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Servicing wellgo pedals with lose bearings

Old 01-09-17, 02:31 PM
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Servicing wellgo pedals with loose bearings

I was trying to overhaul some Wellgo clipless road pedals (W40) that contain loose bearings with cup/cone races.

The problem I'm having is getting the jam nut tightened without the cone nut turning. With even a small amount of torque, the cone nut turns and it overloads the bearings such that the pedal won't spin freely. This is because there is no keyway in the spindle for a keyed washer between the cone nut and the jam nut. It doesn't seem to matter how loose I initially leave the cone nut before I start tightening the jam nut.

If I just tighten it enough to let the bearings spin freely, the nuts are sure to back off. Both nuts are deeply recessed in the pedal body with little room to insert even a small flat blade screwdriver to keep the cone nut from moving while tightening the jam nut. The factory tool must involve some sort of very thin outer socket combined with an inner socket to properly assemble the pedal.

These pedals are nothing special so probably the answer is to toss them but I don't like the idea of things not being serviceable when really they should be. The only thing I could think of is to replace the jam nut with a nyloc nut.

Any ideas?
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Old 01-09-17, 02:36 PM
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I'm not familiar with the Wellgo pedal you have, but have repacked plenty of other cup & cone type pedals and am familiar with the problem you describe. I've found you can often jam a screwdriver blade in to hold the cone in place as you tighten the locknut. Even so, some finesse is needed and several tries before you get it "just right." Be patient.
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Old 01-09-17, 02:50 PM
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Originally Posted by JohnDThompson
I'm not familiar with the Wellgo pedal you have, but have repacked plenty of other cup & cone type pedals and am familiar with the problem you describe. I've found you can often jam a screwdriver blade in to hold the cone in place as you tighten the locknut. Even so, some finesse is needed and several tries before you get it "just right." Be patient.
The above method is the cheapest way of doing it. The "right" method is using Shimano's socket set:



The current tool (tl-pd63) is 7/8mm (small socket) and 10/11 (large). The vast majority of pedals use two of those four sizes for their cones/locknuts.

It is a really expensive tool set for anyone other than a shop (and even then, they're as like to replace the pedals as they are to service them...).
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Old 01-09-17, 02:51 PM
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Tried the screwdriver thing but there's so little clearance that I can't get it to work. Cant even get a little pick down there alongside the socket.
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Old 01-09-17, 02:58 PM
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The tl-pd63 tool looks like it would be he ticket assuming Wellgo uses the same size nuts and well diameter.
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Old 01-09-17, 02:59 PM
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An alternative

Have a plastic dust cover.. add a tiny hole, outer end,

With a Needle grease-gun add grease until it starts coming out the other side where it screws on the crank arm,

Then any grit should be flushed out Too.



..
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Old 01-09-17, 03:12 PM
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Originally Posted by IrishBrewer
The tl-pd63 tool looks like it would be he ticket assuming Wellgo uses the same size nuts and well diameter.
This should be easy enough to figure out, since you have already removed the nut/cone. There is typically a fair amount of clearance around the cone, so I wouldn't be overly-worried about the size of the Shimano tool; I have done it in the past, but I can't recall the specific pedals that I've done it with. As I mentioned before, most shops/customers are going to replace with brand new, rather than pay $15-25 of parts/labor to overhaul a pair of pedals (that probably didn't cost much more, if not less).
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Old 01-10-17, 07:46 AM
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Originally Posted by fietsbob
An alternative

Have a plastic dust cover.. add a tiny hole, outer end,

With a Needle grease-gun add grease until it starts coming out the other side where it screws on the crank arm,

Then any grit should be flushed out Too.



..
That's a great thought but I will need to get the issue with getting the proper pre-load on the bearings with the locknut fully tightened first. I have a grease gun with a needle that would be perfect for this. Only thing I would worry about is that the grease would constantly be working its way out of the pedal so you would have to clean it up pretty frequently. The rubber seals on the threaded side of the spindle are still in good shape but are pretty thin such that they wouldn't hold the grease back very well - really only good for keeping some dust out .
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Old 01-10-17, 07:52 AM
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Originally Posted by wschruba
This should be easy enough to figure out, since you have already removed the nut/cone. There is typically a fair amount of clearance around the cone, so I wouldn't be overly-worried about the size of the Shimano tool; I have done it in the past, but I can't recall the specific pedals that I've done it with. As I mentioned before, most shops/customers are going to replace with brand new, rather than pay $15-25 of parts/labor to overhaul a pair of pedals (that probably didn't cost much more, if not less).
I've done lots of overhauls of pedals with loose bearings in the past and while most have had a keyed washer, I have done some similar to this one where you had to hold the cone nut with a small screwdriver but there is no way to do this with the amount of clearance available unless I take the time to grind down a socket or get the Shimano tool. What I meant about the size of the Shimano tool was that it would have to be made for the correct size nuts as I don't know for sure that Wellgo uses the same standard as Shimano for the affected parts. My daughter used to work at the LBS and the owner is a good friend so I could just take the pedals down there and see if they have the tool so I can give it a try.
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Old 01-10-17, 08:55 AM
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Originally Posted by wschruba
The above method is the cheapest way of doing it. The "right" method is using Shimano's socket set:



The current tool (tl-pd63) is 7/8mm (small socket) and 10/11 (large). The vast majority of pedals use two of those four sizes for their cones/locknuts.

It is a really expensive tool set for anyone other than a shop (and even then, they're as like to replace the pedals as they are to service them...).
That is a Nice Tool.
I think a similar tool is used by car mechanics to adjust tappet valves on engines.
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Old 01-10-17, 10:29 AM
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Originally Posted by Dsprok
That is a Nice Tool.
I think a similar tool is used by car mechanics to adjust tappet valves on engines.
I know exactly what you're talking about as I've rigged up something similar to adjust the valves on my Integra. However, at least in my experience, the part of the valve that you are holding still when you tighten the nut has a screwdriver head so you can hold a deep socket on the outside with a vise grips with a screwdriver inserted down through the socket.
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Old 01-10-17, 11:28 AM
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That's right, the central part was a screwdriver. The tool I saw was being used on Dodge Slant 6.


I don't see why Shimano charges such a high price for the tool. Could be there is no competition yet.
That tool would save a lot of time.

Last edited by Dsprok; 01-10-17 at 11:51 AM.
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Old 01-10-17, 11:32 AM
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they are so cheap they aren't meant to be serviced. I rode a pair of these pedals for a few thousand miles, they had a little play but nothing crazy. when I got tired of them I just replaced them, they ar elike $30 WITH CLEATS which is less than most cleats cost for other systems. just toss em.
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Old 01-10-17, 01:09 PM
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I have some MKS pedals that are such close copies of the Traditional Campagnolo pedals

the same tools work and that includes the dust caps, which are interchangeable for replacements.
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Old 01-10-17, 01:23 PM
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Originally Posted by IrishBrewer
I was trying to overhaul some Wellgo clipless road pedals (W40) that contain loose bearings with cup/cone races.

Any ideas?
First off, loose ball bearing pedals are the best design in terms of longevity and low friction. Cartridge bearing pedals are a inferior second-best, and worst of all are pedals with a greased sleeve (i.e. no bearings). These will last only months under hard use.

Second, don't pull pedals apart. I learned this the hard way when on a 2 day tour, the bearing cone of my left pedal, which I had recently serviced, started to tighten up. I had messed up the reassembly, and not tightened the cone against the lock-nut. So the pedal eventually became seized-up, and then started to unwind from the crankarm.

I think that this has been mentioned before, but I use a small nail to punch a hole in the plastic dust cap. Or use a small drill bit. Then, about every 6 months, I inject grease through the hole, and clean up the dirty grease that comes out inboard. Been doing this for years.
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Old 01-10-17, 01:40 PM
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After I spend a while trying to overhaul the Wellgos, I ended up getting some of these Shimano replacements for a great price (come with cleats and the pedals plus cleats are about what you'd pay for cleats alone). I got the standard action variant.

I still havnen't trashed the Wellgo pedals as I also like the loose bearing design. I can't bring myself to buy the specialized Shimano tool, however so I'll only get these back in working condition if I can borrow the tool or if the nyloc nut idea works.

Last edited by IrishBrewer; 01-10-17 at 01:48 PM.
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