Re: 4-speed Sturmey Archer servicing
Just got this report from Peter via e-mail;
Hub model
FG 1958 (Claud Butler Jubilee)
Reported fault/s
Indicator chain broken. Difficulty selecting bottom gear. Sticky internals.
Description of work carried out
Initial inspection found all four gear select correctly. Hub stripped down and all parts placed in a solvent bath to remove old oil and dirt. Each component checked for wear and damage. No signs of rust or water ingress, light oil present throughout. Most components are in very good condition the only exception being some wear on the clutch and planet cage dogs but perfectly normal for its age and this wouldn’t cause the problem described. The r.h. cone was slightly out of adjustment. All bearings shiny and like new and don’t need to be replaced, ditto for the races and cones. L.h. indicator rod is correct for this axle length. Compensator spring is the correct length, strait and moves freely within the shaft. I operated the internals without the shell to make sure the bottom gear was engaging, and everything was moving as it should. Axel key looks fine.
Internals re-lubricated with the correct grade oil, cones, bearing and labyrinth seals with grease. Everything adjusted to SA spec. All four gears checked. Two replacement links fitted to the broken indicator chain.
New parts fitted:
None.
Notes
I didn’t require the wing-nuts for testing, so they have been left rapped up. The hub did require a service as the light oil you added to free things up is probably not the best left in there long term. There was also very little grease in the bearings and seals. The low gear pawls look and feel good and have plenty of spring in them. The FW hub is basically a three speed with an extra low gear incorporated into it. Cable pull for gears 2-4 are as per the three-speed but to get into bottom gear requires two springs (clutch and compensator) to be compressed simultaneously hence the extra force required. To get it working well requires perfect cable routing and spot-on adjustment. Select gear 2 and adjust until the l.h. indicator rod is fush with the axle. Shift up and down the gears a few times checking as you go. A little oil on the chain where is goes into the guide will help and you must use the r.h. chain guide. If you get it into bottom gear but it keeps jumping out into second, then this will most likely be a warn trigger and weak spring or the trigger itself is bent out of shape (accident damage or incorrect fitting in the past).
There may be a little oil leakage for a while after fitting, this is normal. If it does get onto any braking surface, make sure it’s wiped of before being ridden. Regular lubrication is the key to a hubs long life. Sturmey recommends “little and often”, a few drops every two weeks when in use. Sturmey hubs are not sealed units and large amounts all in one go will just run out. Lubrication can be done either via the oil port on the shell or on models that use a single indicator rod, by removing the rod and placing a few drops with the bike laying down on its side. Suitable oil is SAE 30 commonly used for petrol powered garden machinery. The second-best choice is car engine oil. Do NOT use any other type as this will eventually damage the internals. Older hubs with the metal oiler port are prone to leaking when parked. You can avoid this by always parking the bike leaning the left and not with the oil port at the bottom. Later plastic oil caps do not have this problem. It’s best to store the bike with a slack wire (ie gear 4) as this will help keep the clutch and compensator springs happy. Service intervals depend on how much you use the bike and what weather it is ridden in. I’d recommend yearly for your average all weather commuter cycle. Less frequent for cycles that see less use. The two-piece indicator rod used on hubs such as yours are very delicate and easily damaged. When fitting only screw them together lightly by hand or the fine thread will be stripped or could even snap.
Chuffed to bits, and now the hub is on its way home.
