IrishBrewer

I was trying to overhaul some Wellgo clipless road pedals (W40) that contain loose bearings with cup/cone races.

The problem I'm having is getting the jam nut tightened without the cone nut turning. With even a small amount of torque, the cone nut turns and it overloads the bearings such that the pedal won't spin freely. This is because there is no keyway in the spindle for a keyed washer between the cone nut and the jam nut. It doesn't seem to matter how loose I initially leave the cone nut before I start tightening the jam nut.

If I just tighten it enough to let the bearings spin freely, the nuts are sure to back off. Both nuts are deeply recessed in the pedal body with little room to insert even a small flat blade screwdriver to keep the cone nut from moving while tightening the jam nut. The factory tool must involve some sort of very thin outer socket combined with an inner socket to properly assemble the pedal.

These pedals are nothing special so probably the answer is to toss them but I don't like the idea of things not being serviceable when really they should be. The only thing I could think of is to replace the jam nut with a nyloc nut.

Any ideas?

JohnDThompson 

I'm not familiar with the Wellgo pedal you have, but have repacked plenty of other cup & cone type pedals and am familiar with the problem you describe. I've found you can often jam a screwdriver blade in to hold the cone in place as you tighten the locknut. Even so, some finesse is needed and several tries before you get it "just right." Be patient.

wschruba

The above method is the cheapest way of doing it. The "right" method is using Shimano's socket set:



The current tool (tl-pd63) is 7/8mm (small socket) and 10/11 (large). The vast majority of pedals use two of those four sizes for their cones/locknuts.

It is a really expensive tool set for anyone other than a shop (and even then, they're as like to replace the pedals as they are to service them...).

IrishBrewer

Tried the screwdriver thing but there's so little clearance that I can't get it to work. Cant even get a little pick down there alongside the socket.

IrishBrewer

The tl-pd63 tool looks like it would be he ticket assuming Wellgo uses the same size nuts and well diameter.

fietsbob

An alternative

Have a plastic dust cover.. add a tiny hole, outer end,

With a Needle grease-gun add grease until it starts coming out the other side where it screws on the crank arm,

Then any grit should be flushed out Too.



..

wschruba

This should be easy enough to figure out, since you have already removed the nut/cone. There is typically a fair amount of clearance around the cone, so I wouldn't be overly-worried about the size of the Shimano tool; I have done it in the past, but I can't recall the specific pedals that I've done it with. As I mentioned before, most shops/customers are going to replace with brand new, rather than pay $15-25 of parts/labor to overhaul a pair of pedals (that probably didn't cost much more, if not less).

IrishBrewer

That's a great thought but I will need to get the issue with getting the proper pre-load on the bearings with the locknut fully tightened first. I have a grease gun with a needle that would be perfect for this. Only thing I would worry about is that the grease would constantly be working its way out of the pedal so you would have to clean it up pretty frequently. The rubber seals on the threaded side of the spindle are still in good shape but are pretty thin such that they wouldn't hold the grease back very well - really only good for keeping some dust out .

IrishBrewer

I've done lots of overhauls of pedals with loose bearings in the past and while most have had a keyed washer, I have done some similar to this one where you had to hold the cone nut with a small screwdriver but there is no way to do this with the amount of clearance available unless I take the time to grind down a socket or get the Shimano tool. What I meant about the size of the Shimano tool was that it would have to be made for the correct size nuts as I don't know for sure that Wellgo uses the same standard as Shimano for the affected parts. My daughter used to work at the LBS and the owner is a good friend so I could just take the pedals down there and see if they have the tool so I can give it a try.

Dsprok

That is a Nice Tool.
I think a similar tool is used by car mechanics to adjust tappet valves on engines.

IrishBrewer

I know exactly what you're talking about as I've rigged up something similar to adjust the valves on my Integra. However, at least in my experience, the part of the valve that you are holding still when you tighten the nut has a screwdriver head so you can hold a deep socket on the outside with a vise grips with a screwdriver inserted down through the socket.

Dsprok

That's right, the central part was a screwdriver. The tool I saw was being used on Dodge Slant 6.


I don't see why Shimano charges such a high price for the tool. Could be there is no competition yet.
That tool would save a lot of time.

ypsetihw

they are so cheap they aren't meant to be serviced. I rode a pair of these pedals for a few thousand miles, they had a little play but nothing crazy. when I got tired of them I just replaced them, they ar elike $30 WITH CLEATS which is less than most cleats cost for other systems. just toss em.

fietsbob

I have some MKS pedals that are such close copies of the Traditional Campagnolo pedals

the same tools work and that includes the dust caps, which are interchangeable for replacements.

Dave Mayer

First off, loose ball bearing pedals are the best design in terms of longevity and low friction. Cartridge bearing pedals are a inferior second-best, and worst of all are pedals with a greased sleeve (i.e. no bearings). These will last only months under hard use.

Second, don't pull pedals apart. I learned this the hard way when on a 2 day tour, the bearing cone of my left pedal, which I had recently serviced, started to tighten up. I had messed up the reassembly, and not tightened the cone against the lock-nut. So the pedal eventually became seized-up, and then started to unwind from the crankarm.

I think that this has been mentioned before, but I use a small nail to punch a hole in the plastic dust cap. Or use a small drill bit. Then, about every 6 months, I inject grease through the hole, and clean up the dirty grease that comes out inboard. Been doing this for years.

IrishBrewer

After I spend a while trying to overhaul the Wellgos, I ended up getting some of these Shimano replacements for a great price (come with cleats and the pedals plus cleats are about what you'd pay for cleats alone). I got the standard action variant.

I still havnen't trashed the Wellgo pedals as I also like the loose bearing design. I can't bring myself to buy the specialized Shimano tool, however so I'll only get these back in working condition if I can borrow the tool or if the nyloc nut idea works.

AverageGuyBike

I realize this is an older post. You basically have to you needle nose pliers (very thin ones) to back the bearing race out and against the lock nut. I show how to do it in this video of a pedal rebuild that has a similar construction: (copy and paste the URL for the Youtube Video). youtu.be/kl9FeuW9rYc

Mr. 66

I just would wedge a screw driver to hold the cone in place when tightening the locknut.

grumpus

That's how I do it - jam a flat screwdriver against the cone, tighten the lock nut. It can take a few attempts to get it adjusted just right, but you don't have to do this often unless you ride through rivers, or are careless with a pressure washer.

FBinNY 

Really?

You're new to the forum and immediately dredge up a seven year old post to link a video you made.

Why?

BTW the forum has very good reasons to not allow video links by newbies. I'd be more careful introducing myself by skirting rules.

FWIW there's no way I open a link from an unknown or unvetted source.

maddog34

Because folks still use pedals that need adjusted.

SpedFast

Maybe he was researching this topic on the forum and came up empty and wanted to bring something to the party so he would be welcomed. What do we know about other people's motives? Let's just welcome him to the party first and then we can criticize the he.. out of him when he does something really obnoxious. Gee, did I just type that?

FBinNY 

True, so where have you been for all those years?

Not attacking you, but the opposite, since you, like most of the knowledgeable people here prefer to wait until someone asks a question before answering it.

Otherwise, the forum would be cluttered with countless efforts at shameless self promotion.

unterhausen

seems like an okay video

GamblerGORD53

Oh, that must be the garbage POS with 1/16" bearings. There is NO FIX.