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Hi,
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My '88 Ironman Expert, which was actually MANUFACTURED in
'87, uses caged bearing sets in both the bottom bracket and
headset. I would suggest you remove the bottom bracket and
remove the caged bearings and clean everything with mineral
spirits and see how all looks. If you have no rust on the
bearings (surface rust on the cages doesn't matter) and they
look bright and shiny, you can just clean them THOROUGHLY
with mineral spirits and a tooth brush, dry them THOROUGHLY
(a hair dryer helps), repack them with grease and reinstall
them.
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When reinstalling them, be sure their orientation is
correct (ie. they only go onto the spindle one way, so see
how they come off and make a note of it. If you forget,
try one way then another. It's pretty obvious which is
correct as the cage binds on the spindle shoulder if the
orientation is wrong).
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If your bearings don't clean up bright and shiny or if your
cages are badly rusted or if you need to replace your spindle
because of pitted shoulders, then take all to your bike
shop and buy replacements.
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It is possible (but not probable) that your Expert has loose
bottom bracket bearings (no cages) but the assessment of
them should be the same (bright and shinny=OK). Clean them
up and dry them THOROUGHLY and then fill the fixed bottom
bracket cup with grease and stick the bearings for that side
into the grease when reassembling the spindle and the
adjustable cup, also filled with grease and bearings.
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If your LBS was next door and not 25 miles away, I'd say
buy new bearings, caged or not. They're cheap and so it is
sometimes penny wise and pound foolish not to change them
when you have them all apart (this goes for the headset and
hubs too). But I remember seeing pics of your "new" Expert
a few days ago in C&V and it looks in excellent cosmetic
condition and so it is likely that your bearings are OK
as were mine on my Expert.
.
Oh, and if your bearings are loose, not caged, be sure and
count how many on each side so you know how many go there
and that you haven't lost one. Be VERY careful disassembling
your bottom bracket, headset and hubs as loose bearings,
trapped in there for 20+ years, will try to get away from
you for sure and they can hide from you and make wrenching
miserable. Assume you will lose loose bearings: buy extras.
.
Twelve ounce tuna cans are great for washing caged bearings.
Plastic 35mm film cans are great for washing loose bearings
and small hub parts like cones and washers.
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PS - I just checked my '88 Expert's service record and
my Kajita bottom bracket on that bike has 11 loose balls
on each side. Its spindle is 111mm. Mine also has a
plastic sleeve which helps keep water and crud from the
frame out of the bottom bracket shell. Be careful not
to damage it when you remove it for cleaning. And
grease the outside of it before putting it back in.
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If your bottom bracket is Kajita and your spindle is
111mm, then your bottom bracket is probably the same
as mine. This is likely but your Expert is an '87
MODEL while mine is an '88, its '87 MANUFACTURE date
notwithstanding. So there could be a difference.
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If your Shimano 105 headset is the same as mine,
then you will find caged bearings there. They have
20 5/32" balls per cage.
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Good luck!
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