the tool is pretty cheap. You will NOT be able to remove the freewheel without the tool, a 30 yr old freewheel can be tough to get out.

check this out:

https://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=48

the inside of the freewheel often gets gunked up - clean it out and you will probably be able to read the manufacturer on the black part just inside the small cog. I would recommend soaking in penetrating oil for a couple days before attempting removal.

Adiankur

Yup it is a suntour. Now that you mentioned it, I was able to make out the lettering.

Ok, I was wrong. Now I can really make out the lettering, and it seems to be Shimano.

gonna check again, it will probably change into something else shortly.

12 splines Fr-1