Not that Gullible

The new internally geared bike hub contains oil.  To be precise it’s 25mls of special Shimano oil which has to be changed every 400km or annually, whichever comes first.  There is also a special oil change at 1000km involving a flushing oil to remove any swarf (ie; metal filings) created during the initially running in period.

The Shimano oil change kit consists of a one litre plastic pot with lid for the waste oil.  A small plastic syringe and a length of plastic hose with a metal connector at one end which screws into the hub.  This kit costs $70.  The oil is an additional $20.  Total cost is $90.   Well I’m not that gullible!

I can buy a plastic syringe from China for $4.52.  A metre of 6mm plastic hose from China is $2.52.  An empty plastic soft drink bottle for the waste oil, cost $0.  That just leaves the metal connector.

I removed the existing plug with a 3mm Allen Key

 

It’s a small grub screw with a rubber washer.  I found a 6mm nut fitted which told me the thread in the hub was 6mm.

The next step was to drill and tap a 6mm thread in a piece of scrap metal plate.  I then screwed a 6mm bolt into the thread and placed a locking nut on either side.

 

This provided a stable support allowing me to drill a 4mm hole down the length of the bolt.  The bolt was then cut in half to give me a 6mm nipple with a 4mm hole.  This can be screwed into the hub and the 6mm hose attached.

That’s $70 saved.  Well more $60 ,as I need to factor in the cost of the syringe and hose.

Searching on the internet I found some information from an Australian who had sent a sample of the Shimano oil to a laboratory for analysis.  Like me; he didn’t believe the oil was special.

The laboratory analysis stated the oil was a fully synthetic gear oil rated 75W-90.  The cleaning oil was 20% the gear oil and 80% White Spirits.  White Spirits can have a different meaning in different countries.  However as he and I are in Australia I know what he means.

Our local local auto parts shop was having an end of financial year sale and I managed to buy one litre of Castrol fully synthetic gear oil 75W-90 for $24.  At 25mls an oil change that’s 40 changes.  However I’ll take 200mls of the oil and add it to 800mls of white spirits which will give me 40 oil flushes and 32 oil changes.

No doubt Shimano would state using the Castrol oil voids the hub warranty but as I bought it from Germany I doubt I would have much success with a warranty claim.  Never the less I plan to do the oil change at twice the recommended frequency and also do a cleaning flush each time.