Greetings,

I recently bought a Raliegh Super Course and am now just getting around to overhauling the wheels. I took the spindle and cones off and the grease inside is hard caked on. It is stuck and almost impossible to get out. Any tips on getting it out? Any product I can use to loosen it up?

I have a jar of paint thinner that I soak all the small parts in. It is handy to loop any circular small parts onto a bent spoke.

I like to leave dust caps in place, but sometimes they must come out. Screwdriver or pocket knife to dig the grease out of the hubs, then a rag with solvent.

If the bearings are in bad shape, replace.

Kerosine or mineral spirits should dissolve and loosen the dried grease but you may have to soak the part for some time.

Use a plastic, wood, brass or aluminum "tool" to dig out what you can. Steel tools can scratch and damage the bearing races.

WD-40 dissolves grease pretty well.

Yes it does because WD-40 is mostly high priced kerosine in a convenient container.

Mechanically scrape out all you can (screwdriver?) then solvent of your choice. If any remains then steel wool with a solvent follow up. Andy.

Please do not try using gasoline, there are many other non-hazardous solvents out there. Gasoline is only suitable as a motor fuel; it is highly flammable, toxic and its vapors are explosive.

Use a scotch-brite pad instead of steel wool, it's much gentler. Usually I'm able to remove the big chunks and use a rag dipped in OMS to get the rest.

Light touch?

It would take a lot to damage a hardened steel race.

I have also used a wire brush in a drill on occasion.

The main reason I mentioned it is that many people have a can of it on the shelf.
No sense going out and buying something else, if they already have some.

The only time I use it anymore is for dissolving hardened grease that's on a bicycle. Trigger shifters and bearings.
For lubes, I use a "purpose designed" lube that is appropriate for the application.

I've tried using hot water with soap. That did nothing. I next tried WD40 and letting it sit. The thing is, its the sinside of the hubs that I am unable to let it soak. I need something a bit stronger than regular old wd 40. I read in a forum somewhere that oven cleaner is a lot stronger.? Would that work?

Aluminum or steel hubs?

Read for warnings about using your oven cleaner on aluminum, anodizing, chrome, zinc, or nickel.

I'd be afraid that it would get wicked into cracks where it would be hard to get it out of.

Absolutely and I wasn't minimizing the convenience or common availability of WD-40, I was just pointing out that you and I were recommending the same solvent.

NO, NO, do NOT use oven cleaner. Most contain sodium hydroxide (lye) and it will dissolve the aluminum hub shell. Plug the axle hole, fill the hub with WD-40 or Kerosene and let it soak the race.

PB Blaster, Clean Streak, etc etc. Just expect it's gonna make a mess and you might use a good bit of it. Don't be stingy

Before any solvent, get all you can out mechanically. I use chop sticks, tooth picks and q-tips before solvents.

For really hard stuff, brass wire brush in a motor tool. The brass bristles will not hurt the bearing, and will even remove paint (like got on a friend's crown race).

Brake cleaner from the auto store and elbow grease.

That's what I do as well. No worries about scratching bearing surfaces, since those are hardened steel. Get out as much as you can mechanically, then use a solvent to get the rest.

+1
Go to Michaels or Dick Blick or any store that sells artist supplies and buy a pallet knife with the profile that fits most bicycle cups. They are very flexible and will scoop out 95% of the crusty grease. Then use a swab and solvents to clean out the rest.

I have a steam cleaner that works pretty well for stuff like that. I don't use it often, but it's really nice for some jobs.

Paint thinner or kerosene as a solvent. Use a wooden chopstick, plastic swizzle stick etc. as a tool. You may have to jam a paper towel up in there and soak it, then let it sit an hour or two. I wouldn't use steel tools.

Hammer and chisel?

I have faith that even a mild steel screwdriver can scratch a hardened steel race if applied ham handedly enough.

Not kerosene but "Stoddard solvent"...aka mineral spirits, white spirits, paint thinner, mineral turpentine, etc...which is a slightly lower boiling point cut from petroleum than kerosene. It's mostly mineral spirits but WD-40 also contains about 20% mineral oil. The mineral oil doesn't do any harm but it is left behind when the solvent evaporates.

Finish Line Speed Degreaser is the Stoddard solvent without the mineral oil. It's also horribly expensive compared to just using mineral spirits with a rag and a bit of elbow grease.

Yeah, I know there are a number of boiling point cuts from crude oil that have different names but, in this case, they are all pretty much interchangeable for the OP's purpose.

Kerosene will be the cheapest since many gas stations sell it by the gallon and WD-40 and Finish Line's degreaser are by far the most expensive way to accomplish the same thing.

I will add that it would be totally ineffective as well. Oven cleaner works on cleaning ovens because the oils that make the mess are animal or plant based and can be hydrolyzed by the sodium hydroxide. The fatty acid forms a "salt" which is really a "soap" that has enough water solubility to dissolve.

Petroleum based oils and greases don't have the same functional groups as edible oils and won't form a soluble compound. In fact, the petroleum based oils and greases are nonpolar and water insoluble which is why we use them. It would just make a bigger mess.