Tightening locknuts on Deore DX pedals - drat and nuts?!

[TreaderSteve]

So, I took them entirely apart - flat PD-M650 - so I could put new seals on and re-grease. I left them with my LBS who know a thing or two - hoping they could finish off the final tightening - hoping they had the thin Shimano socket tool for the job. They don't. He says he can't even do the ol' jam a screwdriver in to wedge the bottom nut whilst tightening the outer nut. There's no keyed washer in this pedal.

Anyone got any ideas? I've been to the local iron monger to see if they had a thin box-spanner - they don't.

Anyone got the special tool I could borrow and return please?! I'm very trustworthy.

Thanks

 

[hookooekoo]

Anyone got any ideas?

My method for adjusting pedal bearings:

1. Assemble inboard bearings with plenty of grease.
2, Place the ball bearings in the outboard bearing cup.
3. Thoroughly clean all the grease off the threads where the bearing cone and lock nut go (kitchen towel).
4. Thoroughly clean all the grease from the bearing cone and lock nut threads (kitchen towel).
5. Apply some medium strength thread lock to the threads where the bearing cone and lock nut go.
6. Install the bearing cone slightly too tight, and then snug the lock nut up against it.
7. Wait a little while for the thread lock to set.
8. Grease the outboard bearings
9. Back the bearing cone off just enough until the bearing rotates smoothly. It will be a little stiff due to the thread lock, but it should be possible to turn it. Don't worry about what the lock nut is doing while you do this, it will just rotate with the bearing cone.


If you do it right you'll have a bearing cone and lock nut that will remain locked firmly in place, and perfectly smooth bearings that will stay that way.

The thread lock I use is Loctite 248. It's available from Halfords.

https://www.henkel-adhesives.com/uk/en/product/threadlockers/loctite_248.html

 

[Tootyred]

1/4" sockets will go i the hole btw, if you struggling to find a tool for it. They are a couple of quid on ebay.

 

[hookooekoo]

thin Shimano socket tool

If you need a thin-walled socket, then possibly my previous post wasn't much help, because using thread lock isn't much use if you can't back off the cone to the right adjustment.

In that case, if I had this problem I would probably modify a socket by grinding it down. If you own a bench grinder it's a fairly easy job. An angle grinder would also do it. I don't think I'd use a dremel style tool, as sockets are quite hard, and it would be too slow. Of course thin wall sockets are available to buy, but there's no guarantee the wall will be thin enough, so I'd rather just buy the cheapest regular socket I can find, and grind it down.

Once you've modified the socket to make it a thin wall, you still have the problem of how to access the locknut while using the thin wall socket. My earlier post solves that problem, but you could also grind flats on the socket until it fits an open ended spanner. Or if you know someone with a welder, ask them to weld a handle onto the modified socket.

I did something similar to this recently. I needed to loosen the nut at the top of the suspension strut on my car. The top of the strut has a 7mm hex socket that I needed access to. I ground some flats onto a spare socket that I had lying around, then I had a way of loosening the nut while using a 7mm allen key.

 

[Tootyred]

For the life of me i cant work out why shimano did away with the keyed washer as in the older pedals....well other than the cynical side of me that says you will buy more new pedals if servicing is almost impossibly hard work !

 

[hookooekoo]

Keyed washers require slotted pedal shafts. At the end of the day it's an extra manufacturing step. And if that extra manufacturing step involves manually transferring the part to a separate machine tool, then that's going to significantly increase costs.

 

[mattr]

TL-PD63/33 is the tool pair you need i think. Trying to modify other tools to do the job is an exercise in gaining grey hairs and not actually managing to get the job done properly!

TBH, i'd just ring a few shops until you find one who can do the work with the right tool. Or just buy one.
Unfortunately, they aren't 20 quid anymore. (I've got one still in it's original bag downstairs somewhere, haven't had a pair of shimano pedals since the 90s...)

 

[hookooekoo]

LOL! Fifty quid and upwards on Ebay for the proper Shimano tool! Stuff that!

I think I'd rather make my own tool than pay those prices. Some of the box wrench sets on Ebay are fairly cheap. Preferably you need access to a welder to make a handle for it, but I know someone who has MIG and TIG equipment.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264664610499

 

[hookooekoo]

Does anyone know what socket sizes the cone and lock nut are?

If the OP is interested then I can buy a cheap box wrench set off Ebay, and weld a handle to the one that's the right size.

 

[Tootyred]

Well theres a way to print money.....why shimano got shot of the keyway i will never know........oh hang on, yes i do.....£50.