Is it possible..

[Tangoup51]

Is it possible to service PF30 Bearings while they're still in the frame with the cranks removed? I figured youd have to pry up that seal cover, but is there anything else i'm missing out on?

Mine are sounding slightly poor but could do without the bearing press tool..

 

[Racing roadkill]

Is it possible to service PF30 Bearings while they're still in the frame with the cranks removed? I figured youd have to pry up that seal cover, but is there anything else i'm missing out on?

Mine are sounding slightly poor but could do without the bearing press tool..

Yes, flip the rubber seal off, give the bearings a good degrease and clean, then regrease the bearings, replace the seals and put the cranks back on. If any of the individual bearings look a bit small, or badly pitted in relation to the others, you can just get some new ball bearings and replace them.

 

[cosmicbike]

Yes, I did it at about 1500 miles on my CX. I have since bought the Park Tools removing tool and pulled them out of the frame, stripped and re-greased.

 

[Tangoup51]

Thanks for the replies, guize.

I was just wondering because every video of PF30 bearings never focus or mention you could just service the bearings whilst they're young and in the frame.. Instead, focusing on buying an overly expensive press tool or a trip to the LBS.

 

[S-Express]

Mine are sounding slightly poor ..

In which case, servicing them probably is not going to help. If they sound rough, it will be because the ball and/or race surfaces are beginning to fail. So replacement is likely to be the only sensible option.

 

[cosmicbike]

Thanks for the replies, guize.

I was just wondering because every video of PF30 bearings never focus or mention you could just service the bearings whilst they're young and in the frame.. Instead, focusing on buying an overly expensive press tool or a trip to the LBS.

You can knock the old ones out with a punch, and fit new ones with a bit of studding and some large washers. I only bought the tools because I'm an engineer by trade, and I like to use the right tools for a job.

 

[Tangoup51]

You can knock the old ones out with a punch, and fit new ones with a bit of studding and some large washers. I only bought the tools because I'm an engineer by trade, and I like to use the right tools for a job.

I agree with you. There are less expensive ways to get them into the frame, but with this job I would rather have the professional tools for it; or not do it at all.
Regreasing the bearings whilst they're in the frame seems like the best compromise rn, in the future i'll see if I can get my hands on one of those tools, or perhaps save money to fabricate my own accurate variant.

 

[Tangoup51]

In which case, servicing them probably is not going to help. If they sound rough, it will be because the ball and/or race surfaces are beginning to fail. So replacement is likely to be the only sensible option.

Thanks for your input, but they were freshly greased by a local guru when it went in for a warranty job ~ 600 miles ago and by "poor" I just mean it sounds like they need a fresher coating / thicker coating of grease. I'll investigate it further though, particularly so as the "guru" in question hardly over-packed my previous bearings with grease before.

*sidenote - I can't recall if the said LBS in question had serviced the bearings or bearing cups. If not the bearings, it would atleast mean the bearings have 1.1K + Miles on them from stock factory, not enough to destroy/damage the race but perhaps enough to show some signs of Needing Tlc.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Yes, flip the rubber seal off, give the bearings a good degrease and clean, then regrease the bearings, replace the seals and put the cranks back on. If any of the individual bearings look a bit small, or badly pitted in relation to the others, you can just get some new ball bearings and replace them.

Another pearl of wisdom from you. How do you manage to spot a micron just like that? Then, how do you explain one small bearing amongst lots of now-worn bearings. Surely they all wear at the same rate?

 

[Tangoup51]

Another pearl of wisdom from you. How do you manage to spot a micron just like that? Then, how do you explain one small bearing amongst lots of now-worn bearings. Surely they all wear at the same rate?

While I agree with your sense, I believe he meant if any looked imperfect in relation to the others. Some bearings can scratch or even "chip" in certain races. Particularly with Bb cup races I find that there is always some radial compression and it causes very odd bearing wear on my other bikes, though that could just be my funky pedaling style.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

While I agree with your sense, I believe he meant if any looked imperfect in relation to the others. Some bearings can scratch or even "chip" in certain races. Particularly with BB races I find that there is always some radial compression and it causes very odd bearing wear on my other bikes, though that could just be my funky pedaling style.

Don't be so sure. The wizard in question speaks perfect English. He said what he said.
Bearings don't scratch or chip. Look it up.
What is this radial compression business?
What is this very odd bearing wear business? Bearing wear is a well understood part of engineering and I doubt you have found something not yet described and understood.
There is no mechanism in a ball bearing for one ball to wear smaller than the others. By definition, the nanosecond one ball reduces in size, its wear stops instantaneously because the load is taken up by the adjacent balls. They all wear uniformly, no matter what language you speak or observe them in.

Don't defend him. He has a record of dropping nonsense and then disappearing.

 

[Tangoup51]

Don't be so sure. The wizard in question speaks perfect English. He said what he said.
Bearings don't scratch or chip. Look it up.
What is this radial compression business?
What is this very odd bearing wear business? Bearing wear is a well understood part of engineering and I doubt you have found something not yet described and understood.
There is no mechanism in a ball bearing for one ball to wear smaller than the others. By definition, the nanosecond one ball reduces in size, its wear stops instantaneously because the load is taken up by the adjacent balls. They all wear uniformly, no matter what language you speak or observe them in.

Don't defend him. He has a record of dropping nonsense and then disappearing.

I don't aim to get between a personal feud between you and that other user, I have no enemies here and you are certainly not one.

I'm not sure what i'd have to "look up" for that, I'm calling from my own experiences from servicing hubs (and the odd bb) on my cheaper bikes, I can promise you that they had microscopic cuts and marks on them. - Perhaps that's a better word than "chip" or "scratch"

By Radial Compression I'm referring to very slight sizing manufacturing imperfections in the Diamater of the BB and BB Cups that when squeezed together and cause additional stress on the Bearings within said circular race, this creates a point of pressure that will be continuously higher than the other parts of the race which often leads to the odd wear.

This also occurs with Cup'n cone hubs on the cheaper end I find, particularly as there's always a minor manufacturing intolerance to some degree, which always puts one part of a hub or race at a tighter tolerance than another.

ESPECIALLY if you are talking in Microscopic sizes -- there are plenty of things that can lead to "odd" bearing wear.

AS you say here..
" the nanosecond one ball reduces in size, its wear stops instantaneously because the load is taken up by the adjacent balls."

This is true, but what happens to the thing it's wearing against? What happens to the shards of microscopic metal that has been "reduced?"

It doesn't always leave the Race silky smooth -- and on a microscopic level -- can become a grinding stone that starts eating away at slightly oversized bearings - or even, eating away at correct sized bearings that happen to be sitting against an imperfection in the cone on the other side, forcing it past more-so than the rest causing these odd imperfections.


This is not uncommon for what i've seen, you must remember we do not live in a world of perfectly accurate sizes, or the highest quality ball bearings / races in each bike so this is indeed a possibility.

Unless you're viewing every single ball / race as if it was made from the hand of God, then I could take refuge in what you have mentioned here.

*Note I do not wish to discuss this further and will leave this thread ignored and I thank everyone for your help above.

 

[paraffinlamps]

.
Bearings don't scratch or chip. Look it up.
.

I googled do bearings scratch or chip , this was the fifth hit .

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213290213000436

2.2.3. Balls
Varying degrees of damage were observed on the balls (shown in Fig. 4); a few balls had severe damage, a few showed relatively less damage with the reminder showing only minor scratch marks.

I ignored the first four as they were manufacturer material and I have heeded your previous advice about peer reviewed material .

 

[gbb]

I've not seen PF30 bearings so can only hazard a guess if it's possible to remove seal and regreasing....but it's something we do on a need to do basis when overhauling stuff and find ourselves without a new bearing. And it can work perfectly well, can be easy to do and I see no reason why not.
I assume you're talking about the actual seal on the bearing itself Tangroup...very fine screwdriver on the inner part of the seal and run it round, lifting at the same time.

 

[fossyant]

If the bearing is still rough after replacing the grease, you'll need a new one. I've done the cartridge bearings on my headsets and wheels a few times. Some bearings are less well made and lacking grease than others. But, if it's rough, it's usually down to the race getting pitted, so it's time for new.

Just be careful getting the seal off so you don't damage it.