yotahed
Diesel Head
First off, I dont mean to tread on OldBlue's parade. This was his idea in the first place.
But for those of you who want to tackle something yourself, this is my second method of converting to manual hubs while retaining all stock parts beside the electric motors. and doesnt require machining a fake motor.
My first version used a metal ring in between the outer cover and the body, the same shape as the outer hub cover gasket as a retainer to keep the bolt straight. It tended to let a lot of moisture in so I scrapped it after a year or so, and Im using a slightly different method this time with larger hardware (5mm instead of a dinky 4mm).
The 5mm allen head bolt should be long enough to reach through the outside of the hub cover to just past where the motor was +5 or 6mm. (See picture.)
You also have to carefully grind the bolt on two sides so the the gear just slides on to it. be careful not to grind the bolt off center creating a cam-like or eccentric rotation.
using 5mm bolts requires filing the rounded edges of the square hole in the gear (once the motor is removed and the gear removed from the motor). I used a chainsaw file slightly ground on two sides to fit through the hole. Takes about 10 mins per gear. if you want to use 4mm you can, and you dont have to file the gear. Theyre pretty tiny though...
I used rubber grommet things from the nuts and bolts section in canadian tire. some stores dont have them but some do. These are the smallest they have I think (see Pic) There is a threaded insert at one end that i just cut off with a utility knife right at the edge of the insert.
Now the DO OR DIE part. Drilling your cover plate. What i did was lay the hub cover on its face on a table. take a pencil with a sharp end and put the gear on it snugly. make sure the end of the lead sticks through. put the gear up to the driven gear in the hub cover so that the gears are meshed and make sure the pencil is dead straight. you will want to take your time here, because you have to be really accurate or your bolt wont be straight and the gears wont mesh enough or will be too tight. Mark the location on the inside of the hub cover. should be right in the center of the indented area where the motor stuck out. You can alternatively use a small awl and smack it to mark the aluminium.
Measure your grommet and make the hole just slightly smaller for a snug fit. start with a small drill bit to ensure you dont walk around the center.
My hole is just over a 1/4" and the grommet fits snug. take your time here because too loose and youll have rusty hub innards before long...
Now insert the grommet into the hole and insert the bolt with a washer on it. put a washer and a nylock on at this point. the washer outside diameter should be larger than the grommet and the hole you drilled. the grommet should be just long enough to squish a bit when you tighten it. some trimming may be needed. make it real snug, but not over-tight. enough that you can still turn the bolt but without it rattling around.
Slide the gear onto the bolt and it should line up perfect if youve done it correctly.
After you get it lined up put a washer over the gear and install a nylock the normal way and snug it up tight so the gear doesnt wobble. Make sure while you are tightening you dont disturb where you set it at i.e. secure the Allen head so it doesnt move.
Now, youll need to fabricate a plate where the motor used to sit. I making mine out of 24gauge sheet steel. Have a look at the motor and diagram and youll have a pretty good idea of the shape it needs to be. Its easier to mark your holes and drill before you cut it out. Im just using tin snips. depending on how far your last nylock protrudes from the inside face of the cover plate, you may need to bend the middle in a bit for clearance.
Once you get this far, youll need to make sure youre hubs in either locked or unlocked and all the pawls are aligned. this is kind of tricky since its easy to confused. once you get the sweet spot the cover should slide right in fairly easy. jacking the wheels off the ground makes it easier so you can rotate the tires. I moved them to the lock position myself. then rotate the allen head COUNTER CLOCKWISE to position the driven gear to"lock". It will go 2 1/2 turns till it stops lock to unlock. If you dont do this you wont have full rotation one way or the other and it wont work. So make sure you pick a position and make sure the driven gear is at one of the stop postions.
CLOCKWISE to UNLOCK
COUNTER CLOCKWISE to LOCK
once you get it all together, tighten it down snug, and rotate the Allen head. you should hear the hub click in and the gears meshing and out with a couple rotations each way. if you cant, or it's not engaging, it's aligned incorrectly and you have to pull the cover and rotate the driven gear all the way to one side or the other or the pawls are in the wrong orientation. Lots of trial and error at this part. take your time.
Now you have manual hubs. Ill take some more pics tommorow while im installing mine.
anyone let me know if i missed something, I had to peee
But for those of you who want to tackle something yourself, this is my second method of converting to manual hubs while retaining all stock parts beside the electric motors. and doesnt require machining a fake motor.
My first version used a metal ring in between the outer cover and the body, the same shape as the outer hub cover gasket as a retainer to keep the bolt straight. It tended to let a lot of moisture in so I scrapped it after a year or so, and Im using a slightly different method this time with larger hardware (5mm instead of a dinky 4mm).
The 5mm allen head bolt should be long enough to reach through the outside of the hub cover to just past where the motor was +5 or 6mm. (See picture.)
You also have to carefully grind the bolt on two sides so the the gear just slides on to it. be careful not to grind the bolt off center creating a cam-like or eccentric rotation.
using 5mm bolts requires filing the rounded edges of the square hole in the gear (once the motor is removed and the gear removed from the motor). I used a chainsaw file slightly ground on two sides to fit through the hole. Takes about 10 mins per gear. if you want to use 4mm you can, and you dont have to file the gear. Theyre pretty tiny though...
I used rubber grommet things from the nuts and bolts section in canadian tire. some stores dont have them but some do. These are the smallest they have I think (see Pic) There is a threaded insert at one end that i just cut off with a utility knife right at the edge of the insert.
Now the DO OR DIE part. Drilling your cover plate. What i did was lay the hub cover on its face on a table. take a pencil with a sharp end and put the gear on it snugly. make sure the end of the lead sticks through. put the gear up to the driven gear in the hub cover so that the gears are meshed and make sure the pencil is dead straight. you will want to take your time here, because you have to be really accurate or your bolt wont be straight and the gears wont mesh enough or will be too tight. Mark the location on the inside of the hub cover. should be right in the center of the indented area where the motor stuck out. You can alternatively use a small awl and smack it to mark the aluminium.
Measure your grommet and make the hole just slightly smaller for a snug fit. start with a small drill bit to ensure you dont walk around the center.
My hole is just over a 1/4" and the grommet fits snug. take your time here because too loose and youll have rusty hub innards before long...
Now insert the grommet into the hole and insert the bolt with a washer on it. put a washer and a nylock on at this point. the washer outside diameter should be larger than the grommet and the hole you drilled. the grommet should be just long enough to squish a bit when you tighten it. some trimming may be needed. make it real snug, but not over-tight. enough that you can still turn the bolt but without it rattling around.
Slide the gear onto the bolt and it should line up perfect if youve done it correctly.
After you get it lined up put a washer over the gear and install a nylock the normal way and snug it up tight so the gear doesnt wobble. Make sure while you are tightening you dont disturb where you set it at i.e. secure the Allen head so it doesnt move.
Now, youll need to fabricate a plate where the motor used to sit. I making mine out of 24gauge sheet steel. Have a look at the motor and diagram and youll have a pretty good idea of the shape it needs to be. Its easier to mark your holes and drill before you cut it out. Im just using tin snips. depending on how far your last nylock protrudes from the inside face of the cover plate, you may need to bend the middle in a bit for clearance.
Once you get this far, youll need to make sure youre hubs in either locked or unlocked and all the pawls are aligned. this is kind of tricky since its easy to confused. once you get the sweet spot the cover should slide right in fairly easy. jacking the wheels off the ground makes it easier so you can rotate the tires. I moved them to the lock position myself. then rotate the allen head COUNTER CLOCKWISE to position the driven gear to"lock". It will go 2 1/2 turns till it stops lock to unlock. If you dont do this you wont have full rotation one way or the other and it wont work. So make sure you pick a position and make sure the driven gear is at one of the stop postions.
CLOCKWISE to UNLOCK
COUNTER CLOCKWISE to LOCK
once you get it all together, tighten it down snug, and rotate the Allen head. you should hear the hub click in and the gears meshing and out with a couple rotations each way. if you cant, or it's not engaging, it's aligned incorrectly and you have to pull the cover and rotate the driven gear all the way to one side or the other or the pawls are in the wrong orientation. Lots of trial and error at this part. take your time.
Now you have manual hubs. Ill take some more pics tommorow while im installing mine.
anyone let me know if i missed something, I had to peee
Last edited:
I havent made up the plates yet, but I will eventually, for now I'll run em.
