I've been overhauling the mountain bikes, and figured it was time to tackle the sealed cartridges in the bottom bracket of each bike. My 3-season bike is a 2002 Rocky Mountain fusion, and I'd never had it apart. The axle still spun freely without roughness or any noise, but I figured it had to be time. This tool, with the splined socket welded to a fairly short bar, was ineffective for me:
Likewise, a separate splined socket on a breaker bar didn't do it either:
However, the same socket used with the impact wrench finally broke it free:
I don't know why they made the socket 3/8" drive, and I should get an impact-rated adapter.
I should add, for the benefit of anyone taking this on, that on the drive-side (i.e. R side), the thread is LH - that is, CW to loosen. (This seems weird to me, as the pedals are reversed - the LH thread is on the L side). But in any case, this is something to keep in mind.
I was able to take the Shimano unit in my bike apart, and repacked the bearings with Mobil 1 grease. This video by RJ the Bike Guy was very helpful:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lar7mIMmTRE
My wife's bike (Giant Iguana, 2007 or 2008) uses the FSA cartridge, which appears to not be user-serviceable. No matter, it's still working well, and I'll just replace it when the time comes.
I slathered on the anti-seize when reinstalling both units.
Likewise, a separate splined socket on a breaker bar didn't do it either:
However, the same socket used with the impact wrench finally broke it free:
I don't know why they made the socket 3/8" drive, and I should get an impact-rated adapter.
I should add, for the benefit of anyone taking this on, that on the drive-side (i.e. R side), the thread is LH - that is, CW to loosen. (This seems weird to me, as the pedals are reversed - the LH thread is on the L side). But in any case, this is something to keep in mind.
I was able to take the Shimano unit in my bike apart, and repacked the bearings with Mobil 1 grease. This video by RJ the Bike Guy was very helpful:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lar7mIMmTRE
My wife's bike (Giant Iguana, 2007 or 2008) uses the FSA cartridge, which appears to not be user-serviceable. No matter, it's still working well, and I'll just replace it when the time comes.
I slathered on the anti-seize when reinstalling both units.