My Profile crankset is making some clicking noises, sometimes several with every pedal stroke. It kinda sounds like loose spoke movement, but I’m pretty sure the sound isn’t coming from the spokes. I have taken off my cranks with the help of an Evercraft bearing puller and a U-bolt (thanks JC), put more antiseize on the splines and reassembled. The problem is still there. This leads me to believe its coming from the keyways moving.
In this thread http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28654&perpage=15&highlight=keyway&pagenumber=3 John Childs and George Barnes mention pressing out the axle from the hub body. However details are very scant. Can anyone describe the procedure in more detail and the tools required to do it? Any help would be appreciated as I’d like to be able to do this repair myself, rather than paying someone to do it.
We took a large chunk of wood (~8x6x12"), and drilled an spindle sized hole in it. This is so the hub has a nice cradle, and wont get deformed or damaged. Next take another peice of wood, this one smaller. It doesnt really matter what it is, as long as you dont care about it. Using the smaller peice of wood between a 5 pound sledge and the spindle, with the spindle in it’s appropriate hole/cradle, Knock out the spindle. Once you get the spindle to a point where it’s flush with the hub shell, you can use a piece of 3/4 wooden dowel (still using the sledge) to push the spindle out the other side.
That said, I’d still recommend checking to make adsolutely sure the hub’s the problem.
PS: Im sorry if any of the previous statement was confusing or misleading. If needed, feel free to ask questions.
I used a Bessey bar clamp, a 6 inch long or 8 inch long piece of pipe, and a few big washers to protect the aluminum hub body from getting marred.
I’ll attach a rather poorly drawn picture that shows how I did it.
I was able to fit the bar clamp through the spokes so I did not need to disassemble the wheel. If I had tried to use a hydraulic or mechanical press I would have needed to unbuild the wheel because very few presses are big enough to let you put the entire wheel in them. They’re only big enough for the hub.
You’re also going to need some sort of measuring tool with a depth gage. I used a vernier caliper that included a depth gage. The depth gage is used to make sure the axle gets centered in the hub when it is pressed back in.
I used Loctite sleeve retainer in the keyway. The Loctite didn’t hold. After a few months the slop in the keyway was back. Epoxy like JB Weld would probably be a better choice.
If you don’t care about the slop and only want to get rid of the noise then try putting some penetrating oil or similar lubricant in the keyway. The oil will work its way into the crevices and may stop the creaking.
Even though my keyway is loose and the axle moves around, I have never had any creaking or other noises from my hub. I’m not sure why that is.
Be certain that it is in fact the keyway that is the problem before you start pressing the axle out. You could end up making things worse.
I pressed the axle only part way out. If you press the axle all the way out (so that both woodruff keys are exposed) you may find it difficult to the the keys lined up again with the keyway.
Sounds exactly like the problem I had… sure it’s not the bearings as that’s what it seemed to be for me. After a few weeks of riding it ended up stopping. It’s come back but not as bad as before.
Thanks for all your suggestions. And the diagram, John.
Yeah, I’ll check the bearings (thanks Robbie - I didn’t think of those being the problem!) and the spokes thoroughly before I embark on pressing out the axle. Hopefully I can solve the problem without needing to do this!
The drawing is rather pathetic. I need to get a good drawing program. I tried using the drawing program in OpenOffice.org and discovered that it sucks more than any drawing program I’ve ever used. I ended up finishing the drawing in MS Paint.
The good news is that if the axle really is loose, it will be easy to press out of the hub.
Once you press the axle out about 2 inches the end of the axle will be flush with the hub body. To press it out further you’re going to need some sort of extension to press it out further. A wooden dowel would work. I used the Profile Crank Tool as an extension. If you happen to have the Profile tool, it’s the best choice.
