Okay, so I hear these pedals are no longer made, and are great. I for one am quite impressed with the quality. So, knowing I was going to overhaul a set of them prior to sale (since I don't ride clipless), I decided to make it a photo-walkthrough. There are a couple hangups that a walkthrough might help with.
So, to start, you need the following:
First step is to take out the spindle by using vice grips or the Shimano tool if you have one. Take note that the left pedal is standard thread, the right pedal is reverse thread. It will require many turns to remove, and may be quite difficult at first. Be sure to have the vice grips tight enough so they don't slip, but not too tight that you're actually squishing the "nut" as it is hollow inside, and prone to damage.
Second stem is to remove the sleeve that fits inside the cage and part of the pedal itself, which links the two and provides a catch to prevent overrotation of the pedal.
Now comes the tricky part that a walkthrough is really handy for. Most Shimano pedals have an endcap that simply pries off with a small screwdriver. Not this one. You have to stick a phillips screwdriver down the center of the pedal and unscrew a tiny screw that is holding the endcap on, keeping the tension spring in place.
Now you can remove the endcap, the washer (of sorts) that fits inside, and the tension spring that prevents overrotation. Once all that is removed, the pedal itself will fall free of the cage.
Now is the time to clean everything. Make sure you get all the dirt and nastiness out, and regrease everything copiously.
Note here that with Shimano pedals, I have found a certain step unnecessary even with 2 year or more old pedals. The grease in the bearings and bushing on the inside is usually clean, and does not need replacement. I merely clean off all the old grease, loosen the preload on the bearings, and squeeze some new grease in there. Then I reset the preload by screwing in the inner nut a little too tight, screwing the outer not snug onto it, and then backing off the inner nut until I achieve the appropriate bearing action.
Now I take off the inner side of the pedal because I will need the room to adjust the preload on the spring.
After that's done, I proceed to put the endcap washer onto the endcap, and the tension spring onto that, all copiously flowing with grease. I slide it into position, and then put the pedal into position by making sure the end of the tension spring goes into the small hole in the pedal. Making sure it's all seated, I insert and screw the small screw that goes inside the spindle. After I have it screwed in, I back it off a few turns so as to develop some play. While keeping the pedal aligned, I rotate the pedal so as to achieve some spring preload. It will need to have enough play to barely slip over the stop that is a part of the cage. Once preloaded and past the stop, I retighten the screw.
I now reattach the rest of the cage. Then I slide the bushing in place, taking note that the side with the teeth points toward the pedal, and not the imaginary crankarm (this limits overrotation as well).
I then screw the spindle (with grease everywhere, of course) back into the assembly, and snug it up. The spindle should spin well, feel like a new bearing, and the pedal should rotate, but be under good tension, and have no play.
I hope this helps one other person, Shimano pedals, if you aren't familiar with them, can be tricky to overhaul.
So, to start, you need the following:
- Vice grips OR Shimano pedal spline tool
- Phillips screwdriver
- 10mm end wrench
- 7mm end wrench
- 6mm allen
- 3mm allen
- good grease
First step is to take out the spindle by using vice grips or the Shimano tool if you have one. Take note that the left pedal is standard thread, the right pedal is reverse thread. It will require many turns to remove, and may be quite difficult at first. Be sure to have the vice grips tight enough so they don't slip, but not too tight that you're actually squishing the "nut" as it is hollow inside, and prone to damage.
Second stem is to remove the sleeve that fits inside the cage and part of the pedal itself, which links the two and provides a catch to prevent overrotation of the pedal.
Now comes the tricky part that a walkthrough is really handy for. Most Shimano pedals have an endcap that simply pries off with a small screwdriver. Not this one. You have to stick a phillips screwdriver down the center of the pedal and unscrew a tiny screw that is holding the endcap on, keeping the tension spring in place.
Now you can remove the endcap, the washer (of sorts) that fits inside, and the tension spring that prevents overrotation. Once all that is removed, the pedal itself will fall free of the cage.
Now is the time to clean everything. Make sure you get all the dirt and nastiness out, and regrease everything copiously.
Note here that with Shimano pedals, I have found a certain step unnecessary even with 2 year or more old pedals. The grease in the bearings and bushing on the inside is usually clean, and does not need replacement. I merely clean off all the old grease, loosen the preload on the bearings, and squeeze some new grease in there. Then I reset the preload by screwing in the inner nut a little too tight, screwing the outer not snug onto it, and then backing off the inner nut until I achieve the appropriate bearing action.
Now I take off the inner side of the pedal because I will need the room to adjust the preload on the spring.
After that's done, I proceed to put the endcap washer onto the endcap, and the tension spring onto that, all copiously flowing with grease. I slide it into position, and then put the pedal into position by making sure the end of the tension spring goes into the small hole in the pedal. Making sure it's all seated, I insert and screw the small screw that goes inside the spindle. After I have it screwed in, I back it off a few turns so as to develop some play. While keeping the pedal aligned, I rotate the pedal so as to achieve some spring preload. It will need to have enough play to barely slip over the stop that is a part of the cage. Once preloaded and past the stop, I retighten the screw.
I now reattach the rest of the cage. Then I slide the bushing in place, taking note that the side with the teeth points toward the pedal, and not the imaginary crankarm (this limits overrotation as well).
I then screw the spindle (with grease everywhere, of course) back into the assembly, and snug it up. The spindle should spin well, feel like a new bearing, and the pedal should rotate, but be under good tension, and have no play.
I hope this helps one other person, Shimano pedals, if you aren't familiar with them, can be tricky to overhaul.