Cup and cone hub service - Deore m525

[l4dva]

My first attempt at cleaning up and greasing cup and cone wheel hubs.

The wheels are new to me but used so thought I’d give them a refresh. The rear hub took me a while but managed to nail it in the end. Basically took them apart de greased / cleaned everything, fresh grease and then put back together again and tuned in the right amount of pre load tension - success!

The front wheel spun pretty nicely as it was but I thought I’d do it anyways. The grease in side was pretty nasty. This time I filled in a bit more grease than the rear hub before reassembling however now I’m really struggling to get pre load dialled in. It feels notchy and then as I very gradually loosen the nut off it will continue notchy until it spins nicely but instantly at that point the axel will have noticeable play in it. I can’t find the middle ground at all.

I’m not sure if I have overfilled it with grease and if that makes a difference? I’m also using Mobil xhp 222 grease, I just brought a big tub so thought why not - I know it won’t spin the fastest but should last a long time. I’m doubting now if I made an error on both these choices?

Any thoughts or tips for me on this one?

Thanks in advance!

 

[lenfield]

This time I filled in a bit more grease than the rear hub before reassembling however now I’m really struggling to get pre load dialled in. It feels notchy and then as I very gradually loosen the nut off it will continue notchy until it spins nicely but instantly at that point the axel will have noticeable play in it. I can’t find the middle ground at all.

That's not unusual. The cup, cone and bearings won't be perfectly round because of wear. I'd err on the slightly notchy side.