ned512

hello.. my rear hub started doing grinding noise the wheel isnt moving laterally or wobbling just the noise and i dont have the tools to fix it so, my question my friends wanted me to ride with them about 40 km or so will this destroy my hub or is it ok ??

fietsbob

Could .. cleaning and re greasing should only take a couple Hours If You have the tools and some mechanical background

ned512

i do have a chain whip tool but no lockring tool is there any way to remove the cassette without it ?

Bill Kapaun

I definitely wouldn't ride it until serviced.
It might make the difference in cost between a bit of grease & new bearing balls vs a new hub and wheel rebuild.

A lock ring removal tool should only be about $8-9 at the LBS.

fietsbob

Cone wrench needed to take left axle end apart. , Right end can come out then , leave it as is unless the cone is damaged

re assemble with Brand new Bearing balls , they're too cheap, not to ...

CliffordK

Is the wheel "cup and cone", or "sealed"? If sealed, you probably won't do "damage", but could be in for a long walk.

If it is cup and cone, then snag a cone wrench, the freewheel tool, and some grease at your LBS, and open it up and inspect, clean, and repack. You may have also lost some bearings or cones.

Once a cone is pitted, you can't make it worse, but if you do pit a race, then essentially the whole wheel is toast, so I prefer repairing before the whole wheel is ruined.

I will say that a grinding noise seems a bit odd. Usually bearing problems would be something that is felt, and not heard.

ned512

then i wont ride it and will take to my LBS which isn't near at all and they will PROBABLY fix it ....i hope they will xD
thanks

CliffordK

Oh, one other thought. Are you hearing the noise when you're pedalling, or coasting? What about brakes?

Hopefully your shop will get you straightened out.

ned512

when spinning wheel backwards it makes a bit of sound when pedaling but not as much when spinning the wheel backwards

CliffordK

I guess I was just thinking that if the noise is entirely within the freewheel/freehub (coasting sound), then there would not be a lot you could do without replacing the freewheel/freehub, so riding it would be ok.

If it is in the bearings, then it needs to be fixed.

cyccommute 

Do what fietsbob says (for a bit more detail you can go here). But he didn't add that you don't need to remove the cassette nor even a freewheel. Hub rebuilds can be done with all that in place.

fietsbob

Just Rather Hard to see Past a Multi speed freewheel to clean and inspect the Hub , cup side of the axle bearings,

but You Can pull the axle Out and see the Driveside Cone condition.

ned512

But will i be able to put drive side bearings after cleaning ?

ned512

I dont think its damaged it started making sound after cleaning externally and i didnt ride it since that time

fietsbob

Overhaul time , Inspect rather than Surmise.

ned512

well said

ned512

it turned out to be the freewheel....the noise while pedaling was from the drivetrain and had nothing to do with the bearings so is there any fix for the freewheel ??

CliffordK

I had started wondering about that.

Are you sure whether you have a freewheel vs freehub?

See the notes here.
Freewheel or Cassette?

It is hard to diagnose a sound over the internet,

The freewheels or freehubs can be disassembled. See notes on the Internet. However, I think I would just ignore it. Eventually (thousands of miles), the sprockets on a freewheel will wear out and it will need replaced anyway, and they are usually replaced as a unit.

ned512

its a freewheel...can fixing it go wrong somehow ?? i hate dealing with bearnings if you ask

cyccommute 

It's more difficult with a freewheel...you need long nose forceps...but possible. It's easy with a freehub as the bearings are at the face of the hub.