Did something stupid with my derailleur

GIH said:

Alright I will say that I am a complete novice, which will explain some of the stupid things I did. I just got a cheap used bike to use on my trainer and rollers and to mess with different positions to try to find the best possible fit, etc. It was an old Centurion, the Dave Scott Ironman edition with a Shimano 600 groupset. Now, being new and all, I didn't realize how to remove a chain, and so I did it by disassembling the derailleur. This leads to some questions:

Have I definitely broken something by taking apart the two little pulley wheels (edit: the ones on the derailleur that have gears on them)?

Do I need to do something special to put it back together correctly (like add lubrication)?

I lost track of which wheel went in which position on the derailleur. I think they are slightly different, is there a way to determine which goes where, or are they actually the same?

When I took apart the little pulleys, they had a number of moving parts. Each wheel had two circular metal pieces, sort of very thin half cylinders that had a much smaller radius than the original wheel. These came in close contact with the metal parts of the derailleur. I lost one of the metal pieces, and I may not be able to find it. Is my only hope for finding another one finding another old derailleur, or is there some other way I might be able to locate one?

Fortunately, there is an organization around where I live that has a ton of used bicycles and parts, so I think I'll be able to find one there potentially (I may have to donate something though, but I have a broken hybrid that I don't want to use anymore that I might want to give to them).

Anyways, taking apart my bike was fun till I couldn't put it back together again.
Thanks,

Its all cool. You will need one of the metal plates though. The jockey wheels are different, one should have G-PULLEY written on it. The writing is small and you may have to look close for it, clean all the parts and put the bushes (small cylindrical steel parts in the middle of the jockey wheels) back in and the plates on the outside, put a bit of grease on the moving parts. the G_PULLEY is the Guide pulley, this goes on the top of the derailler. The other pulley goes on the bottom. The best way to learn how a bike works is take one apart, it's lots of fun.🙂 Have fun.😄

GIH said:

.. being new and all, I didn't realize how to remove a chain, and so I did it by disassembling the derailleur. This leads to some questions:

Have I definitely broken something by taking apart the two little pulley wheels (edit: the ones on the derailleur that have gears on them)?

That would depend on your chosen mode of dissasembly 😉 , but probably not.

GIH said:

Do I need to do something special to put it back together correctly (like add lubrication)?

Use the opportunity to clean and lube all the parts before reassembly. Some prefer to use threadlock on the bolts that serves as axles for the pulley wheels and also holds the cage together.

GIH said:

...I lost one of the metal pieces, and I may not be able to find it. Is my only hope for finding another one finding another old derailleur, or is there some other way I might be able to locate one?

Scrounging from another der is one option. Sometimes those bits are included in pulley wheel replacement kits, which would be another option.

Thanks ya'll. I managed to find the bushing, so I ought to be able to get that bike up and running.

Link to Park Tools site...derailleur overhaul, with step by step illustrations.
http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=76
Park Tool Website

I think the other advice is good, but had to add one thing.

You got hold of a NICE bike for this purpose! Good classic vintage lugged steel with very good vintage components.

GIH said:

Alright I will say that I am a complete novice, which will explain some of the stupid things I did. I just got a cheap used bike to use on my trainer and rollers and to mess with different positions to try to find the best possible fit, etc. It was an old Centurion, the Dave Scott Ironman edition with a Shimano 600 groupset. Now, being new and all, I didn't realize how to remove a chain, and so I did it by disassembling the derailleur. This leads to some questions:

Have I definitely broken something by taking apart the two little pulley wheels (edit: the ones on the derailleur that have gears on them)?

Do I need to do something special to put it back together correctly (like add lubrication)?

I lost track of which wheel went in which position on the derailleur. I think they are slightly different, is there a way to determine which goes where, or are they actually the same?

When I took apart the little pulleys, they had a number of moving parts. Each wheel had two circular metal pieces, sort of very thin half cylinders that had a much smaller radius than the original wheel. These came in close contact with the metal parts of the derailleur. I lost one of the metal pieces, and I may not be able to find it. Is my only hope for finding another one finding another old derailleur, or is there some other way I might be able to locate one?

Fortunately, there is an organization around where I live that has a ton of used bicycles and parts, so I think I'll be able to find one there potentially (I may have to donate something though, but I have a broken hybrid that I don't want to use anymore that I might want to give to them).

Anyways, taking apart my bike was fun till I couldn't put it back together again.
Thanks,

Hi,

Things should work out for you. Everthing you did should be reverseable. I would recommend purchasing a book I find very helpfull as a reference guide. It is called Zinn And The Art Of Road Bike Maintenance. Great book. Takes you through all makes of road gear and the tools needed to do the job.

Mike