Grease in my Shimano 333 hub

[RatRodDad]

I recently bought a bike that had a Shimano 333 rear hub on it. I was going to use the wheels on another bike.

Once I got it home I checked and the shifter rod was not working properly - not coming out on it's own and staying stuck in, as if maybe the spring inside was broken or something.

I decided to take part of it apart to see what I could see and as soon as I got one end off of the hub I noticed heavy black bearing grease inside. I'm not a 3 speed expert, but I was thinking those hubs were filled with fairly light weight oil - more like car motor oil or something - and not heavy bearing grease.

So now I'm wondering if someone filled it with grease - like you would a single speed hub, and so that's why the shifter is not working.

If that's the case, maybe I can flush out all of the grease and refill it with some lighter oil and maybe it will work.

So if any of you know whether having heavy grease inside the hub could be the problem or what type of lube should be inside of it, let me know. Thanks.

 

[user 135]

http://www.cyclingforums.com/showthread.php?t=287054 a little info about using same type oil as S/A
http://oldroads.com/shim3spd.html

 

[RatRodDad]

Thanks, Cman. Sounds like regular motor oil is the deal.

My brother said he read somewhere that if the oil in them was too thick you could clean it out by putting kerosene or similar oil into the hub, letting it soak, then draining it and putting the correct oil back in. So I will probably give that a shot and see if the thing will work.

 

[mos6502]

If it has an oil cap, it needs oil in it. If it has no cap, it was packed with grease from the factory.

 

[user 135]

If it has an oil cap, it needs oil in it. If it has no cap, it was packed with grease from the factory.

As Captain Obvious says " Good advise". Some times we overlook the simplest indicators or signs of what should happen or what should be..