Tips on tightening cones & nuts

[craiga]

Had to replace the missuses freehub on her Scott. Went so well I thought I'd regrease my hubs as well
The rear is a Deore LX M565 and it was slightly different to the missuses more modern one.
Between the cone and the nut is a rubber cover with a built in washer/cover. This sits inside the freehub & prevents me getting a cone spanner on the cone.
This then makes it difficult as when you tighten the nut the cone tightens as well against the bearings.
What tips do you have for tightening this all up?
Many Thanks

 

[drystonepaul]

I've cut and pasted and added to an answer I gave about servicing your hubs a while ago on another thread here:

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?p=358366&highlight=#358366

You'll need a 13mm and 17mm cone spanners for the front and 15mm and 17mm for the rear.
For the front, pick a side and undo the lock nut with the 17mm cone spanner while stopping the axle rotating with the 13mm spanner on the cone near to the bearing seals. These might be pretty tight and they'll have a standard thread.
Take the nuts, spacers and cones off the axle and slide it out of the hub.
All the bearings will fall out and roll under your fridge at this point.
Don't worry as you'll be replacing these anyway. 9 bearings each side, and they are quarter inch in size.
Degrease everything, clean and check the bearing surfaces for any pitting of grooves. They should be nice and smooth and shiney.

Reassemble by sticking the bearings back in with some quality grease, and re-inserting the axle. Put the cone, washers and lock nut back on.
Then you'll need your cone spanners to tighten the lock-nut down without over tightening the cone onto the bearings.
This is the tricky bit.
It should run nice an smooth without any play in the bearings (too loose) or any stiffness (too tight). Getting the balance right can be tricky, and it often helps to put the wheel back into the bike and tighten the skewers up to get the bearings perfect.

For the rear wheel do the same, but start on the non drive side using a combination of 15mm and 17mm cone spanners.
If you want to remove the cassette body you'll need a 10mm allen key, once you have removed the axle.

Before reassembly, make sure the drive side cone and nut is nice and tight with about 5 or 6mm of thread showing, because you can't get at it once it's pushed back up against the bearings inside the freehub body.
Take up any slack and fine tune the bearings using the non-drive side cone and nut.

Hope this helps...

 

[REKIBorter]

I always have trouble with this, getting them just right takes many attempts. I read on Sheldons Browns site that you should have a tiny bit of play which will then be taken up when the QR is tightened. Not too sure about this as I still had a bit of play in the bearings when it was all put back on the bike.

When replacing cartridge wheel bearings all you need is a hammer and a socket set, plus loads of skill!

 

[one-eyed_jim]

Between the cone and the nut is a rubber cover with a built in washer/cover. This sits inside the freehub & prevents me getting a cone spanner on the cone. This then makes it difficult as when you tighten the nut the cone tightens as well against the bearings.

What tips do you have for tightening this all up?

You shouldn't be adjusting the cone on the freewheel side. Leave that side alone. All adjustments are made on the other side. If you need to move the drive-side cone for some reason, lock it securely to the axle before you replace the axle in the hub, then adjust the other side.

 

[craiga]

Between the cone and the nut is a rubber cover with a built in washer/cover. This sits inside the freehub & prevents me getting a cone spanner on the cone. This then makes it difficult as when you tighten the nut the cone tightens as well against the bearings.

What tips do you have for tightening this all up?

You shouldn't be adjusting the cone on the freewheel side. Leave that side alone. All adjustments are made on the other side. If you need to move the drive-side cone for some reason, lock it securely to the axle before you replace the axle in the hub, then adjust the other side.

You only remove one side to keep the axle in the same place relative to the wheel.
The books I got from the library say you take the nuts off from the drive side & therefore remove it from the non drive side.

It is then tightened up from the drive side.

On my missuses hub I can get the cone spanner on the cone & then tighten the nut against that, getting it tight with no play & lovely & smooth.

Thanks for the info so far - it looks like trial & error then

 

[one-eyed_jim]

You only remove one side to keep the axle in the same place relative to the wheel.

Right.

The books I got from the library say you take the nuts off from the drive side & therefore remove it from the non drive side.

It is then tightened up from the drive side.

No, that's wrong. As you found out, you can't adjust the drive-side cone with the axle in place. It's not designed to be adjusted with the axle in place, although it's possible on some hubs. Lock the right, and adjust on the left.

http://www.paul-lange.de/produkte/shima ... 565-95.pdf

 

[craiga]

Note: If you don't know how to do a job, ask on here, DO NOT use a library book, especially the Dorland Kingsley Bike Repair Manual.

That says undo from the drive side.

Having re-read the replies I've just looked in the Mountain Bike Repair Manual which says undo from the non drive side because you can't get a spanner on the cone on the drive side because it's inside the free hub.

Having beaten myself with a stick I now get to do it all again, but properly this time.

Thanks Jim & thanks everyone for your help.