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Typhoon M8-1.00 Front axle Question

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kd460

On Training Wheels
Thank you for this forum! New to me 1969 Campus Green Typhoon. 26 inch. The bike myself or my parents could never afford when I was a kid. All original parts. I just purchased it a few days ago from someone who bought it from the original owner. He bought it when covid hit (he was laid off) so he wanted something he could ride around the neighborhood to pass the time. Anyways, it popped up, 50 bucks and was on my way home from work so a spur of the moment purchase. Not the prettiest girl at the dance but not the ugliest either. Very presentable.

Have been going thru the bike and servicing anything that moves, removing old grease, inspection, new marine grade grease, cleaning up rust etc. Rear hub is Bendix 70 (one red stripe). Disassembled, cleaned, inspected, re-grease and done. Crank bearings done as well. That old grease can be a bugger to remove until I discovered acetone does a quick job or removal.

Front wheel bearings are raising a question with me. One of the bearing balls was missing (3/16 ball). A few others fit really loose in the cage retainer (fall out). Cones and race look fine. All the balls look shiny after cleaning. Still want to purchase new bearing sets, but not sure of size or part number. Also I see parts listed as 5/16 axles but I know my cones have "M8-1.00" stamped on them. Does this change what bearing I purchase? No numbers on the bearing cage so I have no idea what size/type to purchase. It is the Schwinn S-7 rim. Model 200 Schwinn approved front hub/axle.

Just looking for a little direction and thank you!
 
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Here's a 1962 parts sheet for reference. The stated ball size is slightly larger than 3/16. You could replace all the balls and use the same retainer. The balls are pretty cheap.

62parts42b.jpg


Here's a bag of Schwinn labeled balls.

 

Above link is what I have (I think). So aftermarket?

So do I need to switch out the entire hub or can I get away with just the axle and cones, nuts washers, etc (related hardware to match the replacement)? I assume 5/16 schwinn thread
 

Above link is what I have (I think). So aftermarket?

So do I need to switch out the entire hub or can I get away with just the axle and cones, nuts washers, etc (related hardware to match the replacement)? I assume 5/16 schwinn thread
Schwinn used various hubs made by different manufacturers, and one that they actually made and then outsourced in 1962. From what I’ve noticed the hub maker supplied the axles, cones etc. what I would do is just replace the balls and be done with it if everything else is in good condition like you said.
 
Exactly what I did...all sorted out for now.

Picked up a bunch more 3/16 balls from a good old fashioned family owned hardware store (rare these days). They did not have 7/32. I
put things back together. They kept falling out of the retainer/cage so I installed the new balls in a bed of grease without the retainer (adding 2 more per side to take up the space of the cage).

Smooth as silk. However, cant help but wonder what set up I have? I wonder if my set up should it really have 7/32 balls instead of the 3/16.

I think I will pick up a new replacement 5/16-26 axle, cones, 7/32 bearing set and related hardware just to get things back to original and go from there. I'm not so concerned with keeping "all original", just want to make it easier to order replacement parts in the future for me or for whoever has this bike next (hopefully my grand kids).

Thanks for all the help. The only thing I can come up with is as mentioned earlier, someone changed things out for what they could source locally or with whatever spare parts they had on hand.
 
The hub you have was made by the Union company in Germany. Yes, it will have a metric thread axle. It was an original equipment hub on a Typhoon during your time period. The ball retainers should be #5's. Replacing the retainers with loose balls is a fine repair. Just fill the space with as many 3/16" balls as it will hold and leave one out for free space. You will end up with only maybe two more loose balls versus having the original retainer count.

John
 
Thanks John, that is exactly what was done. Everything is operating nice and smooth. Thanks for the detailed information.
 
If you're going to use "loose" bearings(not using the cage for the balls), avoid putting too many in.
You don't want the balls to rub against each other. The general practice is to put in as many balls as will fit and then remove one.
If you have as many as will fit, and still have a gap between them that's not big enough to fit another ball, you're good to go, but you have to have a gap.
 
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