Inside an old Bafang Hub motor - Clutch seized

[@cudak888]

Greatly appreciate this - came across something similar recently and wasn't entirely sure if the rotor was supposed to spin free on the shaft or not; this answered the question and a few more. Also, for all the naysayers complaining about the condition: Without guides such as this, you are needlessly negating the sharing of information that helps make it possible for others to repair these hubs, regardless of condition. There are people who rely on their e-bike for transportation and aren't in a position to afford a replacement, even with an abused hub like this; this guide may be the difference whether they can get to their job and survive the next month. Not every situation is a backhanded flipper. Furthermore, I don't buy into the fearmongering over safety either. Endless Sphere and EBR have enough threads about failures from hubs with far less abuse; the risk between this hub cleaned up and a mystery used hub is exactly the same. Perhaps less with the rough hub cleaned up, as one gets a chance to assess the condition of the planet pinions during the servicing, rather than being blissfully ignorant of the hub's true condition.

[@EbikeRepairs]

Thanks for the nice and detailed comment! Obviously the ideal solution here is to replace with a new motor, but - this shoes how resilient they are and that if it works for another year and the customer cant afford a new motor, its worth it! :) also, endless sphere is great.

[@cudak888]

@@EbikeRepairs Hear hear, endless-sphere truly lives up to its name. As for this hub, a complete cleaning and greasing should keep it going for longer than a year, I bet. A good waterproof (and plastic-compatible) grease slathered over the inside will probably protect it better than it was when it left Bafang from the factory. I don't know why they don't O-ring seal the right side of these hubs, though it seems as if the seepage tends to come from the sealed bearing on the left, or in the case of an older hub (8FUN-era Bafangs included), through the unsealed power cable cover plate. Granted, it takes some serious abuse for one of these to get this bad - most of the hubs I play with are ex-bikeshare and even aren't this bad inside. From the look of the tire and the grit around the spoke nipples, I'd take a guess that this hub might have been submerged at least once - which I wouldn't consider unusual for bike share, but this is obviously not a bike share wheel.

[@Rozbujnik_Rumcajs]

@@cudak888 My hub looked like this one after 2 years of commuting. Rain, snow, salted roads they are brutal for hub insides. I cleaned most of parts, bought new bearings and hall sensor. So far hardest thing in entire process is to clean rust dust from magnets.

[@paulgtal]

Amazing that that water damage did not ruin the electrics in the hub, great video man !!

[@EbikeRepairs]

Yes, incredible isn't it! thanks.

[@12villages]

These hub motors are a real rust magnet. Came across a dozen or so such videos of people using wd40 to clean the mess.

[@EbikeRepairs]

Sadly it happens! Even motors that are kept dry can have moisture from the air condense inside it - and it cant escape anywhere!

[@Funkywallot]

I just opened mine after almost 4 years. Not a trace of rust. It lives in my living room between uses. Does make a difference to let things dry in between

[@OregonCrow]

Poorly sealed motor paired with someone who doesn't take care of their shit, not a good mix. lol

[@snorttroll4379]

how does one make it maintenance proof is one is designing a motor?@@OregonCrow

[@steveshea7725]

Immediately needs new clutch, new end bearings and you're good to go, assuming the hall sensors are working

[@EbikeRepairs]

Lots of cleaning - barely worth the man hours unless you're bored, a new motor core and case bearing would be the best answer!

[@steveshea7725]

Holy hell i can't believe you got that seized clutch moving. I just learned something. Hammers apparently fix everything.

[@EbikeRepairs]

If you hit it enough, it either breaks and you replace it, or you fix it 😂😂

[@zalafinari]

It's called "percussive maintenance"

[@steveshea7725]

This rust/ internal water level was probably due to it being installed upside down with the axle's wire channel up then riding in heavy rain or being left out in heavy rain.

[@EbikeRepairs]

Iirc the bike was 'jet washed' and left to sit.... So probably yes!

[@OregonCrow]

5:14 jesus, that's a good size battery ya got there mr! :)

[@EbikeRepairs]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4a6ooSwpsifma8si=caJ3AfcOjrwE6UBZ

[@E-Guy]

Lmfso at the circlip launching 😅

[@EbikeRepairs]

Every damn time 😂

[@mrplod1616]

We can all learn from videos like this. So, thanks! But, I do hope that you are not repairing other peoples bikes professionally! Never, apply power to a seized motor! It will weaken the windings. Don't use WD40 to clean bearings! It washes out the pre-packed grease in them.

[@EbikeRepairs]

I am, but this one was just a 'can I save them buying a new motor for now' job The whole thing was ruined before I got my hands on it, bike is still rideable nearly a year later :)

[@utubeape]

do you think water gets in from the side casing due to no rubber gasket or through the axle part? I would run a bead of black sealant/adhesive around the join for the casing, something good like CT1

[@EbikeRepairs]

Mostly through the axle if the cable is installed without a drip loop. The problem with sealant around the outside is once water gets in, it then can't get out. And it will ALWAYS get in!

[@utubeape]

@@EbikeRepairs maybe there should be a removeable panel on the outer casing with a vapour permeable membrane that keeps rain out but allows evaporation through. A blob of plumber mait where the cable is might help because this stays very flexible, like thick grease, the rubber nut cover could hold it

[@alphonsotate2982]

He need to completely disassemble clean it and grease it be for running it

[@EbikeRepairs]

I agree! This is just for an old bike I'm keeping as a spare though.

[@cudak888]

There's no harm in what he did here. It was clearly to demonstrate the physical points of excess friction (motor rotor + planetary gears) that were preventing the hub from spinning.

[@viktorreznov1548]

I have a 36 volt 250 watt hub motor that needs nylon gear replacement. Do you think i can get away with buying it from amazon ? Or do they come with specific sizes. My motor is a no brand generic one and nothing comes up when i search for the serial number but i realized these things look pretty similar to one another. What's your opinion as someone who has more experience on this ?

[@EbikeRepairs]

They do differ in size and number of teeth - you'd have to open up your hub to check those things first.

[@chrisrishermn]

Where is the "clutch"? It looks like the gears are always engaged to the motor.

[@EbikeRepairs]

It's like a one way bearing - so not a normal clutch per say! Centre of the gear holding aseembly

[@David-p7z9n]

Nice work, looks like you cross streams?

[@EbikeRepairs]

😂😂😂

[@pekkavalkonen1973]

In my case, clutch slips, the engine runs but there are no pulls...

[@EbikeRepairs]

New clutch needed then!

[@steveshea7725]

Harbor freight 3 jaw puller set is 40 bucks

[@EbikeRepairs]

I have a set! The screwdrivers are more fun lol

[@VietPho]

How many miles did it have?

[@EbikeRepairs]

Unknown, a lot of miles! Thousands!

[@mazharalimazharali2892]

Aoa sir mery pas motr to h us ki grari kharab ho gae h wo kha sy milay gi

[@EbikeRepairs]

Sorry only english

[@tonystone3397]

Great stuff thanks for sharing.

[@EbikeRepairs]

Thanks for watching!

[@zgabeartzaiftodie8615]

Put syntetic chain oil inside the hub,never will sized

[@EbikeRepairs]

this one was left outside for a long time... water got inside - got cleaned up and regreased :)

[@snorttroll4379]

so the lesson for the designers is to use something that does not rust, seal it properly of have a way for water to egress. condensation etc. @@EbikeRepairs

[@alphonsotate2982]

He need to buy a three leg puller

[@EbikeRepairs]

I have a three leg puller :)

[@JM-fo1te]

7:22 Bruh moment

[@EbikeRepairs]

took me about 20 minutes to find it :(

[@polok890]

Nice vise

[@EbikeRepairs]

Thanks

[@barryansell5981]

rough as guts putting it back into use without proper maintainance repair you should pull this video down

[@EbikeRepairs]

Nah it just went in one of my bikes - who cares :)

[@cudak888]

Oh, come off the fearmongering BS. First off, Endless Sphere and EBR have enough threads about failures from hubs with far less abuse; the risk between this rusty hub cleaned up and a mystery used hub that one has never seen the inside of is exactly the same. In fact, the visual inspection and complete servicing may potentially be favorable to the former in some cases. Secondly, without guides like this, we lose the all-important sharing of information that makes it possible for others to repair these hubs, regardless of condition. This is exceedingly important to ensure *right to repair* remains a thing in a world of far too many companies trying to obfuscate servicing products in an attempt to sell more (and increase needless waste). Furthermore, there are people who rely on their e-bike for transportation and aren't in a position to afford a replacement, even with an abused hub. This guide may be the difference whether they can get to their job and survive the next month. So long as the potential limited life of the hub is communicated clearly to the client before the attempted repair, and the labor costs are not usurious, there's nothing wrong with what's being shown here. You know what? You should pull your comment down.

[@johnjacobs4625]

You no clue of what you're doing

[@EbikeRepairs]

I actually do - but please feel free to share a better way to do things - very happy to learn if you know another way! thanks for the comment

[@cudak888]

You no clue how to make sentence. You no show how to repair better. You fool.

[@snorttroll4379]

use the thingymajig to pull the cluthc off. the bearing puller thing. @@EbikeRepairs