himespau 

I got a used set of wheels (mid-90's Campagnolo Chorus hubs with grease ports if it matters), and several people here and elsewhere have previously told me that when I come into possession of a hub that isn't brand new, I should disassemble, clean, repack, and adjust them before doing anything else. So I figured ok, I can handle that. Got out my trusty big blue book and took them apart. Spare spokes pushed through cardboard with nipples on the far side with labels under each so I know which side and which wheel everything came from. Then comes the cleaning. The locknut, washers, cone, and balls all went through a little dish of degreaser and were scrubbed as clean as I could get them. Axles too.

But now I'm left with the hubs. I've been trying using q-tips dipped in citrus cleaner (after using q-tips alone to get rid of the bulk grease) to get things clean, but no matter how many times I go in there, they're never quite perfect (especially in nooks behind the dust cover which the big blue book told me not to remove. I can't seem to perfectly get behind that sucker. So that leads me to ask: Do I need it sparkling, clean enough to eat off of?

Also, in past the cup, the area where the axle only goes. I can't get the q-tip all the way (or very far) in there. Does that need to be cleaned too?

Is there a better/faster way to do it than how I've been doing it? I'd have to imagine yes, or no one would ever do it as I've been trying to polish parts clean for a couple hours (well, if you take into account disassembly and all for both wheels). Maybe, I'm just a bit touched in the head and need to learn to work faster/harder?

When I've done headsets in the past, I just pulled them apart, set the plastic bits aside for hand cleaning with citrus cleaner and dunked everything else in mineral spirits. Good as new in no time, but wheels are too big (and I wouldn't want to dunk a freehub anyway) for a mineral spirits bath and all the headset parts were easier to access. Any suggestions?

JohnDThompson 

Soak the hub in solvent to soften up the old grease, then use compressed air to blow it out of all the nooks and crannies.

himespau 

So, do I use a big pan to fit the whole wheel or just do one side at a time and forget the middle where the shaft of the axle goes?

miamijim

Dip the end of a rag in acetone or alcohol, wedge it I the opening, rotate it around, repeat as needed. That's it.

Zef

Forget soaking your hub...it is not practical unless it is not built into a wheel and then it is still overkill unless it is extremely manky with a dry patina from really old grease that gave up the ghost long ago...and then it is only practical if there is absolutely no pitting or other damage to the hub.


I don't own the park manual but my guess is their recommendation to leave the dust caps in place is due to the fact that the dust caps can be deformed easily both removing and inserting on the hub and are often difficult to impossible to find replacements. If you want a go at removing them try to gently pry them free using a plastic tire lever and incrementally work your way around the dustcap until it is removed. When replacing put a piece of wood over the dust cap and gently tap it into place with a mallet.

To get inside the hub where it narrows for the axle, take a rag and twist it up and then insert it through the hub and pull it through. Fill a spray bottle with degreaser and squirt some in the hub to dissolve/loosen any grease in there before running the rag through.

If the grease looks clean (uncontaminated by dirt, grit, etc) then don't worry too much about getting all the nooks and every last bit out of the axle shaft area...just clean the bearing area really good and when you pass the axle through during the rebuild just wipe clean any old grease that comes out on the end of the axle before adding new grease to the bearing area on that side.

-j

Otherwise it sounds like you are doing things well.

himespau 

I think I might have the terminology wrong then. The Dust cap is the aluminum bit with a hole in it on the end? For some reason I thought they were referring to the rubber gasket that goes around the opening in what I now think must be the dust cap. Can I remove the gasket? I'd thought that was what they were referring to when they said it was too fragile/brittle and likely to be damaged on replacement (their pictures showed something made of plastic).

I did try that whole flossing the middle with a rolled up paper towel, but kept getting hung up. Will have to give that another go. Maybe with some mineral spirits or a harsher solvent than Nashbar's Citrus degreaser which was all I had on hand at the moment (plus, it was freaking hot and muggy to be doing it outside, so I was trying to do it in our basement just on some old sheets my wife had been planning on tossing - over carpet), so I should probably go to the hardware store, get some mineral spirits, and man up and just do it outside.

After I get this wheelset done, I have one more I'll have to do, but I think the next set of wheels I build is going to be with cartridge bearings so I can be lazy. I'm slowly swapping bikes over to cartridge bottom brackets from cup and cone for the same reason. Ihave two bikes/framesets in pretty bad shape cosmetically that I've torn down, got in over my head with painting, and decided to make the frame I'm working on now that's not immaculate, but clean enough to be my first build from scratch project. Once I get the wheels done, I'll have done all the other parts of building a bike up at one time or another, but not all at once. Well, I guess I haven't adjusted derailleurs for indexing either as I've pretty much always used friction.

Thanks so much guys, as always you've been tons of help. My wife is anxious for me to get things moving again as right now we have 3 bikes in parts (2 for me, one for her) and only one "functional" bike and that's her BSO from target from before we were married.

HillRider

As long as you get the majority of the dried grease out and get the ball tracks clean, I wouldn't agonize over getting the interior spotless. This a bike hub, not a surgery theater. Floss the hollow center with a cloth rag, not a paper towel and clean under the dust caps as best you with Q-tips moistened with OMS or WD-40 and that's plenty good.

himespau 

Ok, cloth rags. Good tip. Any particular reason? Don't leave the residue? More absorbent? Less likely to tear? Not trying to dispute with you, just that figuring out the why's of things help me remember them better and figure out what other similar situations I should apply them to.

Good to know that it doesn't have to be immaculate. As a microbiologist in my day job, I do have to keep things sterile and I spent lots of time cleaning oil out of microscope lenses that my students didn't before they put them away the last time and now the new student wants to know why it's all blurry and gummy.

I had considered trying spraying WD-40 or PB Blaster in there, both of which I do have unlike OMS, but was concerned about it leaving a solvent residue that would need to be cleaned in turn before I put new grease in there.

FastJake

+1

You're overthinking this. Loose ball bearings get ruined for two reasons: improper adjustment, and old/dried/filthy grease that's long gone. When overhauling my hubs I wipe them out with a greasy rag, put in fresh balls, and spend a minute or two getting the adjustment spot on. That little dust particle won't hurt anything, but riding on 30 year old grease or preload so tight they crunch will!

Whoever gave you the advice about repacking every used hub you get was right. If the grease looks fresh I give it the benefit of the doubt and don't repack, but I always ​check.

Zef

Dust caps could be rubber, plastic, aluminum, or just about any other material. When the plastic ones get old they have a tendency to be brittle and crack/break when removing if one is not very careful. Metal ones such as aluminium tends to deform, sometimes even when one is careful. Rubber ones can tear if not gentle when pulling them out and replacing them.



Some folks leave them in place and do their best to clean behind them, others remove them. Removing them often makes cleaning and repacking easier.

Hit it with your WD40 or PB blaster. Then wipe it out/let dry. Once dry neither should have any impact on the grease you are going to pack in the bearing cups.

Those Chorus hubs are great hubs and should outlast you if kept greased and adjusted properly.

ymmv,
-j

HillRider

Cloth because it's a lot stronger and won't tear or leave fragments in the bore. Shooters use cloth patches, never paper, to clean firearms barrels. You are dealing with an analogous situation. Speaking of guns, bronze or nylon bristle bore brushes in suitable diameters are very good for cleaning bike parts interiors like hubs, steerer tubes, etc.

miamijim

Wad the tip of whatever into a ball, wet ball with whatever cleaner, push the ball under the dust cap.....push against ball with a screwdriver and rotate it around.

That's it. Your over thinking this. Wipe axle cones clean with acetone or rubbing alcohol and your done.