# First Rohloff oil change woes.



## planetoid (Jun 23, 2020)

I bought a bike Friday with Rohloff(new) about a year ago and did my first oil change. I followed Rohloffs YouTube video to the T. I was surprised to see that after putting the cleaning fluid in and letting it sit 15 to 20 minutes that not much came back out. Maybe like 5ml extra and it was all pretty much black. So I put the new oil in then take it for a ride and notice the next morning that there was a sizable puddle on the ground with oil dripping off the qr release handle. I wipe it up and take it out for another ride. That night I go out to check on it and there was another sizable puddle on the paper I put down. Checked on it this morning and another puddle. After work today there was yet another. Most of it is light and clear but a couple of the puddles had dark some stuff on it that looked similar to when I first drained it.

It’s only leaking off of the qr but it seems obvious to me that I overfilled the hub. I’m guessing I should have waited way longer than 15-20 minutes to drain it. It’s still leaking right now(I can watch it drip)as it’s especially warm in the garage today. Any recommendations on what to do? Should I keep riding it until the excess oil leaks or should I do another change and drain it again?


----------



## Seggybop (Dec 10, 2005)

Did you ride the bike around a bit after initially adding the cleaning oil?


----------



## planetoid (Jun 23, 2020)

Seggybop said:


> Did you ride the bike around a bit after initially adding the cleaning oil?


I had it on a stand and did what the video suggested which was to turn the cranks and switch between gears 3-5 for 5 minutes.

I was watching cycle monkeys video and they actually suggested letting it sit overnight which is a lot longer than the 15 minutes Rohloff suggests. I went ahead and let it start draining tonight. We will see how much comes out. What is the threshold before they are supposed to start weeping out the axel? It seems like quite a bit came out. It pretty much leaked all last night and today. Enough to where I could watch it drip.

Also unrelated - about two months ago I changed the tires and when I went to undo the external gear mech there was quite a bit of oil on the underside of the box. Is that normal? Should there be any oil at all under or inside the mech?


----------



## fokof (Apr 24, 2006)

If you put 25ml of cleaning fluid , there has to be at least 25 ml of liquid to drain before putting oil back in. You probably didn't wait long enough when you emptied the cleaning fluid.

The reason they say 25ml of oil is that any excess will get out by itself , so it's normal.

One of my 4 hubs is a bit leaky ,it "spews" oil at each oil change , I asked Rohloff if I should get it checked and they me that as long as there is 5ml of oil in it then all is good.


----------



## planetoid (Jun 23, 2020)

fokof said:


> If you put 25ml of cleaning fluid , there has to be at least 25 ml of liquid to drain before putting oil back in. You probably didn't wait long enough when you emptied the cleaning fluid.
> 
> The reason they say 25ml of oil is that any excess will get out by itself , so it's normal.
> 
> One of my 4 hubs is a bit leaky ,it "spews" oil at each oil change , I asked Rohloff if I should get it checked and they me that as long as there is 5ml of oil in it then all is good.


Sorry I didn't word that properly but I got at least 25 maybe 30 because I lost a little cleaning fluid while putting it in.

So update this morning - I got about 22ml of oil out so far. Not sure how much I lost in the puddles the maybe 10ml total? With 22ml coming out is that enough to have it leak like it did?


----------



## fokof (Apr 24, 2006)

So you probably had a lot more than 25ml in there and the extra leaked.

Like I said : Anything more than 25ml is gonna leak out by its own.


Everything between 5ml and 25ml is "A-OK"

(English not being my main language , maybe I'm not clear....)


----------



## planetoid (Jun 23, 2020)

fokof said:


> So you probably had a lot more than 25ml in there and the extra leaked.
> 
> Like I said : Anything more than 25ml is gonna leak out by its own.
> 
> ...


Thanks. Any comments on oil being in
the gear change mech?


----------



## fokof (Apr 24, 2006)

Oil can leaks on either side of the hub, it can end up in gear change mech.

It happens on mine , nothing to worry.

Can also be the grease in the mech that liquifies.....


----------



## Ailuropoda (Dec 15, 2010)

Make sure the oil plug is tightened correctly. (Not all the way in, of course)

I leaked a little oil but it was coming from around the plug, not the axle.


----------



## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Do I understand corectly that you bought the hub brandnew as the first owner? In that case I would strongly recommend to register it at rohloff too, it can be done via their website.

For new hubs it is recommended to do an oil change earlier than 1 year. I did it after 4 months already and the oil came out pretty dark as well already. 

So you say you followed the video from rohloff? To drain everything, make sure you screw on the hose, then turn the wheel so that the hose is at the lowest point. LET IT SIT LIKE THAT FOR 15MINUTES! To make sure that all oil is at the bottom. Also make sure that you are in a relatively warm place, so that the oil is thinner. When draining the oil out, I always put in some air, let it be again for some minutes, drain again, repeat a few times. Then get rid of the old oil and put in the new oil.

Yes the oil will spill if there is too much in the hub. Depending on to which side the bike is leaning the oil will drip on the lowest side. When possible you should drain the excess of oil, since the leakage can screw up your brakepads, I had that a few times. 

If you are sure you only have 25ml in the hub and it is still leakng, you have to send it to rohloff for a check. The hub has 4 seals, each one could be bad: 1 on each bearing, 1 inside at the skewer axle at the pressure vent, and one between the housing and the cover. If you are the first owner they will probably fix it for free, I just hope it will not be necessary to remove the hub from the wheel and have it relaced.


----------



## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh yeah the plug. It can stick out a bit, it should be even with the hub case, definitely not deeper, that might block the internal mechanism and get trouble with slipping or loosing gears. 

And if you want to be sure it is not leaking, drain after 6 months to see how much is still in there.


----------

