ericman13

notice the pry marks

grease on the exterior of the cone washer

I bought a hub on eBay and the description stated it was like new with maybe 300 miles. It arrived with grease on the exterior (pay no attention to the dirt in the grease, the packaging broke apart due to insufficient padding/packaging), pry marks on dustcap and makes a grating noise when turning by hand. I asked why this might be the case, as signs pointed towards overhaul.The response I got was 1. It had grease like that from factory 2. They were checking to see if there was a roller brake and had pried the cap open to check 3. Grating sounds are part of the way the nexus hubs sound. I have never owned a nexus igh, but the alfine igh I have makes no grating sounds. Can anyone please help me understand if the seller might be stretching the truth?

I don't want to install the hub only to find it has less lifespan than it ought to. All the while, I hate to be a thorn for the seller if I am being unnecessarily persnickety.
Please, any mechanics who have received new nexus hubs-- I'd love to hear what you think

flanso 

Dan Burkhart is the forum's expert on IGHs.

Mackers

Not a Shimano expert but that doesn't look like Shimano grease to me.

maddog34

look up the terms "like new", and "maybe 300 miles." then realize that you bought a USED ITEM. And products are typically shipped with a bit of grease on certain surfaces to prevent corrosion during storage/shipping. Honestly,that grit looks to be from the USE the hub experienced, not from any packaging failures, unless it was shipped via Donkey and Cart.....the Grease you think is evidence of something was most likely applied when the previous owner attempted to "repair" the problem you are now complaining about. If it doesn't work correctly, and a defect was not stated in the ad, demand a refund from the seller.

As to that dust boot("seal"), it looks like it's older than the hub by a few years.......

Tip: when removing those rubbery external dust covers, use a Small, Dull tipped, Flat blade screwdriver and insert it between the Axle assy. and the cover.. Prying from between the Hub and backside of the cover will tend to force the inner lip into the retaining groove.

ericman13

I decided to crack it open real quick to get a better look of the internals

sweeks

I have two Nexus 7 hubs, two Nexus 7 hubs and an Alfine 11 hub. They all make a sort of "whirring" sound when parts are spun. None of them makes a sound I wiuld characterize as "grating", but they do make more noise than a non-geared hub.
The innards of your hub look pretty new and there's no apparent damage. The white grease is the same as my "Red-Banded" Nexus 8 (like yours). My other 8 and the two 7s were lubricated with a black moly lube.
The statement that the rubber cap was removed "looking for a roller brake" suggests that the seller is either lying or is completely ignorant of the roller brake set-up. The cap conceals a spline (visible in your last image) which is what the roller brake module (a separate piece) engages with.
Hope this helps.

Iride01 

I haven't been to eBay in a long time since I can usually find brand new stuff for less price elsewhere.

But I'd be more concerned about the seller's representation of the item being sold as "like new" when it appears to have a lot of dings and mars here and there on the flange and the dirt or dust around the axle in the first pic.

Maybe check eBays current policy standards for how items are described. And if you decide you don't like what you got, then you probably can get all your money back if you push on the way it was represented. If not from the seller, then eBay itself will cover it and deal with the seller themselves.

GamblerGORD53

The bearings are always tight on almost anything. Those bearings need to be smeared with a thicker grease. It needs a hair of play. For sure the cause of the grinding.
My Nexus 7i that came on a brand new Simcoe roadster was tight. It coasted 20% easier when I adjusted the brake side cone.
Be glad it does NOT have a boat anchor roller brake. Mine still spins only 1/3 as long as my SA hubs.

base2 

GamblerGORD53 is right. The bearing cones may be tight. In an unbuilt state that is not surprising. When you build it up into a wheel, all the spokes will work to pull the hub into a larger donut. The bearings *may* then loosen up. In either case, after it's built, adjust just until the play goes out at the rims edge.

As long as you have it apart, pay attention to the NDS cone as it is susceptible to water intrusion. (My very own hub suffered this fate.) Then squirt a bit of 90 weight or Phil's Tenacious oil in & pack the drive side cup with marine grease to keep it all in.

Keefusb

Definitely not packed with Shimano grease which is almost always a dark brown to almost black color.

You can also see faint spoke marks near the edge of the hub flange, definitely not brand new.

base2 

I disagree. Fresh, unused hubs do indeed have the grease shown. At least as far as I've experienced.

They do tend to turn black with age & use though.

In seeing the fresh grease consistant with Nexus 8 speed hubs, including my very own, I'm inclined to believe the Ebay seller. Even if the cover has a pry mark. It could be as innocuous as seeing if a disk mount adaptor could/would fit. Or if a centerlock rotor would mount up.

Keefusb

Just this past weekend, I took apart a pair of front and back Shimano 600/6400 hubs that were NOS and sealed in the original plastic wrap from the factory, and the bearing grease was brown in color, and was semi-translucent, not like white lithium grease. That said, I have never cracked open a new Nexus hub which might be different.

The spoke marks on the Nexus hub flange in the pictures would indicate prior use if you asked me.

GamblerGORD53

He said it was used 300 miles. Of course it has spoke dents.
So they likely were pi$$ed at the tightness. Like I said was the problem.

*Scuba 

Hi Keefusb,

Shimano IGH hubs come with that style of grease that looks like white lithium grease. That is normal. Even the new Shimano replacement grease looks like that.

Cheers,
Scuba