how to remove this axle nut cover
 

I'm trying to remove the rear hub on my bike but there is this metal cover on the non-drive side of the axle.. How do I remove it? thanks.

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/4...9692947571.jpg

What do you mean by "remove the rear hub " ?
The wheel (Hub + spokes + rim) is off the bike. What do you want to do next ?

Covers like that are often hard rubber or plastic. Stick a screwdriver under the edge close to the spokes and pry outward. It should pop off.

Good question, homebrew. If you mean you want to remove the axle from the hub, that cover looks like it is threaded on to the axle. There appears to be a wrench flat on the black part about ~1/4 inch from the serrated end part. I would guess it would unscrew with the correct size wrench. Hold the locknut on the other side in a vise or with another wrench.

I had a hub like that years ago and that part was just a cover and there was a second locknut and a cone underneath it.

Sorry.. I meant I want to take out the axle... The meta cover shown in my pick spins with the axle when I turn the locknut on the opposite side.. I tried grabbing the wrench flat but it stripped the metal surface...

WHat did you use to grab the wrench flat?

If the locknut is spinning on the other side you will likely have to somehow unthread the driveside locknut and cone and pull the axle out through the non-drive side. Then reinstall the drives-de cone and any spacer(s)and lock nut, set them so there is the correct amount of axle sticking out, get a 600 pound gorilla to tighten them together, then clamp the non-drive side cap in a vise and use a wrench on the drive-side locknut to unscrew the axle from the cap.

I used an adjustable wrench.. the flats are very shallow and short.. I don't believe it was intended to sustain a lot of torque.. I googled all over and no sites show how to remove this cover.. I thought it was rubber so I can force it off, but it's freakin' soft aluminum..

On my new bike, the rear axle spins a bit rough so I want to read just the axle and maybe repack the grease.. It's a cassette freehub.. I assume once I take out the axle's the bearings and cones are the same like the freewheel styled hub on my older bikes?

They may be the same. There is only one way to be sure, though!

As for the wrench flats, no they were likely not intended to sustain a lot of torque. It is likely the actual locknut and cone are underneath and they should be tightened together quite tight and the aluminum cover should only be tightened down onto the locknut enough to keep it from rattling loose - but when the hub was assembled the last time the cover was put on too tight and the drive side locknut was put on too loose.

Some of the roughness might also be due to the cover rubbing slightly on the hub shell... perhaps there is a washer missing between the cover and the locknut underneath... this would decrease clearance between the cover and shell and make the cover more difficult to remove.

Hmm actually when I spin the axle I can observe the the axle not spinning true around the center point.. When I observe the gap between the locknut's edge and the freehub body, I can see the gap changing in width as I spin. So it looks like the axle is either bent or not inserted straight thru the hub. I assume this is not common?

Possibly bent or simply a sloppy fit. There is no way the axle could be inserted at an angle - the bearings keep the cones right in the centre.

What could cause a sloppy fit? I would imagine if axle is not bend and bearings are all good, there should be only one way of inserting the axle with minimum margin for sloppiness right?

Maybe loose fitting cone and locknut? Or maybe the freehub body is actually the part that is misaligned (less likely). I am just throwing S**t at the wall here... a bent axle is the most likely cause.