Originally Posted by
Ged117
I finished rebuilding my '53 AW hub I got for cheap as it was frozen / rusted solid, having been raided for parts and left in a shed for many a year by the PO. Unfortunately, somehow I broke the axle key...I can't grasp how it happened. Re-assembled mechanism installed into the shell / wheel after testing, then I ticked it along and it was suddenly stuck - I opened it up, and a piece of axle key was jammed next to the clutch. It was a replacement part, as the original was missing. Anyone here have an axle key break? Now I need to have it all apart again...bummer.
I haven't had an axle key break, but I have had them strip, so they no longer hold the indicator rod. Just as annoying. There's something to be said about the ones that use a two-piece indicator rod that traps the axle key between the two parts of the rod. No need to open the hub if the rod strips; just replace the rod.