Ultegra hub friction
02-25-12, 06:31 PM
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Ultegra hub friction
I just overhauled a set of Ultegra 6600 hubs with fresh bearings/grease. The front was no problem at all. The rear is causing me some issues - I'm noticing a LOT of friction that seems to be coming from the left (non-drive) side seal ring. The cones are correctly adjusted (slight amount of play).
I tried flipping the seal but then it just seems to press directly on the ball bearings, although I've taken it apart so many times now I can't recall exactly which way the seal faced any more.
With the left seal removed there is just a small amount of resistance as I would expect with fresh grease.
Anybody have an idea what my issue is? I've overhauled other sets of hubs (lx/stx/deore) and never had an issue with so much friction.
I tried flipping the seal but then it just seems to press directly on the ball bearings, although I've taken it apart so many times now I can't recall exactly which way the seal faced any more.
With the left seal removed there is just a small amount of resistance as I would expect with fresh grease.
Anybody have an idea what my issue is? I've overhauled other sets of hubs (lx/stx/deore) and never had an issue with so much friction.
02-25-12, 06:35 PM
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Did you force the seal too far onto the cone or axle so it rubs the hub shell and/or bearings?
02-25-12, 06:57 PM
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I just pushed the seal in with finger pressure until it seated against the hub, then threaded on the cone/dust cover. I'll try popping the seal out a bit and see if it helps.
Last edited by Slowparker; 02-25-12 at 07:03 PM.
02-26-12, 02:41 PM
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Take the wheel out of the bike and check the freehub body for excessive play.
One feature of Shimano's freehub design is that the hub bearings reference two moveable objects on the driving side. If the freehub body loosens, it will cause the hub width to effectively increase. This will cause finely adjusted hub bearings to become misadjusted on the too much friction side.
One feature of Shimano's freehub design is that the hub bearings reference two moveable objects on the driving side. If the freehub body loosens, it will cause the hub width to effectively increase. This will cause finely adjusted hub bearings to become misadjusted on the too much friction side.
