Do you still have them? I may start collecting them to bring them back.
Of course... I'm assuming I'll figure out what the heck I'm doing.
Of course... I'm assuming I'll figure out what the heck I'm doing.
Shimano 333 3-speed hub issue
- Thread starter CRASH
- Start date
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Wish I did. That was, like, 12 years ago. Not sure what happened to those.
I got the book today and it's very good and very detailed. The trick is to unscrew the housing from the shell. So, pretty much like an SA hub... except... for the life of me I couldn't do it. I tried all different methods ending with putting it STRONGLY in a vice and trying to turn the wheel the other way to get it to break loose. No such luck, and I was really cranking on it.
So I gave up. My daughter's 24" Huffy Super Stock has the same hub in it. So I thought about it, and I could relace a Nexus in there, or better yet, build her a 5 speed! I love 5 speeds! So I despoked her rear wheel and despoked the Rail's rear wheel and respoked it with the complete and operational hub. Spent the rest of the evening truing it.
So I really shot myself in the foot. I just wanted to grease the bearings, but I ended up letting those internal axel pins fall loose and that set this course on disaster. Another shot I made to my foot is I soaked the housing assembly in bleach to bring back the white. But the bleach ate the soft aluminum barrel adjuster. FML!! NOS replacement set is on the way, but still... I shot myself in the foot.
ugh.
So I gave up. My daughter's 24" Huffy Super Stock has the same hub in it. So I thought about it, and I could relace a Nexus in there, or better yet, build her a 5 speed! I love 5 speeds! So I despoked her rear wheel and despoked the Rail's rear wheel and respoked it with the complete and operational hub. Spent the rest of the evening truing it.
So I really shot myself in the foot. I just wanted to grease the bearings, but I ended up letting those internal axel pins fall loose and that set this course on disaster. Another shot I made to my foot is I soaked the housing assembly in bleach to bring back the white. But the bleach ate the soft aluminum barrel adjuster. FML!! NOS replacement set is on the way, but still... I shot myself in the foot.
ugh.
All of us have done similar things like that then felt terrible about the aftermath. We live and learn and Lord knows I have messed many items up learning. Glad to hear you worked out a solution. Did you get the book via Amazon or someplace else?
Ebay for $5.
I can still rebuild that hub easy if I could just get that bearing housing to unscrew. Now that it's not laced up, any suggestions?
I can still rebuild that hub easy if I could just get that bearing housing to unscrew. Now that it's not laced up, any suggestions?
Maybe place it in a bench vise to get more leverage on it.
That's exactly what I did when I had it laced it. I thought I would crush it I had it in there so tight, and I still managed to make it slip, and I was using all my strength! Now that it's off the rim I don't know. I'm thinking of maybe heating it up with a torch to get the threads to let go. It doesn't look rusted at all, but who knows what going on in those threads.
Update...
Smoopy is selling a Ball Cup Remover that I believe is the tool I need to get this bad boy apart. So... it may actually get back in action.
Smoopy is selling a Ball Cup Remover that I believe is the tool I need to get this bad boy apart. So... it may actually get back in action.
Update: That tool is exactly what I needed. I got the hub apart and put it back together per the book. I don't have it laced in a wheel to test it, but the spring action works as it should, so that's a good sign. I'm mating it to a Shimano 333 twist grip and will be selling the whole system.
Findings: The 333 system is not mechanically friendly, but with the right tool(s) and the right guide (that book I bought) maintenance can be performed on these hubs. They just aren't as easy as the SA hub I rebuilt.
So... if you have a 333 3-speed hub you would like overhauled, let me know and we can work something out.
Findings: The 333 system is not mechanically friendly, but with the right tool(s) and the right guide (that book I bought) maintenance can be performed on these hubs. They just aren't as easy as the SA hub I rebuilt.
So... if you have a 333 3-speed hub you would like overhauled, let me know and we can work something out.
