Prime rear hub bearing replacement

thistle_
thistle_ Posts: 7,152
in Workshop
My winter wheels are a pair of cheap Prime (CRC own brand) wheels.
The bearings in the rear wheel are a bit gritty, and there seems to be some play in them. The bearings are just standard 6000 and 6001 bearings.

I can't figure out how to get the axle out. Has anyone replaced the bearings on these hubs and knows how to do it?

The hub is marked as RD030. There are videos on YouTube but they are for different models of hubs, and I can only get as far as removing the end caps.
If I could get the freehub body off, that should be enough. Maybe I need a bigger hammer and use the axle to pop it off?

Comments

  • wobblebob
    wobblebob Posts: 73
    I have the RD010 hub on my wheels and have replaced the bearings both front and back. It did take a bit of brute force to get the freehub and axle off. I don't know how the 030 differs from the 010m but I followed the process in this video (step 2 is where the brute force was needed, certainly not as easy as he makes it look)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkBoZk5Ybq4
  • thistle_
    thistle_ Posts: 7,152
    wobblebob said:

    I have the RD010 hub on my wheels and have replaced the bearings both front and back. It did take a bit of brute force to get the freehub and axle off. I don't know how the 030 differs from the 010m but I followed the process in this video (step 2 is where the brute force was needed, certainly not as easy as he makes it look

    Maybe I just need a bigger hammer then to pop the freehub body off.
    If I figure it out I'll post back.
  • thistle_
    thistle_ Posts: 7,152
    Update:
    I have removed and replaced the outer 2 bearings. I'm not sure if there's any more further inside the hub. The key thing is that the axle is removed from the non drive side, and the freehub body is bolted on.

    The process is:
    * Use a 5mm allen key to remove the two end caps
    * From the non drive side, tap/press out the axle to push out the bearing and rubber seal inside the freehub body. The axle won't fall out at this point.
    * Use a punch/press to push the axle from the freehub side towards the non drive side to push out the non drive side bearing and the axle
    * The bearings are a 6000 on the freehub body and a 6901 on the non drive side

    To install the bearings:
    * Put the bearings in the freezer for a while before you start
    * Put the bearing inside the freehub body and press in partially (or use the axle to carefully tap it in)
    * Put the non drive side bearing on the axle and reinstall the axle in the hub
    * Press in the non drive side bearing, or tap in part way using a drift/hammer
    * Put a bit of grease on the threads of the end caps, and tighten using a 5mm allen key to press the bearings in. You'll need to have got the bearings in far enough beforehand to be able to thread the end caps on.
    *Remove the end cap on the freehub side and reinstall the rubber seal
    *Replace the drive side end cap

    I couldn't remove the freehub body to see if there's another bearing in there - I suspect not because there doesn't seem to be another nicely machined surface on the axle for a bearing to bear onto like there is at the ends.
    The freehub body appears to be bolted on in a similar way to a Shimano freehub body but I couldn't budge the thing. The bolt is bigger than a 10mm allen bolt but an 11mm allen key also seems a bit slack and a 12mm is too big. The 11mm allen key seemed to slip when I put some force on it, so I'm wondering if it's a 7/16 bolt :/
    If I find out I'll post back.

Categories