Hello all,
Here's an update on my adventures into replacing the FH body. It turns out my chain whip had a 15 mm cone wrench, so all I needed was a 10 mm hex wrench which I got from the hardware store. I took everything apart and discovered what the problem was: the FH body had cracked length-wise into three pieces. Also, one of the pawls was floating around, but I don't know if this happened during the disassembly. So my follow-up question for the mechanics is why did this happen? I can only guess that I must have over-tightened the cassette the last time I replaced it 12 months ago. Could there be any other reason? I'm not an aggressive rider, and none of the hills to and from work are too tough. I rarely get out of my seat.
Also, I need some help with the vocabulary. I've identified the bearings (balls), the pawls (beaver teeth inside the FH body). I am assuming that the races are where the bearings sit, and the cones are what screw into the bearings to keep them in the races. Is this a correct assumption?
There is no sign of roughness, pitting or discoloration with the bearings. The surfaces the bearings are in contact with seem fine too. I cleaned everything thoroughly with some WD-40. Nonetheless, I will replace the bearings as recommened, and use the proper bike grease for re-assembly.
By the way, what is the difference between grade 25 and grade 300 bearings besides price. Will the less expensive grade 300's get me to work and back for, say, the next 5,000 miles?
Thanks!