Shimano M523 maintenance

[quixoticgeek]

I have just removed a pair of Shimano M523 (I think, it's the single sided spd with a normal pedal on the other side), they've not exactly been looked after (kept in the Dutch rain for a while), and they aren't as smooth as they once were. Is it possible to disassemble these and repack the bearings and the like? Has anyone done it before? Would like to get them back in full working order before I stick them on a new bike.

J

[Torslanda]

If there's a plastic castellated fitting around the spindle you will need the Shimano tool to dismantle them. Other than that it's straightforward maintenance.

[Torslanda]

Might they be M324?

Diagram here

[quixoticgeek]

If there's a plastic castellated fitting around the spindle you will need the Shimano tool to dismantle them. Other than that it's straightforward maintenance.

Nope, it seems to be a nut on the end of the spindle under a dust cap on the outside end. I see there is mention of a TL-PD33 tool for adjusting the bearings. Is this critical. or can you bodge it with a sockets? The tool is 40 quid, the pedals were less than that...

J

[Torslanda]

Umpty-ump 3/32 ball bearings.

Flush with GT 85 and pump them full of grease to see if there's any improvement first...

[hubner]

If you don't need to adjust the bearings, I would suggest drilling a hole in the dustcap and pump grease in with a grease gun.

To adjust the bearings, hold the pedal axle in a vice, use something like a small screwdrivewr to hold the cone whilst you tighten the locknut with a socket or box spanner. You prob need to start off with the cone a bit loose which will tighten as you do up the locknut.

The "proper" tool is just a thin wall socket, maybe grind down a normal socket if you can't find a thin wall one for a reasonable price.

[jsabine]

I thought the proper tool was two concentric sockets, to allow you to adjust cone and locknut and snug them up against each other without trying to use a screwdriver to jam the cone in place while with your second and third hands you tighten the nut.

[Brucey]

I thought the proper tool was two concentric sockets, to allow you to adjust cone and locknut and snug them up against each other without trying to use a screwdriver to jam the cone in place while with your second and third hands you tighten the nut.

^ Correct.

PD-M323 and PD-M324 both have a similar arrangement.

There is no tab washer between the cone and locknut, so trying to hold the cone with a screwdriver is unlikely to be sufficiently effective; the cone is liable to slip before the parts are tight enough.   

Adjusting these pedals is doubly a PITA because you can't use the correct tools on them unless you remove the cage first. Obviously you can lubricate the  pedals without disturbing the adjustment; if the adjustment is OK and you don't have the right tools I would suggest that you do that.

BTW if the cone and locknut are not tightened sufficiently against one another, they will tend to move in use. The likelihood of this (or how tight the cone and locknut need to be to resist it) varies with how hard you push on the pedals when riding. If movement occurs (via precession), the usual thing is that the LH bearing adjusts itself tighter and the RH bearing adjusts itself looser. Both are to be avoided, because either will wreck the pedals.

NB; also, these pedals have RH threads for both L and R pedal cones and locknuts. Some later SPD pedal designs have a LH threaded cone and locknut on the RH pedal instead.

cheers

[hubner]

I thought the proper tool was two concentric sockets, to allow you to adjust cone and locknut and snug them up against each other without trying to use a screwdriver to jam the cone in place while with your second and third hands you tighten the nut.

Ah!

Your third hand would be a vice*.

I take it the cone is 13mm and the locknut is 10mm.

OK you could drill out a socket but that would be quite a lot of work and you would still need to weld on a handle! How about this "13mm/19mm Box Spark Plug Spanner With Slot", £5 from Ebay:


or "Chainsaw Spark Plug & Bar Nut Spanner Screwdriver 13mm X 19mm" £2.76:


Then use a normal box spanner for the locknut.


*the type that clamps onto a table works well enough, or you could use a couple of f-cramps and blocks of wood.

[Brucey]

it would be convenient if that would work; however I have made my own tools for this job and IIRC they need to be much thinner walled than that.

BTW EV techdocs
PD-M323;
http://web.archive.org/web/20150620051821/http://www.paul-lange.de/support/shimano/explosionszeichnungen_archiv/PD//PD-M323.PDF
PD-M324;
http://si.shimano.com/pdfs/ev/EV-PD-M324-1972A.pdf

Also NB; the PD-M323 pedal has a different jaw design and uses slightly different cleats than the later PD-M324 pedal. If you use modern cleats with the PD-M323 pedals, it'll work, but there will be no float whatsoever.

cheers

[hubner]

You would only need to grind down the corners, I would have thought.

[Brucey]

You would only need to grind down the corners, I would have thought.

I guess;  however the 10mm (?) socket must only have a thin wall too, maybe 0.75mm  on the corners.  Also, I have heard of  instances where the tool has a generous corner radius inside the hexagonal recess, but the locknut doesn't have rounded corners to match. The result is that the tool won't fit on the locknut, even if it is 'the right size'.

cheers

[fhills]

If you don't need to adjust the bearings, I would suggest drilling a hole in the dustcap and pump grease in with a grease gun.

I hear/read this suggestion a bit. Why not just pop off the dustcap, put some grease in, and the put the dust cap back on?

Also, will this grease work through to the bearings?

[Brucey]

if you put (rather than pump)  a #2 grease in one end of the pedal, it'll do one bearing but it isn't going to make it to the other end of the pedal very well.

 Thus if you grease the outboard bearing (by putting grease under the dustcap), the inboard bearing won't see any benefit. This is unfortunate because the inboard bearing is the one that most often sees the worst effects of the weather.

With PD-M324 (and many other pedals) you can give them a little love by spraying some aerosol lube (of the sort that is meant for motorcycle chains) into the bearings. This is usually pretty good stuff; it penetrates well but then dries to a waterproof grease. With rubber inboard seals (like PD-M324) it is necessary to lift the seal to gain access.

cheers

[rogerzilla]

The tool is £33 from the big Brazilian river emporium.  Still too much.  It's just a crap design; it'll never even be a popular shop tool, because what shop would mess about servicing pedals?

[fhills]

Yes, exactly, and no customer would ask them to when they were told the labour charges.

So totally agree with you about the poor design - rather reminds me of folk complaining about certain car designs when I was a kid - jobbies where you had to take half the engine out to do some pretty minor job.

As Brucey has pointed out you also need to remove the cage to even start the job. On an old pair of mine, it is now impossible to get the cage off. So it is clearly a good idea on buying a pair to take the ** things apart and grease all the bolts!

If you fit the reflectors (I did on a pair recently as they were reduced to a sane amount from the normal £12 or so, you also have to take them off to take the cage off to ........

Damn fine pedal though    

[Brucey]

The tool is £33 from the big Brazilian river emporium.  Still too much.  It's just a crap design; it'll never even be a popular shop tool, because what shop would mess about servicing pedals?

I quite agree.  However I would comment that if a shop were to invest in a tool and loan it out for a reasonable sum (say £5 plus a returnable deposit) then it could be a good thing.

cheers