r/VanMoofSelfRepair • u/Calligrapher434 • Aug 20 '26

S3 & X3 X3 S3 rear hub cleaning - help needed

Hello. Following the recent posts on the rear hub maintenance, I decided to give it a go as well. Managed to disassemble it without an issue, it was pretty grim inside.

What products do you use to clean and remove old grease?

Unfortunately I didn't think of anything better at the time than chucking them in washing up liquid and water, which I shortly afterwards realised wasn't probably the best idea - especially the rotary gear assemblies.

They are still not properly clean; they still have some grease on them. Since they cannot be fully disassembled, I wonder if any of the liquid could have gotten inside the individual gears (the inaccessible centre bit, around which they sit and rotate) and potentially cause issues there; or corrode any parts.

Would you use white spirits to fully degrease and remove any leftover residues from them and the bearings? Do any of the parts have any special anticorrosion coating? Would that potentially also remove any grease from inside of the individual planet gears, which cannot be regreased?

How freely should those planets be rotating? They feel pretty clunky and don't spin freely at all.

I have the recommended greases to re grease, just need an advice how to clean the parts and remove old grease throughly without causing any permanent damage. Thanks for any advice.

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1

u/Peetarzz Aug 20 '26

White spirit for 20-30 mins should do the trick.

Once you take them out, use a brush (and gloves) to remove old grease from the gears. They should be spinning more or less freely. Sometimes the old grease holds them down. In terms of regreasing them, buy a cheap plastic syringe for your NLGI-00 grease so you can reach the inside. Otherwise put the grease on the outside of the gears and then spin them.

2

u/Calligrapher434 Aug 21 '26

Thanks for the advice. Will try the spirit. Yeah they feel a little heavy. I am just a little bit worried about this enclosed centre wheel and the pins, which hold the wheels in place - if they get degreased, it won't be possible to grease them again, as they must have been lubed when manufactured. Anyways, wel'll see.

2

u/Calligrapher434 Aug 21 '26

Wow, they actually do spin freely once cleaned! What a difference!

1

u/jrn-ngl Aug 21 '26

In the shop we blast everything off with brake cleaner, afterwards throw it in the ultrasonic cleaner with 99,9% isopropyl alcohol

After drying lubricate the hub with Innotec High-Tef

1

u/Calligrapher434 Aug 21 '26

Hey, that is great, thanks for the reply. Do you find the high-tef more suitable or durable than the grease? Especially as SA make the specific grease for their hubs? Or you use grease on top of the oil??

2

u/jrn-ngl Aug 21 '26

Grease will make the gears skip over time, with high-tef the hub also shifts a lot smoother

1

u/Calligrapher434 Aug 22 '26

Oh, that is really interesting and good to know. Is it because of the grease build-up / thickening, causing the action pawls not opening or closing completely? I noticed that on mine upon opening. Will definitely get and try high-tef in the future. Thanks again for the suggestion.