rebuild a John Deere Bike?

[DebW]

Funny thing is, dh got home and son was so excited they went straight to the garage before I could tell him we need a spanner to get the lock ring off. It was so loose, Dh got it off with his fingers, which I didn't even attempt. He also had an automotive tool that took the cup out easily.

You could have gotten it off with a hammer and punch if you really wanted to.
But best to get the spanner to put it back on and do a good job adjusting the bearings.

I don't see how we'll get new cranks and chainrings without a new bottom bracket anyway, due to the inelegantly cottered cranks. I think they destroyed one of the cotter pins during removal, too. I don't think it needs new chainrings, but the cranks, he'll probably want new ones, which means he'll probably get new rings, too. We're going to take it in to the place where we bought our bikes and see if Jason can measure stuff for us and give the boy guidance. I'm pretty certain after reading Sheldon Brown that the diameters of the tubes and bottom bracket, etc., will not give us any unsurmountable problems. We can always reassemble it with the original parts if necessary, after it's repainted.

Thanks again!
Karen

You can buy new cotter pins (try www.loosescrews.com or Sheldon Brown). Sometimes you have to file the flats to make them fit, though. They often get munged in the removal process. You can probably replace this with a used cotterless crank if you can find something. If you put the original steel cotered crank back on, your son can learn to true chainrings - a skill not many people have these days.