Campy Zonda wheels- lateral play problem

[Forza20]

My Zonda wheels, new in 2008, 1st gen/ non tubeless,were great for the first few years but then developed a lateral play problem that could not be adjusted out.

I would tighten the adjusters but then they never spun freely and the play would return in short order.

Speaking to various Campy offices, including Italy, and also Campy tech specialists, didn't provide a solution.

Until recently...

It turns out that the hub cups, steel bearing cups, pressed into the aluminum shells, had come loose. Both cups in the front, and the ND cup in the rear, were very loose and spun easily .

The cause.. likely some water penetration over time, wet weather/ puddles in the fall and spring, that corroded the exterior steel surface of the cups, and, to a lesser degree, the adjacent aluminum surface of the shell.

And this is despite annual cleaning, regreasing,etc...

The solution...

2 part epoxy used to fasten the cups..

The result....now as smooth running as they day they were born.

Amazing !

[dddd]

Hopefully, the corrosion didn't extend deep enough to promote any sort of structural problem, and it sounds like the epoxy may not only exclude water but provide some degree of a barrier between adjacent different metals.

I bought a box-store bike five years ago that I found to have a bent rear axle and loose driveside cup, courtesy of "flying shipping box syndrome".

While I waited for a warranty-replacement wheel from Pacific, I fed red Loctite into the empty hubshell from the non-drive side, re-installed the axle assembly and heated the shell up with a hair drier to accelerate cure.
Since I had also gone to the trouble of replacing the 3/8" axle and cones with a solid 10mm replacement (and also replacing bearing retainers with extra balls), I never swapped wheels with the new replacement and instead just kept the new one for a spare. Have been using these wheels for five years now, off road no less, and on two different bikes, and that cup hasn't again loosened.



The red Loctite also held the Mongoose's left pedal solid in the arm's stripped threads for a season and a half!

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by Forza20

It turns out that the hub cups, steel bearing cups, pressed into the aluminum shells, had come loose. Both cups in the front, and the ND cup in the rear, were very loose and spun easily .

The cause.. likely some water penetration over time, wet weather/ puddles in the fall and spring, that corroded the exterior steel surface of the cups, and, to a lesser degree, the adjacent aluminum surface of the shell.

Was there evidence of oxidation on the parts (like rust on the steel, and white powder on the aluminum? If not, than maybe a more likely cause is a different type of corrosion - fretting corrosion. When highly loaded inter-fitting parts aren't tight enough, load fluctuations can cause micro-motions between the parts. These micro-motions can result in fretting, which is essentially a slow wearing away of surfaces through micro abrasion. Over time, the fit between components can get so loose as to allow excess free play, similar to what you are describing. I've had this occur multiple times between bearing races and the shafts they seat on, including between a headset crown race and steerer, bottom bracket spindle and bearing race, and hub bearing race and axle.

Originally Posted by Forza20

The solution...

2 part epoxy used to fasten the cups..

That might work, but there are products specifically designed to address this issue of loose bearing fit. Bearing Retaining compounds are designed to fill the gaps between bearings and shafts, and create a tight fit (while still allowing for future disassembly), to prevent free play and arrest future fretting. These are the same compounds often recommended for press-fit bottom brackets cups and bearings. For the cases I've mentioned above, I've successfully used Bearing Retaining compounds to cure the loose bearing fit problems.

[bigbill]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

That might work, but there are products specifically designed to address this issue of loose bearing fit. Bearing Retaining compounds are designed to fill the gaps between bearings and shafts, and create a tight fit (while still allowing for future disassembly), to prevent free play and arrest future fretting. These are the same compounds often recommended for press-fit bottom brackets cups and bearings. For the cases I've mentioned above, I've successfully used Bearing Retaining compounds to cure the loose bearing fit problems.

I'm an engineer in high speed manufacturing, bearing retaining compounds have saved me a few times and kept us in production and at much higher speeds and stress than a bike could ever produce. It's great stuff, especially if you ever intend to disassemble in the future.

[oldpotatoe]

It turns out that the hub cups, steel bearing cups, pressed into the aluminum shells, had come loose. Both cups in the front, and the ND cup in the rear, were very loose and spun easily .

WOW, certainly never heard of that one before. I'm surprised, in the various take-aparts and overhauls, one of the cups just didn't fall out of the hub.

The cause.. likely some water penetration over time, wet weather/ puddles in the fall and spring, that corroded the exterior steel surface of the cups, and, to a lesser degree, the adjacent aluminum surface of the shell.

You must ride in some wet conditions.

[Veloo]

The city is pretty trigger happy here with the road salt.
That's why cars rust out so quickly here too.

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

You must ride in some wet conditions.

[Forza20]

1) there was clear evidence of rusting on the exterior surface of the steel hub cup. nothing visible on the alum hub side. i dont doubt there was some wear n tear on the softer alum hub surface given the length of time the problem existed

2) i chose epoxy since ive had good long term success when used to cure a bb bearing fit problem ( campy UT, with worn inner / bearing side alum cup surface) , and since i didnt have the proper retaining compound and/or the necessary primer -given one surface was non metallic

3) removal is not that big an issue- heating with some boiling water makes things pretty simple