Need help: xt rear hub loose and sloppy

like a ten dollar whore. I just replaced the rear casette and was ready to go for a ride when I realized the wheel has a cm of play back and forth. I pulled the casette, tightened down the inner dohickey and now only have a half cm but I want it tight.

Do I need the special wrenches and crank the shit out of it to get rid of that extra play? I used pliers on both sides and don't think the skinny wrenches would have got much more leverage. Do I need to pull apart the whole inside somehow and repack/rebuild? I don't have that much time on the wheel, just now on the second pair of tires.

New to zen and the art of bicycle maintenance. Thanks for the help..

Cone wrentches are pretty important here. You may not realize it, but there are two parts on each side. the cone that actully touches the bearings, and the outer lock nut that you were likely twisting on. Lock them up on the free hub side, spin cone down to proper spot on non drive side, then lock non drive side so that you have smooth action and no play. Pay attention to how much axle is showing when you lock down the drive side.

2 wrenches on one side.
http://www.smartcycles.com/images/tuneup8.gif

This hub? You can pull those little dust covers to get at the cone wrench surfaces.
http://www.bikebits.ie/productImages/xt_freehubs.jpg

It's an older mavic wheelset, pretty skinny, with a black xt hub that doesn't look quite as beefy as that one.

So I:

go to the drive side and lock up with skinny wrench on outer lock nut

go to non drive side and pull off little rubber dust cover

look for another nut inside, greese and crank that one

tighten outer lock nut on non drive side accordingly

replace rubber dust cover

go ride.

Is that right?

Just have somebody show you. It'll save a lot of future brain cells.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JeffreyJim

Just have somebody show you. It'll save a lot of future brain cells.

---

Not a problem. He already killed those a long time ago.

Tough to explain.

The cone and nut lock together on each side. They must be tightened against eachother with 2 wenches.
The distance between the L and R cones determines loose or tight hub.

Getting it right is kinda important, so you may want to find someone that knows.

and you will need cone wrench and the stuff to remove the cassette (chain whip and tool)

parktools.com might have some good info too.

Done and done. Thanks everyone.

I took the whole center rod out to take a peak at the inners and got to chase some bearings across the floor, but was able to see the cone nuts and everything up close and personal. Put the bearings back in with a little with a little grease, got the cone nuts snug but not too snug, and got the outside lock nuts on.

All was perfect, then I realized the center rod wasn't even on both sides and had to adjust everything again but now I'm good as new.

Thanks again. (excluding arty)