11sp 105 hub issues

[willcee]

A friend has a pair using these hubs on pro built Hunt wheels and up till last week was inordinately happy with 'em.they rolled better or as good as than my Fulcrums or a pair of Askium Disc Mavics. rang me one evening saying, Pl. lift my back wheel Will ...its seized and has broken the QR near the end of the threaded side..
I did and found that the freehub had come loose and jammed the axle tightening up the bearings which were OK so i took everything axle related out for a good clean, found lot of play in the freehub as already discovered, checked it for tightness and found it loose so retightend it....not from the left side as used to be... but from the right and right hand threaded, that done it felt good no funny noises or tightness so rebuilt with fresh grease and cleaned everything and handed it back a couple of days later.. yesterday he says its gone again.
I havent seen it yet, reported its not as bad as last time but something is causing the freehub to loosen and ensuing problems occur..as we all know the man I would have run this past privately is hors de combat , any experts in recent 105 Shimano internals out there??? hows Bruce keeping anyone...will

[fausto99]

IMHO your description of what had occurred is unclear due to lack of detail. Could you elaborate please? Photos would help. Also please make it clear if and when you are talking about the (whole) hub or just the freehub ratcheting part. I can't see how the "freehub" could come loose as IME they are always done up very tight. I suspect you meant the hub bearings. If so, then it is the one sided precession the Brucey is always talking about. You'll have to look up his posts. HTH

[Norman H]

I assume it's the freehub fixing bolt that's loosening? The correct torque is 35-50 N-m but I suspect you know that, perhaps a little threadlock would help.

[fausto99]

I assume it's the freehub fixing bolt that's loosening?

I was assuming not and that it was the rh cone precessing loose. The free hub fixing bolt is always very, very tight IME.

[lescargo]

From original post footnote?
Any recent update on Bruce??

[willcee]

thanks guys, sorry i thought my explanation was crystal clear the free hub had loosened and precessed the hub tight.. in the old days again from memory i always remember removal and reattaching freehubs from the near side, and found that on this one it was accessed from the o/s i tightened it on reflection perhaps not enough..spoke with my old wheelbuilder friend today and he has had similar issues and says its a fault he thinks internal in the freehub, spoke then with the owner and we reckoned, without actually checking that a new hub might be as advisable and cheaper than a new freehub...i'm off to check.. will

[Norman H]

Yes, the mystery is why the bolt loosened in the first place. Either it wasn't tight enough when it came off the assembly line or there's some fault in the freehub, or possibly the fit of the bolt in the hub shell, that's causing it to loosen. I wonder if Madison are aware of a problem.

[rogerzilla]

In my personal experience, Shimano stuff below the top grades, while still made of very high quality components, is no longer adjusted properly out of the box. QR hub cones are generally too tight against the bearings but not tight enough against their locknuts.

If a RH cone is not tight against the locknut, it can become REALLY tight against the bearings, which stop turning. Then bad things happen.