Servicing old Ultegra pedals

I have these PD-6500 (?) pedals - Ultegra SPD road pedals. I was
cleaning the crank arm and chain rings with mineral spirits, and since
the pedal was still attached and pretty grungy, I swabbed and brushed
it with the mineral spirits, too.

Apparently some of the mineral spirits got into the spindle, and I can
feel some gunk or something in there when I turn the spindle. It
looks like maybe there's a bushing in there that might be beat up.

Surely these things are serviceable, right? (At least the spindles,
anyway.) Do I need a special tool?

Also, is there a good way to clean and lube the clip-in mechanism? I
had been putting few drops of Pedro's Dry Lube into the housing gaps,
hoping it would get down in there where it would do some good (didn't
seem to hurt anything yet - not sure if it helped).

Do you have the axle removal tool (Shimano part # TL-PD40)?
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=5968

If not, get one from your local bike shop. They are cheap to free.
Remove the axle with the tool.
Soak the axle and pedal body in a degreaser of some type ( Mineral
spirits should be fine) for a while (90 min or so) and then shake the
axle about in the solvent to flush it out as best you can. Some
degreasers may take more or less time.
Use a long brush to scrub out the pedal body. Be sure it is as clean
as you can get it. Break cleaner is pretty good for this task, and
dries quickly.
Rinse out the axle with hot water, and let the axle and body dry some
place warm.
Use a grease gun to fill the pedal body half full of clean, high
quality grease.
Screw the axle into the body, and be ready for the grease to be
displaced toward the threaded part of the axle with a clean rag.
Grease threads and reinstall on your bike.

Chris

On Feb 28, 9:37*pm, Chris wrote:
Do you have the axle removal tool (Shimano part # TL-PD40)?http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=5968

If not, get one from your local bike shop. They are cheap to free.
Remove the axle with the tool.

I called all (4) LBS's in town - only one had the tool for sale. I
went there on my lunch break, the guy digs out a used tool and wanted
$10 for it. (He must have needed lunch money or something.) I said
"never mind" and went home.

So I ordered one from biketiresdirect for $2, but since shipping 75
miles to my house would cost another $8, of course I went ahead and
bought more stuff while I was at it (Q: How much does it cost Dan to
get a $2 plastic tool? A: $97:-) Got the tool Monday, but needed
bike all week and no spare pedals.

Soak the axle and pedal body in a degreaser of some type ( Mineral
spirits should be fine) for a while (90 min or so) and then shake the
axle about in the solvent to flush it out as best you can. Some
degreasers may take more or less time.
Use a long brush to scrub out the pedal body. Be sure it is as clean
as you can get it. Break cleaner is pretty good for this task, and
dries quickly.
Rinse out the axle with hot water, and let the axle and body dry some
place warm.
Use a grease gun to fill the pedal body half full of clean, high
quality grease.
Screw the axle into the body, and be ready for the grease to be
displaced toward the threaded part of the axle with a clean rag.
Grease threads and reinstall on your bike.


Thank you for the excellent instructions. Going to do the pedal axles
this weekend (also plan to try and install new brakes and cables, w/
different levers, and then new bar tape).

On Mar 13, 12:24*pm, Dan O wrote:
On Feb 28, 9:37*pm, Chris wrote:

Do you have the axle removal tool (Shimano part # TL-PD40)?http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=5968

If not, get one from your local bike shop. They are cheap to free.
Remove the axle with the tool.

I called all (4) LBS's in town - only one had the tool for sale. *I
went there on my lunch break, the guy digs out a used tool and wanted
$10 for it. *(He must have needed lunch money or something.) *I said
"never mind" and went home.

So I ordered one from biketiresdirect for $2, but since shipping 75
miles to my house would cost another $8, of course I went ahead and
bought more stuff while I was at it (Q: How much does it cost Dan to
get a $2 plastic tool? *A: $97:-) *Got the tool Monday, but needed
bike all week and no spare pedals.

Soak the axle and pedal body in a degreaser of some type ( Mineral
spirits should be fine) for a while (90 min or so) and then shake the
axle about in the solvent to flush it out as best you can. Some
degreasers may take more or less time.
Use a long brush to scrub out the pedal body. Be sure it is as clean
as you can get it. Break cleaner is pretty good for this task, and
dries quickly.
Rinse out the axle with hot water, and let the axle and body dry some
place warm.
Use a grease gun to fill the pedal body half full of clean, high
quality grease.
Screw the axle into the body, and be ready for the grease to be
displaced toward the threaded part of the axle with a clean rag.
Grease threads and reinstall on your bike.

Thank you for the excellent instructions. *Going to do the pedal axles
this weekend (also plan to try and install new brakes and cables, w/
different levers, and then new bar tape).

Sure thing. It's a shame about the tool. I have about five laying
about, and I see them for $.50 each at the local shops. It is worth
having though considering how long you can get these pedals to last if
you clean them. I have a pair of original PD-M737s which still spin
like new because of this. The only other pedal with bearings this easy
to service are Speedplays, but I prefer the Shimano for the cleat,
spring tension, and riding that I do.

Chris

On Mar 13, 4:00 pm, Chris wrote:
On Mar 13, 12:24 pm, Dan O wrote:



On Feb 28, 9:37 pm, Chris wrote:

Do you have the axle removal tool (Shimano part # TL-PD40)?http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=5968

If not, get one from your local bike shop. They are cheap to free.
Remove the axle with the tool.

I called all (4) LBS's in town - only one had the tool for sale. I
went there on my lunch break, the guy digs out a used tool and wanted
$10 for it. (He must have needed lunch money or something.) I said
"never mind" and went home.

So I ordered one from biketiresdirect for $2, but since shipping 75
miles to my house would cost another $8, of course I went ahead and
bought more stuff while I was at it (Q: How much does it cost Dan to
get a $2 plastic tool? A: $97:-) Got the tool Monday, but needed
bike all week and no spare pedals.

Soak the axle and pedal body in a degreaser of some type ( Mineral
spirits should be fine) for a while (90 min or so) and then shake the
axle about in the solvent to flush it out as best you can. Some
degreasers may take more or less time.
Use a long brush to scrub out the pedal body. Be sure it is as clean
as you can get it. Break cleaner is pretty good for this task, and
dries quickly.
Rinse out the axle with hot water, and let the axle and body dry some
place warm.
Use a grease gun to fill the pedal body half full of clean, high
quality grease.
Screw the axle into the body, and be ready for the grease to be
displaced toward the threaded part of the axle with a clean rag.
Grease threads and reinstall on your bike.

Thank you for the excellent instructions. Going to do the pedal axles
this weekend (also plan to try and install new brakes and cables, w/
different levers, and then new bar tape).

Sure thing. It's a shame about the tool. I have about five laying
about, and I see them for $.50 each at the local shops. It is worth
having though considering how long you can get these pedals to last if
you clean them.

Got the pedals cleaned out pretty well. They're drying in the kitchen
now.

I only paid $15 for these pedals - heck of a deal.

Since I had the axles and entire bodies soaking in mineral spirits,
I'm thinking that I'll need to oil the spring-loaded cleat retention
mechanism. I know WD-40 is generally evil as a lubricant for
bicycles, but it seems to me that would be about the best thing I've
got for this. The mechanism is all enclosed, and I don't even want to
try taking that apart, so I am planning to spray copious WD-40 into
the housing gaps, keeping it away from the axles, let it drip out,
then wipe off. There's rain in the forecast.

To sort of sidetrack my own topic, I just finished wrapping the
handlebars with Cinelli cork - my first time doing this. It came out
pretty good, except that I guess I got overconfident and pulled a
little too tight on the second side, causing the tape to tear partway
across, leaving a stretched v-notch in the tape - but no exposed
handlebar - behind the brake lever. Stayed intact, though. Next time
I'll know better.

On Mar 15, 12:40*pm, Dan O wrote:
Since I had the axles and entire bodies soaking in mineral spirits,
I'm thinking that I'll need to oil the spring-loaded cleat retention
mechanism.

I use chain oil, or Phil Tenacious oil. It's just to keep the metal
from being uncoated. Stops rust more than anything else.

Chris