minichamp31

My cassette hub is so unsmooth so I'm going to clean it out and grease it up. The problem is I have no idea how to get it apart. I thought I had it today but it was the axle instead of the driver I was loosening. Thanks.

tyler11

post pics of the non drive side

minichamp31

FuzzyRyder

take the nuts off the drive side. they hold the driver too.

minichamp31

Ahhh. I had that and I thought I was doing the wrong thing so I put it back together. FML.

minichamp31

What do I do now?

FuzzyRyder

Pull the driver out, dump the bearings in a safe place, clean them clean the races out, make sure there's no metal pieces or filings moving around in there, clean the pawls and the engagement teeth on the inside of the hub, put Teflon on the teeth and pawls, slide the driver back in, and fill the race with grease. Stick the ball bearings back into the race. the grease will hold them. then re-assemble.

minichamp31

The driver won't come out.

Edit: Nevermind, I got it out. I needed a screwdriver and hammer though. There were a whole crapload of tiny balls, but I think the previous owner took it apart before and lost a bunch, because I'm missing a bunch and I know for a fact I didn't lose any. But I got it back together and it's 10x smoother than it was. Thanks for the help.

ascend

You should be able to get a handful of replacement balls for a few bucks, they aren't expensive

minichamp31

Eh, I don't think it's worth it now. It's all back together and I don't want to risk losing a bunch more. It'll be alright until I buy a new hub a long time from now. Maybe Christmas.

FuzzyRyder

Dope, those unsealed cassettes can be a nightmare. Keep an eye on it if its missing balls, you might have to rebuild it again in a month or so.

minichamp31

I hope not. It was a pain in the a**. Eventually I'll get a new one.

ascend

If it's missing balls they're gonna wear out faster, and arse up the races too. Depending how much you ride you might get a couple of months out of them, but I doubt it'll last till Christmas unless you chuck it in the garage and don't touch it. Once the races are toasted you'll be stuck repacking every few weeks until you get a new hub.

IMO it's worth an afternoon's effort to chuck in a full set of new balls. When you buy them, get about twice as many as you need and keep the spares in a jar somewhere; that way if you lose one or two or need to repack you're still covered for a while.

minichamp31

Alright, I'll look around at a hardware store or something to see if I can find them. But another thing, I tightened down everything all the way, but my driver moves back and forth a tiny bit. It's kind of nerve-racking. Do you know what I could have done wrong?

FuzzyRyder

Forgot a washer? maybe you just didnt snug the driver bolt up enough.

minichamp31

I don't think so. What one is the driver bolt?

FuzzyRyder

The one the holds the driver on haha...

minichamp31

There's like a silver race kind of thing that holds the axle bearings, and I tightened that all the way. I don't know what else it could be.

BTW, I was hitting a box at this park today too. And I was clearing it. I was pretty happy.

tyler11

those races shouldnt be that tight
they should be snugg

minichamp31

Alright then I have no freaking clue what else to tighten.

ascend

I've never taken apart a cassette hub before. Is there anything that needs to be tightened backwards against another nut, like how the cone/locknut work on a freewheel hub?

minichamp31

So I figured it out. The previous owner took the hub apart and lost so many little balls that there's nothing to take up the slack from them missing. I must not have ever noticed the little movement of the driver. My mom has a bunch of work for me to do and I'm going to mow lawns in the summer, so I should have the money soon enough to get a new hub/wheel. I'm probably going to get either the Proper wheel or a custom wheel with a G-Sport Rachet hub. Depends on how much money I have.