captain_inch

Hello,

I own a Novatec D412SB rear hub and the axle got somehow loose after some 2000km so I decided to change the bearings, hoping this would solve the problem.

However, I do not manage to remove the QR axle mounted onto the hub : I used two 17mm wrenches to unscrew the NDS (disc side) adapter, and I was then thinking the axle would easily go out with a gentle hammer hit, but it does not move at all. Is there something I'm missing ? (WD40 did not help at all)

Looking forward to your help, thanks in advance !

dsaul

Did you remove the freehub body first? Tapping the axle is going to drive out the bearing from the opposite side, so it's not going to go easy.

I seriously doubt that the bearings need replacement after 2000km. It's more likely that the axle end caps came loose. Tightening them should fix the problem.

captain_inch

Thank you for your answer. I did not remove the freehub body indeed. When looking at videos online, it frees itself very easily, but in my case it is firmly attached. There a very small hex screw on the freehub body (1mm hex I guess), I thought this is only required to access the pawns, but should I remove it to remove the freehub and then the axle?

​​​​​And about the bearings I totally agree, however even by tightening it, there is still the same 'wiggle'. Hence my thought about the bearings.

dsaul

If I remember correctly , that set screw is just for the freehub bearing and is not holding the body to the axle. The freehub body should be held on by the axle end cap on the drive side. There should be a hex inside the axle to allow you to hold the axle with a hex wrench while you unscrew the drive side end cap

captain_inch

That's indeed what I am looking for but I can't get any hex key to grasp any hex shape inside the axle. It looks completely round. And I think it's a single piece, without anything screwed on it.

captain_inch

I finally managed to remove the axle with a hammer and hitting it quite hard. There was some rust moisture present in the bearings and some play when moving the bearing. Hopefully the replacement of the bearings will remove that.