Levo Gen 2 Annual overhaul

[Mikerb]

Just started my annual strip down of my 2019 Levo Comp last done Jan 2020. Nearly 2 years now and zero faults.
First job was battery removal....it only gets removed once a year...bash guard off and a clean up.
Second job was crank and motor cover off to clean out, clean all contacts and clean out the old grease and refresh it. All seals retreated with silicone lube.
There was minimal ingress of trail debris...just some dust on the grease. I renewed all the motofoam...the wedge inside, another strip pushed down the chain stay cross member and the hole where the speed sensor cable goes in.
I was probably one of the first to fit the new power cable last January. The good news is that mod seems to work as there is no damage to the cap and it is still fully sealed.
The motor cover has now been refined with a coating of grease on the upper edge and the bolts cleaned and locktite applied. The splined motor crankshaft fully cleaned and a small amount of grease applied, and the crank refused at 50nm.

 

[Mikerb]

Stage 2: Cleaned the frame thoroughly and gave everything a good spray with Silicon Shine. It not only gives a good finish on both paintwork and plastics but it makes the bike far easier to clean after a ride. I have no protection on the frame other than some strategically place pieces I applied from new. So far after 2 years of all terrains I have no chips or scratches.
I renewed the rear bumper which was starting to split having been jammed with mud a few times. Gone back to using a front mudhugger on the rear with the £6 extension piece fitted to provide a bit more protection for the dropper post. Fitting the mudhugger just requires the bottom section ( where the Mudhugger insignia is) being trimmed off just about through the word "mudhugger". It then finishes just below the chainstay cross member. If you leave the curved end on it does not provide enough clearance for the tyre.
Next job is the brakes.

 

[cozzy]

Something I only learnt today on gmbn actually is that Max bearings have more balls in them rather than a cage and are supposed to be more durable for suspension.
The cheap ones I bought for the winter overhaul were not max when I pulled the seal off to check.
They will have to do but I will get max next time. This may be useful info for someone.

 

[Mikerb]

I think you will find the " MAX" range is capable of supporting greater loads but only used in relatively low rotation locations. So yes ideal for pivot bearings but I was told ( cannot remember where I read it now!) they should not be used for hubs for example.

 

[Mikerb]

Just a short session in the garage today. I fitted a new chain. I used a KMC 11 speed EL ( hollow link) chain. I find these chains provide a much better gear change, maybe because of the lighter weight. Chainwheel and cassette are still in good condition ( 1200 miles) but I will be cleaning and overhauling the cassette/freehub/rear hub later.
I also cleaned the callipers and cleaned/lubed the pistons, and fitted new pads. Existing pads had done c 700 miles and were not completely worn but the rear pads were heavilly impregnated with mud and grime!
The forks are only a few months old so need no attention. The headset is also fine but I will strip that in order to clean and regrease. ( n.b. before I changed the forks I was constantly having to adjust the headset. When I changed forks ( Lyric 160 Ultimate) I obviously fitted a new starnut but also a new headset topcap ( Sam Hill/Nukeproof) which is far more robust than the original. I have not had to adjust the heaadset since. I suspect the standard Specialised topcap is too weak and causes the loss of correct adjustment.
The shock is probably overdue for service but now is not a good time to send it off to TF, so it will have to wait!
Next job is headset. Then start on the front wheel.

 

[Mikerb]

2 jobs today: First I stripped down the headset to check the bearings. both were fine so cleaned and regreased ( I use general purpose grease here...no need for anything special). For reference the top bearing is marked TH MR12. 1 1/8 45x45 F8. ( It is 41.8mm x 30.5mm x 8mm) . I am generous with the grease on the headset using it to not only lube the bearings and seats but also to prevent dust/water entry especially at the crown race. Bottom bearing is unmarked but is a standard 52mm x 40mm 45/45 1.5 inch bearing. Headcap torqued to 5.1 nm first then stem to the same torque ( tighten each bolt progressively not full torque on one then the other or you do not spread the grip on the steerer tube evenly. Also clean the area of the steerer tube that the stem fits to with a degreaser once it has been pushed up through the bearings).

Next I dealt with the front wheel. After a thorough clean I removed the torque caps and the end caps to give access to the bearings. Both were good so just cleaned and regreased. ( bearings are 6902 2rs) . If you have not done this before, the torque caps lever off/push back on by hand but note which way round they go before replacing. The end caps are a bit more difficult to remove/replace but once you have the knack it literally take 2 minutes. Use a flat edge screwdriver and insert into the end cap, and find the bottom edge of it and lever it. Do not use too much force. If you get no movement try a different part of that edge around the end cap. When you get a little movement, just move the screwdriver away from that point just a little and lever again. Keep moving away a little as you start to ease the end cap out. Do not apply too much force or it will give suddenly and flick across the garage floor! Note when you have removed it, it comprises 2 parts. Again take a note of how it was oriented so you put it back properly. To replace it, just place it over the hub and then tap it home using a suitable size socket as a drift. Make sure it is fully home or you will have a slow running wheel when you put it back in the forks and tighten the through bolt!

Next job is the rear hub/cassette/freehub........maybe tomorrow.

 

[Mikerb]

Last job today. Rear hub/freehub and cassette.
Having cleaned the rear wheel thoroughly I removed the cassette. ( using Park Tool FR 5.2 GT and chain whip). It is best to pull the cassette off as a full set, then lay it out on a table in the right order including all the spacers. The spacers can stick to the back of their respective cog so be careful to remove them before they just fall off such that you do not know where they came from! I cleaned each cog with chain cleaner and finally with IPA keeping them laid out in order. Once all cleaned I reassembled the cassette and put a zip tie through it to keep it in order.

The silver nut on the drive side of the hub axle needs now to be removed...it is reverse thread so clockwise to remove. The freehub can then be removed. I have a DT Swiss service kit ( pawls/spring/grease) for the hub so stripped off the existing pawls and spring. I also removed the sealing washer from the outer face of the freehub for cleaning. ( note this seal is best replaced after the hub has been refitted and the silver adjusting nut screwed back on since the face of the seal angles outward). I may see if I can find a replacement for that seal ( Formula DWG 034A) given the important role it plays in keeping muck and water out of the freehub. The freehub also has an O ring seal on the face that sits into the hub.That would best be renewed if I can find a replacement.
My hub is only marked as R F.........not very helpful!!

I removed the hub axle nut and lock nut on the non drive side. You need a 19mm open ended spanner and 19mm cone spanner to remove the nut and locknut plus a 10mm hex/box spanner to insert into the hub axle to hold it still. On the non drive side there is also a sealing washer up against the hub bearing which just pulls off. You can then remove the hub axle from the drive side.

The bearings can now be inspected. I replaced both bearings last January with Enduro 6903 last January. The original bearings had done about 600 miles and were rough. Thankfully my replacements have faired a lot better and are in perfect condition still. So I cleaned out the inside of the hub, the axle and the cleaned the seal and nuts and reassembled. I greased the axle and bearing faces ( both sides).The axle goes back in from the drive side, the bearing seal pushed back on and the black cone nut tightened until the axle started to loose free movement.....then backed off a quarter turn and the locknut tightened against it. I checked once assembled that I could feel no side to side or up/down movement of the axle.

So onto the freehub. Here I was not so lucky. Both bearings felt rough so need replacing. I am waiting on delivery of 2 x 6902-2RS bearings so cannot complete the job yet. I have first got to drive out the old bearings. Both bearings are pressed in from the outer edge of the hub. The inner bearing sits against a shoulder, then there is a spacer tube and the outer bearing pressed in against that spacer tube. That spacer tube is a smaller diameter than the hub shell so should "float" and be a ble to be pushed to one side to enable access to drive the outer bearing out first. On my hub the spacer tube will not budge!! A job for tomorrow.

 

[Mikerb]

Freehub Bearings:
Bearings arrived today ( 6902-2RS) so able to get on with fitting new bearings in the freehub plus new pawls and spring ( DT Swiss 3 Pawl Service kit). As I mentioned above the 2 bearings have an aluminium spacer tube between them which is supposed to be free to move from side to side so that a punch can get to the bearing edges for drifting out. Mine would not budge! The outer bearing needs to come out first. I had to resort to removing the outer bearing seal and pulling the retainer ring out of the bearing. I could then push all the ball bearings to one side to create a gap down into the freehub shell. After some WD40 and pushing a probe down between the spacer shell and the freehub inner wall I finally got the spacer to move. Simple then to drift the outer bearing out using a nail punch. The inner bearing needs to come out in the same direction but it has a circlip against its inner face so that need removing first. You could use a 19mm socket to push the inner bearing out but I have a RRP bearing press set so used that. Refitting the 2 bearings is a reverse of that procedure. Again I used the RRP bearing press.
Interesting to note that the outer bearing only had a seal on its outer edge...no seal on the inner edge. How it is supposed to hold grease I do not know. My replacements are both sealed both sides.
Refitting the freehub to the axle I fitted the silver adjuster nut first then pushed the seal ( mentioned above) over it making sure it was properly seated. I tightened the nut finger tight plus a quarter turn.
I rebuilt the cassette onto the hub and torqued the cassette nut to 40nm.

So overall the freehub bearings were the only fault found on the bike. They were caught just in time to prevent imminent freewheel problems.

 

[The EMF]

Excellent read ?

 

[Andy__C]

That was a great read, thanks for taking the time to post.

I recently did a thorough service on my 19 expert and now I don't class it as thorough any more!

I did headset, cleaned and greased pivot bearings, lower leg and air spring service, shock aircan service and clean out of the motor bay.

Wheel bearings are probably a step too far for me but enjoyed the read.

 

[Mikerb]

Bearings are easy enough and something well worth checking annually....especially as the bearings fitted as standard are pretty cheap and cheerful. You just need one ( often come as a set of 6) pin punch. The end of them is flat so far better than say a centre punch or a screwdriver and they are fairly long and slender. They will drift most bearings out. A bearing press is the safest way to fit new bearings. I bought 2 sets of RRP drifts...one set for 6902 bearings and another set for 6903. That cover both wheels and the freehub. I made my own press by using those with a length of threaded bar, 3 suitable nuts and a couple of heavy duty washers. That said you can often drift bearings back in using a suitable sized socket but you need to be careful to keep everything square.

Well done on servicing your suspension. My Lyric Ultimate forks are only a few months old so nothing needed there. The shock is overdue a service but I am more likely to upgrade is to a Delux ultimate or Super Delux Ultimate....so not bothering to service it!!

Glad you enjoyed the posts.

 

[The EMF]

I’ve had the wheel bearings replaced on warranty on my Whyte. They agree that the many of the hubs only use the cheapest bearings so as to keep the costs low.

 

[Mikerb]

Addendum!

I did a couple of test rides to check everything was OK and found I had some chain slip, especially once off road, and most noticeable on cogs in the middle of the cassette which are the ones I tend to use most. So although the cassette looked fine the new chain exposed the fact that there was indeed wear. I also noticed the meshing of chain on the chainwheel was a bit noisy at times. For reference, the cassette and chainwheel have done 1200 miles, virtually all offroad, and 2 chains ( the new chain being the third). I could minimise the chain slip with B tension adjustment but not totally eliminate it. So...new cassette and chainwheel.

Cassette:
I stuck with the SRAM PG 1130 11-42t. Simple changeover job ( see posts a bove).

Chainwheel:
I bought a steel Praxis "Wave" 104 BCD 32T. For those not familiar with chainwheel specs there are essentially 2 designs. Direct mount and 4 bolt mounting. Mine is the 4 bolt mounting. 104 BCD refers to the diameter...104mm....between diagonal bolt centres ( Bolt Centre Diameter/BCD. There are different BCDs to fit different spiders.

Again, a simple job. Remove the drive side pedal and chainguide. It is a good opportunity to strip and clean the chainguide ( be careful when taking it apart to note where the 2 washers go). When cleaning also strip the dried thread lock off the threads of the bolt.
The 4 bolts holding the old chainwheel can now be removed , the chain slipped off the chainwheel and it can be removed. Clean the bolts and threads of the bolts. Fit the new chainwheel using threadlock on the bolts and torque to 10nm. The chainguide can now be refixed...againt using threadlock on the bolt. Torque is c 1nm. To align it correctly, the hanger part roughly aligns with the seat tube angle, the guide part copies the radius of the chainring.
Finally I re indexed the gears. Obviously limit adjustments and B tension did not change but I found I now needed about 2 complete turns less cable tension on the shifter to get smooth changes in both directions.

I did about 20 miles offroad on bridleways and farmtracks (lockdown route!) after changing the cassette but before changing the chainwheel. It was that ride that convinced me to change it ( I had already bought it) . Everything worked fine but I could both feel and hear poor meshing of the new chain on the old chainwheel. Again the chainwheel did not look worn to me but with both cassette and chainwheel changed the drivetrain now feels butter smooth and is very quiet. The moral being....you cannot go just by looks!!

 

[Andy__C]

Interesting to hear.

I have done similar miles and still with original chain and cassette (I tried replacing the chain but was too late).

I'm not that far off the cassette being replaced, it looks worn but still runs OK - I am hoping to drag it out until the spring/summer.

The chain-ring looks pretty crisp still however, but I'll be mindful at how it behaves when I replace the chain and cassette. Will probably order a replacement chainring as well and have it on standby.