Shimano SPD pedals having excessive bearing play
 

Hi,

I have a pair of old Shimano SPD M-520 pedals on my bike right now. During last few days of my long ride last month it develops this "click" feeling during the down stroke of my right pedal. It seems to now be very consistent. If i grab it and give it a twist and it seems to move side to side more than the newer pedals on my other bike.

Is the bearing going? If so is there a way for me to adjust / rebuild it short of buying a new one? I can get a new pair on ebay for under $40 shipped. Is it worth trying to adjust / rebuild it? I have plenty of tools, but none of the pedal-specific such as park PD-40 tool to remove the shaft from the pedals.

Thanks.

You could remove the shaft and inspect the bearings, if you had a tool.

Or someone that has the tool could do it. Now, hmmm. Who could that be?

Mmm... lets say the bearing is done with. Where can I get replacement?

You can probably get replacement bearings at most hardware stores. Look for a drawer labeled "loose ball bearings" or something similar. Just measure the bearings with a micrometer, and buy the same size at the hardware store.

Depends on what's inside of yours. Some pedals use assembled bearings.

Since it's a Shimano pedal, look at the Shimano parts list to see what's inside:

http://techdocs.shimano.com/media/te...9830608614.pdf

You should take a look at this thread:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=177050

for an extended discussion about rebuilding and adjusting SPD and SPD-SL type pedals.

You really do need the PD-40 for these pedals. It's just a $3 tool. Once you get the pedal axle out you can do the adjustment and/or rebuild with some standard tools. It's just a normal cup and cone type bearing. DuraAce are a little different as they have an additional set of needle bearings in between the the two cup&cone bearing sets. Otherwise, SPD and SPD-SL types are all pretty much the same.
All that being said, for $40 it's almost worth it to buy new pedals. You have to be pretty patient to rebuild these pedals. But, there are plenty of people who will do it. I do my own, but would not do it for anyone else. A good mid-Winter project.

PD-40 available here (you used to get one of these with the pedal sets, but no more):

http://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cg..._id=SH-TL-PD40

I re-read that old thread and there are some Shimano pedals, such as the M540 that you don't need the
PD-40 to remove the axle, but I'm sure you do for the M520.

Make sure and read that whole thread.