Any tips on opening up a Sturmey hub?

Jasper Janssen said:

I need to open up a Sturmey 3 speed (the AB, with drum brake, but
it's mostly the same as the AW on the gear side), because the
indicator spindle and the little thingy inside that it screws into
have mutually destroyed threads. It's not just the spindle, since
I've put in a new spindle a while ago and now it's doing it again,
so I'd like to solve this problem permanently (also, the spindle is
coming out with a lot of very black gunk on it, so it really needs a
good clean in there).

Quoted message said:

I just cannot manage to get that lid to unscrew with available
parts. I can't find the punch that I once bought specifically for
opening up SA hubs, so I've been trying using screwdrivers and an M5
bolt I had lying around that looked the right size, but all I'm
succeeding in doing is making a lot of noise late at night and
completely destroying the end of that bolt (it seems to have been
softer material than the lid).

The right cup is a double lead right hand thread and should come off
relatively easily for that reason. The left side is a left hand
thread, both covers transmitting forward torque to the hub at one gear
or another.

Quoted message said:

Any tips for what to use? How do I hold/support the wheel so that
the force of my blows actually ends up torquing that lid? Tyre on,
off inflated, not, vise (on what), anything? Anyone happen to know
where I could buy for not too much money, and preferably in Europe,
that handy wrench thingy that fits the lid exactly?

I've never had a problem with this so I can't suggest anything other
than taking the cover off before un-spoking the wheel. I use a flat
faced punch for the right cup and a large crescent wrench for the
left.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/sturmey-archer.html

Jobst Brandt

Quoted message said:

Jasper Janssen writes:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I just cannot manage to get that lid to unscrew with available
parts. I can't find the punch that I once bought specifically for
opening up SA hubs, so I've been trying using screwdrivers and an M5
bolt I had lying around that looked the right size, but all I'm
succeeding in doing is making a lot of noise late at night and
completely destroying the end of that bolt (it seems to have been
softer material than the lid).

The right cup is a double lead right hand thread and should come off
relatively easily for that reason. The left side is a left hand
thread, both covers transmitting forward torque to the hub at one gear
or another.

The AB doesn't actually have the left hand cover, or at least not a
removable one, it's pressed into the hubshell separating the drum from the
gears (and the inner workings are shorter to compensate), but this one
appears to be right stuck. It hasn't been off, presumably, since 1985 when
it was made.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Any tips for what to use? How do I hold/support the wheel so that
the force of my blows actually ends up torquing that lid? Tyre on,
off inflated, not, vise (on what), anything? Anyone happen to know
where I could buy for not too much money, and preferably in Europe,
that handy wrench thingy that fits the lid exactly?

I've never had a problem with this so I can't suggest anything other
than taking the cover off before un-spoking the wheel. I use a flat
faced punch for the right cup and a large crescent wrench for the
left.

The wheel is spoked, in fact I recently put new spokes and a new rim on
this hub, which is why I'm not inclined to just toss it and go to a spare.
Do you clamp the wheel in a vise by the coneless left axle end while
attacking the notches with a punch?

Jasper

Jasper Janssen said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I just cannot manage to get that lid to unscrew with available
parts. I can't find the punch that I once bought specifically for
opening up SA hubs, so I've been trying using screwdrivers and an
M5 bolt I had lying around that looked the right size, but all I'm
succeeding in doing is making a lot of noise late at night and
completely destroying the end of that bolt (it seems to have been
softer material than the lid).

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The right cup is a double lead right hand thread and should come
off relatively easily for that reason. The left side is a left
hand thread, both covers transmitting forward torque to the hub at
one gear or another.

Quoted message said:

The AB doesn't actually have the left hand cover, or at least not a
removable one, it's pressed into the hubshell separating the drum
from the gears (and the inner workings are shorter to compensate),
but this one appears to be right stuck. It hasn't been off,
presumably, since 1985 when it was made.

I've not worked on the AB hub but I have in various others. Later
AW's also had a pressed in knurled left cup on later models because it
doesn't need to be removed for common servicing.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Any tips for what to use? How do I hold/support the wheel so that
the force of my blows actually ends up torquing that lid? Tyre
on, off inflated, not, vise (on what), anything? Anyone happen to
know where I could buy for not too much money, and preferably in
Europe, that handy wrench thingy that fits the lid exactly?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've never had a problem with this so I can't suggest anything
other than taking the cover off before un-spoking the wheel. I use
a flat faced punch for the right cup and a large crescent wrench
for the left.

Quoted message said:

The wheel is spoked, in fact I recently put new spokes and a new rim
on this hub, which is why I'm not inclined to just toss it and go to
a spare. Do you clamp the wheel in a vise by the coneless left axle
end while attacking the notches with a punch?

As I said, it has a double lead thread that unscrews fairly easily.
Your hub must have gotten a gratuitous Loctite treatment or the like.
I just lean the wheel against my leg and give it a couple of moderate
hammer blows on the punch.

Jobst Brandt

Quoted message said:

Jasper Janssen writes:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The AB doesn't actually have the left hand cover, or at least not a
removable one, it's pressed into the hubshell separating the drum
from the gears (and the inner workings are shorter to compensate),
but this one appears to be right stuck. It hasn't been off,
presumably, since 1985 when it was made.

I don't have the exploded view in front of me, so I may be visualizing
this wrong. I believe the AB left "cover" would have to be pressed in,
because the drive would torque it one way while the brakes would
torque it the other. If the braking torque is never applied to this
part, then it's possible that it's screwed in. In general, only
threaded covers would have flats for unscrewing them.

There were some hubs which required a special gear on a shaft to
unscrew the left cup. I have one which I made about 25 years ago and
used exactly once. It really should not be necessary to take this part
out.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Do you clamp the wheel in a vise by the coneless left axle
end while attacking the notches with a punch?

No, that would tend to damage the axle. Just stand it upright on the
ground and tap with the hammer and punch from above.

-
-----------------------------------------------
Jim Adney [email hidden]
Madison, WI 53711 USA
-----------------------------------------------

Jim Adney said:

Quoted message said:

Jasper Janssen writes:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The AB doesn't actually have the left hand cover, or at least not a
removable one, it's pressed into the hubshell separating the drum
from the gears (and the inner workings are shorter to compensate),

This was about the left cup.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

but this one appears to be right stuck. It hasn't been off,
presumably, since 1985 when it was made.

And that was about the right cup.

Quoted message said:

I don't have the exploded view in front of me, so I may be visualizing
this wrong. I believe the AB left "cover" would have to be pressed in,
because the drive would torque it one way while the brakes would
torque it the other. If the braking torque is never applied to this
part, then it's possible that it's screwed in. In general, only
threaded covers would have flats for unscrewing them.

The brakes actuate directly on the hubshell. You've got a hubshell that's
AW-diameter on the right and the drum diameter on the left. Into the bit
where it becomes the smaller diameter is press-fitted (I think, certainly
no flats) a cover that functions like the left hand cup on AWs. I'm told
that AWs only had screwed in left cups <61, anyway, so my '85 AB would
disqualify itself because of that as well.

Quoted message said:

There were some hubs which required a special gear on a shaft to
unscrew the left cup. I have one which I made about 25 years ago and
used exactly once. It really should not be necessary to take this part
out.

I wasn't going to, although I see why you think that -- in that paragraph
above I switched from discussing the left hand cup, which can stay where
it is in eternity pretty much, to discussing the right hand cup which I
did need to get out, without a clear signal, or for that matter any signal
that I did so. I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Do you clamp the wheel in a vise by the coneless left axle
end while attacking the notches with a punch?

No, that would tend to damage the axle. Just stand it upright on the
ground and tap with the hammer and punch from above.

That's what my LBS guy did for me. Got it loose in 30 seconds, no charge.
Of course, I paid 12 euros or so for a bunch of new parts, so he's got my
pound of flesh anyway.

Jasper

On Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:14:05 GMT Jasper Janssen <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

On Tue, 20 Sep 2005 22:00:18 -0500, Jim Adney <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Jasper Janssen writes:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> Do you clamp the wheel in a vise by the coneless left axle
> end while attacking the notches with a punch?

No, that would tend to damage the axle. Just stand it upright on the
ground and tap with the hammer and punch from above.

That's what my LBS guy did for me. Got it loose in 30 seconds, no charge.
Of course, I paid 12 euros or so for a bunch of new parts, so he's got my
pound of flesh anyway.

Sounds good. Let us know how it goes from here. I'm pleased and
surprised that you found the parts you needed. S-A parts are getting
hard to find. I assume that the parts you needed were parts shared by
the AW also.

-
-----------------------------------------------
Jim Adney [email hidden]
Madison, WI 53711 USA
-----------------------------------------------

Jim Adney said:

I didn't realize that SA production had started up again. Where are
the parts made now? Are they making ABs and AWs? What else?

Sturmey Archer stuff is made in Taiwan:
http://www.sturmey-archer.com/

As always, Sheldon is Da Man:
http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/sturmey.html

Jeff