STEPS E8000 Motor Service

[SmokeyBear]

I've just serviced my E8000 motor and replaced some bearings, it's now working quietly and smoothly like new.
If anyone needs any advice, I've got the bearing numbers and some pictures to help see what goes where.
Gimme a shout if you are stuck.

 

[Spiff]

As this is a long thread where the useful information has appeared gradually, to fully understand the process you'll have to read and digest all the pages. I already did it and I wrote a summary for myself, but I thought it could be useful for everybody and I posted it here:

20230731: I already opened my two E8000 and now I have hands on experience, so I made a nice update to the document
20240820: Document updated with some EP8 info

 

[SmokeyBear]

 

[Spiff]

Nice job, can you please post the bearing numbers

 

[Gary]

I've just serviced my E8000 motor and replaced some bearings, it's now working quietly and smoothly like new.
If anyone needs any advice, I've got the bearing numbers and some pictures to help see what goes where.
Gimme a shout if you are stuck.

That's awesome news. @Bearing Man seemed to think it was a no go due to the circuit board attachment IIRC.
did you manage a work around removing the boards?
Be well interested in hearing how you did this

 

[SmokeyBear]

Just be aware that when you take the cover off the motor there are a couple of sprung shims that keep pressure on the gears. TAKE NOTE WHERE THEY GO!

In the first picture you can see the through axle on the right hand side, that bearing is the noisy one.
That's an NSK 6805Z, shown in the last picture too.

On the other end of the axle is the larger (brown rubber seal) bearing it's an NSK 6808D.

The other smaller bearings are 3x NSK Z0069, and 1x NSK 6000Z, but I found these to be ok.

You will see inside the speed sensor and final drive gear there are some cartridge style roller bearings in there, they just need to be cleaned and greased, one side needs a small hook tool to remove a rubber seal so you can get at the bearing.

You will need a small bearing puller, I bought a 4" one on amazon for £9.
A punch and a small hammer to seat new bearings carefully, (or a press and a sleeve), some degreaser or solvent, and some patience to clean everything before re-installation.

Hope this helps, as I couldn't find any info on repairing E8000 motors at all!

 

[SmokeyBear]

That's awesome news. @Bearing Man seemed to think it was a no go due to the circuit board attachment IIRC.
did you manage a work around removing the boards?
Be well interested in hearing how you did this

I only needed to remove the plastic carrier for the speed sensor, and the circuit board for the sender to the speed sensor.
You only need to undo 4 screws and you can flip both back out of the way without disconnecting anything.

 

[SmokeyBear]

 

[SmokeyBear]

Look complicated, but isnt really, undo 4 screws, and move these two pieces out of your way.

 

[Gary]

Look complicated, but isnt really, undo 4 screws, and move these two pieces out of your way.

did you use a bearing puller/press?
[EDIT] sorry missed the post where you said you did.
Thanks.
Super helpful

 

[Spiff]

@SmokeyBear this is awesome news, you are the first one to replace the E8000 bearings, thanks a lot for the info.

 

[SmokeyBear]

did you use a bearing puller/press?
[EDIT] sorry missed the post where you said you did.
Thanks.
Super helpful

@SmokeyBear this is awesome news, you are the first one to replace the E8000 bearings, thanks a lot for the info.

No problem. I knew it would be helpful because I couldn't find any info before trying to do it. I knew it must be serviceable, and it is, and not nearly as difficult as you might think. ??

 

[Bearing Man]

That's awesome news. @Bearing Man seemed to think it was a no go due to the circuit board attachment IIRC.
did you manage a work around removing the boards?
Be well interested in hearing how you did this

It was only an issue on the E6000 motors where the circuit board is soldered in. E8000 no problem. We have all the bearings for the Shimano in stock, including the really odd sized needle roller bearings. We have changed the bearings on several Shimano's in the past but we don't currently service Shimano now for several reasons:
1. We can't offer a solution for the electrolysis corrosion of the power and controller plugs.
2. It is extremely difficult to split the motor without leaving some tool marks and this is not acceptable.
3. The E8000 suffers a high number of software faults that can currently only be resolved by fitting a new motor. What tends to happen is that because we touched the motor last, we are held accountable for any issues that motor has, regardless... This gets expensive if the only solution is a new motor!

 

[Gary]

Thanks @Bearing Man
makes sense.
I guess you can supply the bearings to anyone wanting to DIY

 

[Bearing Man]

Thanks @Bearing Man
makes sense.
I guess you can supply the bearings to anyone wanting to DIY

Yes. I will add them to my site but holding off till we release the new website

 

[Cisco]

Great news and well done!!!

Thanks for posting

 

[SmokeyBear]

It was only an issue on the E6000 motors where the circuit board is soldered in. E8000 no problem. We have all the bearings for the Shimano in stock, including the really odd sized needle roller bearings. We have changed the bearings on several Shimano's in the past but we don't currently service Shimano now for several reasons:
1. We can't offer a solution for the electrolysis corrosion of the power and controller plugs.
2. It is extremely difficult to split the motor without leaving some tool marks and this is not acceptable.
3. The E8000 suffers a high number of software faults that can currently only be resolved by fitting a new motor. What tends to happen is that because we touched the motor last, we are held accountable for any issues that motor has, regardless... This gets expensive if the only solution is a new motor!

Makes total sense, this is only really an option for people who have run out of warranty and dont fancy sending motor away.

 

[steve_sordy]

@SmokeyBear That is brilliant news!

Previously I had thought that they were not serviceable at all. Having seen Bearing Man's response I now understand why he doesn't want to offer the service.

My motor is fine at the moment, but it will be out of warranty in early Jan. It would be wise to get prepared for a failure. What I'm looking for is an idiot's guide to doing it. You have made a great start already and I suspect that many will be in your debt before too long. It would be great if you could pull all this together, with bearing specs and where to get them from, also the puller. How to split the motor etc I would be happy to make a contribution to such a guide.

 

[SmokeyBear]

So I ordered the bearings from Simplybearings,
1x NSK 6805Z (this was knackered)
1x NSK 6808D
The bearing puller I ordered, Amazon 4 inch small bearing puller.

You need a torx (star shaped) bit to undo the cover on the case.

To split the case I tapped all the way around with a plastic hammer, put the bolts half way in and tapped on them all the way around, and then using a blunt (round edged) screwdriver to gently part it, without marking the mating faces.

Inside the top cover are two sprung shims, take note of where these go, take out and clean.

Then lift the through axle out, with dead NSK 6805Z bearing attached.

Twist and pull on the two gears (black plastic one and one beside), this will unseat the bearings in the bottom case and they will both lift away. Notice there is a sprung shim under the metal gear side, but not under the black plastic gear.

Then undo the four screws which hold the speed sensor and plastic housing, once this is done you can fold them back out of the way. I was careful not to touch any of the circuitry on the boards, because I know how easy things can get fried.

Then you will see the main drive or final drive that adds assistance when you pedal, this whole unit can be lifted out in one, and consists of speed sender on one end, a one way clutch connecting the final final drive gear, and one NSK 6808D bearing (this bearing was ok on mine). Inside there are 3x needle bearing cartridges, you can remove and clean these and regrease, (one requires a seal to be removed and refitted).

Using small bearing puller, I removed the 6805Z bearing from the axle (a 2penny piece works as a blanking plate on the end of the axle for puller to pull against),

Then after cleaning axle and greasing, using a flat ended punch and a hammer, I gently tapped the inner race of the bearing, little by little turning a quarter turn each tap, until the bearing was seated against the stop.
Do this carefully so as not to damage bearing or axle!

After this is done and all other bearing checked for smoothness, it's simply a matter of patience, I cleaned out all old grease from the case, gears, bearing seats, sprung shims, the one way clutch on the final drive gear, then once everything was clean, regrease everything and reassemble.

I used a strong solvent to clean the mating surfaces of the case, and then used a tiny smear of Blue Hylomar to seal the case.

.........and that's it!

 

[SmokeyBear]

Amazon 4 inch small bearing puller, you will also need a Shimano FC-39 tool + a bottom bracket tool to fit it. Getting the drive side (Shimano Cre-80) off the motor is awkward. But once you have the tools its definitely a DIY job if you are fairly competent.

 

[Bearing Man]

SmokeyBear has done an excellent job, top man! I would just like to add that although not the case in SmokeyBears motor, the bearings most likely to fail are the two open needle roller bearings situated directly behind the rubber outer seals on the crankshaft. If these are rusted or pitted with the grit that normally makes it past these seals, they should be replaced.

 

[SmokeyBear]

SmokeyBear has done an excellent job, top man! I would just like to add that although not the case in SmokeyBears motor, the bearings most likely to fail are the two open needle roller bearings situated directly behind the rubber outer seals on the crankshaft. If these are rusted or pitted with the grit that normally makes it past these seals, they should be replaced.

I may order up a set of these from you if possible? Mine seemed ok and cleaned and greased seemed fine, but they take a lot of load from the axle as well as the 'sealed' bearings on either side.

 

[Bearing Man]

I may order up a set of these from you if possible? Mine seemed ok and cleaned and greased seemed fine, but they take a lot of load from the axle as well as the 'sealed' bearings on either side.

No problem SmokeyBear, just ping me an email [email protected] if you ever need anything

 

[Shjay]

Is the E7000 motor similar? Mine is still currently in warranty & working

 

[SmokeyBear]

If you've found this useful, I'm a crypto man, so any donations of Bitcoin, Ethereum or Litecoin would be greatly appreciated. ?

Bitcoin address: 3P8XFTuKzBmWyjGJtPyXxtMwCfoFXVvdEP
Ethereum address:
0x19D9cEe814a29b6019533572b5157e5Be711477B
Litecoin address:
MA4YG7vom9oUY8PNqCgDjtLhQ1MYNjuiKz

Thanks all.
Happy to help if anyone has any further questions.

 

[Bearing Man]

Is the E7000 motor similar? Mine is still currently in warranty & working

No E7000 is the same as E6000 and not a viable motor to repair. Sorry.

 

[Shjay]

Thanks bearing man, ? typical blooming E7000

 

[papab]

I've just serviced my E8000 motor and replaced some bearings, it's now working quietly and smoothly like new.
If anyone needs any advice, I've got the bearing numbers and some pictures to help see what goes where.
Gimme a shout if you are stuck.

How many miles on you bike?

 

[R120]

I have made this thread a sticky - great work @SmokeyBear

 

[R120]

It was only an issue on the E6000 motors where the circuit board is soldered in. E8000 no problem. We have all the bearings for the Shimano in stock, including the really odd sized needle roller bearings. We have changed the bearings on several Shimano's in the past but we don't currently service Shimano now for several reasons:
1. We can't offer a solution for the electrolysis corrosion of the power and controller plugs.
2. It is extremely difficult to split the motor without leaving some tool marks and this is not acceptable.
3. The E8000 suffers a high number of software faults that can currently only be resolved by fitting a new motor. What tends to happen is that because we touched the motor last, we are held accountable for any issues that motor has, regardless... This gets expensive if the only solution is a new motor!

Would you work on an out of warranty motor, with the owner accepting any risk? Makes on the casing wouldn't bother me, its scratched to hell already