Where did my rear wheel grease go?

thebungle
thebungle Posts: 6
edited February 2014 in Workshop
Hello all :)

First post on Bikeradar and typically I'm already asking for help!

I've had Shimano's R500 wheel set on my training bike since last May, an estimated 4000 miles have passed beneath them, riding in all conditions. I decided to strip them down in the new year and it was relatively straightforward, repacked with Fenwicks grease and they have covered about 500 miles since.

I noticed yesterday that the rear hub sounded a bit 'metallic', there was no lateral play present but I decided to strip down anyway.

This is what I found;

Plenty of grease in non drive side.
IMG_3142_zpsd312e40b.jpg

Distint lack of grease in drive side.
IMG_3141_zpsd86a4b19.jpg

Unsure how this has happened as I've always washed the wheels sympathetically and they only have 500 miles in them, there was no sign of grease leaking from hub and I'm 99% certain I rebuilt them correctly.

Any suggestions welcome!

Comments

  • wishitwasallflat
    wishitwasallflat Posts: 2,927
    Don't know for sure but I would be really interested to know too I had drive side of 105 hubs do the same in the space of 1k miles - even worse than yours mine was full of brown sludge and now 700 miles later the hub is knackered! Does drive side take more punishment for some reason.
  • cycleclinic
    cycleclinic Posts: 6,865
    brown sludge is rust you just need to use a more water repellant grease. Grease gets washed out especially if you put a hose on the hub. DS bearing does take more load so it will wear faster but not always. There is still grease there so I would not worry.
    http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.
  • majormantra
    majormantra Posts: 2,094
    As above, maybe try a thicker grease? E.g.:

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Granville-0121B ... 003ZZBZU6/
  • kiwimatt
    kiwimatt Posts: 208
    wishitwasallflat wrote:
    Don't know for sure but I would be really interested to know too I had drive side of 105 hubs do the same in the space of 1k miles - even worse than yours mine was full of brown sludge and now 700 miles later the hub is knackered! Does drive side take more punishment for some reason.

    +1. Mine was too liberal use of GT85 in the first instance I think. But DS does seem to leach the grease much more easily - seal arrangement at the freehub at fault? Type of grease to use - what a minefield :shock: worse than a what chain lube thread. Have ordered some Rock N Roll Super Web Grease after some reading...
  • sungod
    sungod Posts: 17,322
    no idea if it's the cause, but if the threading on the axle passes through the bearing area, maybe over umpteen revolutions it's enough to encourage grease to follow the thread direction, which is to the nds
    my bike - faster than god's and twice as shiny
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    sungod wrote:
    no idea if it's the cause, but if the threading on the axle passes through the bearing area, maybe over umpteen revolutions it's enough to encourage grease to follow the thread direction, which is to the nds
    You got it. It helps to cover the axle centre with a layer of electricians tape wound in the opposite direction to the threads. Do not over fill the hub with grease. It makes it worse as the grease in the centre pulls the rest along the axle.
    My Fleet.
  • smoggysteve
    smoggysteve Posts: 2,909
    As with most Shimano hubs. The grease escapes out of the seal gradually. Every shimano wheel i ever owned required me to adjust and retighten the cup and cone gap ever so slightly as it was too big from factory. chances are when you regrease and if you gap them properly you will not experience any future problems.
  • kiwimatt
    kiwimatt Posts: 208
    John.T wrote:
    sungod wrote:
    no idea if it's the cause, but if the threading on the axle passes through the bearing area, maybe over umpteen revolutions it's enough to encourage grease to follow the thread direction, which is to the nds
    You got it. It helps to cover the axle centre with a layer of electricians tape wound in the opposite direction to the threads. Do not over fill the hub with grease. It makes it worse as the grease in the centre pulls the rest along the axle.

    All helpful thanks chaps just about to build up a new hub so will use these tips from the start. When you say 'a layer' of electrical tape on the axle centre are we talking just once round to overcome the threads thing - or enough wraps of tape for a snug fit to try and completely block up the grease transmission tunnel round the axle as it were?
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    Just one layer. It is a pretty tight fit anyway. Start at the non drive end and wind it anti clockwise looking from the drive side end.
    My Fleet.
  • thebungle
    thebungle Posts: 6
    Sorry for the late reply, it's been a busy week.

    I've taken the hub apart and the DS was showing signs of the grease 'disappearing' as before, the Fenwicks grease is on the thicker side so without resorting to marine grease I'm not sure I could get thicker grease in there.

    I tried 'leccy tape round the axle but it was too tight to go through, fingers crossed that even without that it will be an improvement.

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