servicing spd 535 pedals

grinders and brazing rigs are available at home depot

as are screwdrivers

napa and snap-on (see the online snapon catalog)
offer pry bars of various sizes

eflayer2 said:

I understand a special shimano tool is required for this job.

1. if i had the tool would it be a reasonably straight forward job to
disassemble and repack the bearings?

2. where can one get the tool to remove the outside nut and adjust
the bearings?

Thanks for any info.

It's kind of a pain. Adjusting the nuts is fiddly, and it's hard to get the
locknut tight enough.

So as long as your bearings are adjusted properly (with a little preload, not
completely free-spinning), I'd leave it alone. Just pop the dust cap off and
flush with WD40 occasionally, then relube with a heavy oil. I use Phil Wood.
I've worn out one set of these (because the bearings were too loose), but it
took five years and tens of thousands of miles. Since then I've had no
problems, with two sets on two bikes, and tens of thousands of miles on one set.

You need a little preload because of axle flex -- like with a cup and cone BB,
only worse because the axle is smaller and flexes more. If you can spin your
pedal freely, the axle will eventually wear unevenly, just like an old BB axle
does.

Matt O.

eflayer2 said:

I understand a special shimano tool is required for this job.

1. if i had the tool would it be a reasonably straight forward job to
disassemble and repack the bearings?

2. where can one get the tool to remove the outside nut and adjust the
bearings?

There is a Shimano tool (misleadingly known as the XT bearing adjustment
tool) and your LBS can order it, but it costs 20UKP over here - which is
the same as a pair of new M520 pedals, which can be serviced without the
damn thing!

In article <42981f8d.0@entanet>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

eflayer2 said:

I understand a special shimano tool is required for this job.

1. if i had the tool would it be a reasonably straight forward job to
disassemble and repack the bearings?

2. where can one get the tool to remove the outside nut and adjust the
bearings?

There is a Shimano tool (misleadingly known as the XT bearing adjustment
tool) and your LBS can order it, but it costs 20UKP over here - which is
the same as a pair of new M520 pedals, which can be serviced without the
damn thing!

but if you are patient, you don't need the tool. Get a cheap 11mm socket
and grind down the outer shell a bit so that it fits inside the pedal
housing to engage the (cone) large nut and you need an 8mm socket for the
small lock nut. After cleaning greasing and assembling the bearings,
when locking the nuts together, it tends to put too much preload when you
tighten the 8mm nut. So use the 11mm socket to back off the cone a bit
when nearly locked tight enough. After a few attempts you will get both
the preload and the lock torque correct at the same time.