# De-gooing a Sturmey Archer 3-speed Hub



## 3-speeder (Feb 7, 2018)

Hey 3-speed hub mechanics. I am tuning up a 1969 Raleigh Sports with a 3-speed SA hub. I got it all refurbished with exception of the hub. When I went to add fresh oil I found white goo-iffied oil residue in the oil port. I'm thinking someone may have used 3-in-1 oil in it a while ago and maybe it sat for a while. I have two questions: Will adding fresh oil and cranking the heck out of the pedals be enough to churn the bad oil into good?...  if not...  Can I lift the hub shell and wheel of the innards and clean it up with some WD40 or something or will springs and parts fly out (my nightmare).  I have a different wheel if I need to just trade it out but this one is super clean and true and seems to be working fine. It may sound slightly different than normal. Any advice would be appreciated   Thanks, Bob


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## SirMike1983 (Feb 8, 2018)

The springs will not fly out if you open up the hub. The hard part is that the ball ring can be difficult to remove on some of the hubs. You do need to be careful about the hairsprings if you take it apart, but that's later in the process - well after the hub has already been opened. 

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/sutherland/CB-IGH-4-aw.pdf

I only open them up if the hub resists a regular cleaning and re-grease (without opening it up). I clean the hub by inundating the hub with WD-40 until the WD-40 starts running out the sides. Initially the WD-40 will be dirty. Keep pumping in WD-40 until it starts running clean out the sides. This may take quite awhile and you will need a basin or some other place to do it. It's very, very messy. If you have an older hub, you can mix in some acetone into the WD-40 for de-greasing any old grease that people have added. Later hubs use a plastic clutch spring cover, so no acetone on those. The metal ones from earlier are OK to mix in the acetone with the WD-40. 

After this, make sure the fluids have run out of the hub. Loosen the ones a bit and drain it if you have to. Check to see if the hub is running better. If it's still gritty or really slow, you have to open it up. Use the link to Sutherland's manual above.

If the hub is now running much better and is not gunked up anymore, then you don't need to open it up. You need to grease and reset the cones. Grease on the cones is OK - it acts as a seal for the oil in the center of the hub. Grease in the hub center is bad - you want light oil in the center/transmission part. Once you have greased and properly set the cones, you add 20 weight oil to the transmission. 

Sometimes I know up front I need to open the hub up because it's completely caked and filled with grease and junk. I just open those straight up. If it's a borderline case, I wash out the hub with WD-40 as above and then see how it's behaving after washing it out. 

Sometimes you need to open it up, sometimes not. If I open them up, I clean them by hand with a rag to remove all grease. If things are really bad, I subject the caked parts to an ultrasonic cleaner. But it's almost never THAT bad.


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## 3-speeder (Feb 9, 2018)

Thank you SirMike. That's just what I was looking for. I have gone to Sheldon Brown's site regularly for information and it has been quite helpful but I was hoping to hear from someone who might have worked on the same thing I was looking at. I'm going to try the WD40 super-soaker method first. The hub spins well and changes gears but there does seem to be a slightly different noise and the spindle, or indicator rod, seemed a little sticky.

Not sure if it has the plastic clutch spring cover. The stamping is not like any I've seen. The year 69 is clear but the month code is oddly stamped 14. Weird! Here is the hub and bike it came from. Have you seen a stamp like that?  Thanks, Bob


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## bikemonkey (Feb 9, 2018)

Overhauling an AW hub is not terribly difficult but seems intimidating. Sheldon's site and YouTube will be your best friends. The tricky part is the correct orientation of the pawls and getting the pawl springs back in correctly. Only take one out at a time and use the other for reference. DO NOT drop the spring - you will never find it again. Disassemble over a surface you will catch it when it gets twitchy...

Only use grease on bearings - light oil on other parts when reassembling.

Do it properly and enter another realm of mastery...


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## RustySprockets (Feb 9, 2018)

That white goo makes me think that water/moisture made its way into the hub somehow and mixed with the oils.  Flush and re-lube.  If you decide to dive into the hub itself, this video of a model AW re-build may prove useful.


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## 3-speeder (Feb 10, 2018)

bikemonkey said:


> Overhauling an AW hub is not terribly difficult but seems intimidating. Sheldon's site and YouTube will be your best friends. The tricky part is the correct orientation of the pawls and getting the pawl springs back in correctly. Only take one out at a time and use the other for reference. DO NOT drop the spring - you will never find it again. Disassemble over a surface you will catch it when it gets twitchy...
> 
> Only use grease on bearings - light oil on other parts when reassembling.
> 
> Do it properly and enter another realm of mastery...



Thanks. It's only your first time once, right?  I know I felt that way with the '36 Morrow coaster brake hub that I rejuvenated. I was thinking that there probably wasn't anyone local that had experience working on one that could help me. When I got done and got it cleaned up and working good I thought, I'm that guy with experience.


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## 3-speeder (Feb 10, 2018)

RustySprockets said:


> That white goo makes me think that water/moisture made its way into the hub somehow and mixed with the oils.  Flush and re-lube.  If you decide to dive into the hub itself, this video of a model AW re-build may prove useful.



Thank you. Great era to work on bikes. All that information at the tip of your fingers. Imagine it wasn't as easy before the internet.


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## 3-speeder (Feb 11, 2018)

So I had a spare wheel that was pretty gunked up too.  I used this for practice. I jet blasted it with WD40 through the oil port until it ran clear. I then took the cones off one side at a time to help drain it out and to look inside. I could see the ball bearings all shiny from the WD40. I attempted to pry the dust cap up to get at the bearings but I stopped because I didn't want to bend it out of shape, so I just applied grease to the cone and threaded it back in place. After reassembly I added some 20 weight oil through the port and gave it a spin. What a difference. It worked great. I repeated this process on the other hub with the same success. I appreciate all the help.


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## 3-speeder (Feb 23, 2018)

After I finished my 69 Raleigh Sports I serviced the SA hub on my 72 Raleigh Sports. This time I got the dust caps off of the bearings and cleaned them up before regreasing. Wow! That wheel doesn't want to stop spinning.  Feeling confident about the next one.


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## 3-speeder (Feb 24, 2018)

Some pictures from today of the '69 Raleigh Sports. Riding like a dream.


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