Seized M545 pedal

[ElyDave]

the RHS M545 medal was tightening on it's spindle, to the extent that I've had it in the vice to strip it down and grease it twice.  Today, luckily on the turbotrainer, it completely seized and came out of the crank with my foot still attached.  I had a spare pedal so could carry on, but question is why would it keep doing this and is it a case of just bin it?

Once it was off it was really noticeable the difference to the new pedal, with a dorp in heart rate of about 5bpm and another 10W on the output

[Brucey]

bearings need servicing properly.

cheers

[ElyDave]

bearings need servicing properly.

cheers

OK, I've had it in the vice, with the spindle out, adjusted the locknuts on the end so it turns freely and regreased the body and threads before reassembly. The bearings seemed to have plenty of grease on them and it was turning freely when reinstalled on the bike.

Anything specific I need to look for?

[Ian H]

Possibly the locknuts not tight enough against each other so that they gradually tighten the bearings?

[Brucey]

EV techdoc here

http://si.shimano.com/pdfs/ev/EV-PD-M545-1752B.pdf

if the sleeve (#2) is not screwed far enough into the pedal body then the whole bearing assy may slide further to the right inside the pedal body and the left end of the sleeve will start to bind against the spindle shoulder. Crud or debris between #2 and the spindle will do the same thing, as will a badly deformed #2 or excessive free play in the bearings.

If the cone and locknut are not tight against one another, this (in older SPD designs like this) usually causes the LH pedal bearing to start to  bind and the RH bearing assy to develop free play. If the free play gets bad enough the balls start to ride over one another and then it is game over. When the balls start to ride over one another the pedal can seize up.

[In more recent SPD designs (and BTW some have changed mid-production run) the RH spindle has a LH thread for the cone and locknut. In this case the bearings precess inwards and start to bind, should the cone and locknut not be tight against one another, much as LH pedals do.]

hth

cheers