Taking apart, cleaning, and lubing jockey pulleys

[Kalidurga]

Aside from Oakleaf's old thread about ceramic bushings in jockey pulleys, I couldn't find any general info here about taking apart, cleaning and lubing them. Mine were singing quite a song today, so it seems they need to be done. I've googled directions and it sounds relatively simple. Before I take this next fumbling step in increasing my bike maintenance repertoire, though, I thought I'd check whether anyone here has any good tips or advice. DebW? Anyone?

[HillSlugger]

Aside from Oakleaf's old thread about ceramic bushings in jockey pulleys, I couldn't find any general info here about taking apart, cleaning and lubing them. Mine were singing quite a song today, so it seems they need to be done. I've googled directions and it sounds relatively simple. Before I take this next fumbling step in increasing my bike maintenance repertoire, though, I thought I'd check whether anyone here has any good tips or advice. DebW? Anyone?

This was covered in this week's Road Bike Rider

[divingbiker]

I don't even know what a jockey pulley is.

Where did you end up riding today?

[HillSlugger]

The jockey wheels are the two little gears that the chain passes over in the rear derailleur.

[tzvia]

I've cleaned/lubed the bushings quite a few times over the decades. The nice thing about doing it these days is the quick-detach link that is on many new chains, so using a chain breaker is not always needed. It's a small item that makes drive train service soo much easier.

Make sure you have a clean well lit workspace as you will be dealing with small parts. Remove the chain, and the two derailleur jockey-plate screws. There are two bearing covers on each wheel (one each side). Pop them off and the bearings/bushings are inside. I like to use several small plastic containers for soaking the parts to remove old dirty grease. Once they are clean and dry, I re-lube with a waterproof grease and make sure they spin easily and smoothly before reinstalling the chain. I also take the time to wipe down the two jocky-pulley plates as there is often times dirt in there that you can't get at unless it is apart. The whole thing is actually very easy to do.

Last week I finally replaced the jockey wheels on my old 7700 Dura Ace (about 10 years old), with new red KCNC ceramic ones. I can't tell if they are any smoother than the old ones but they sure are bling . I then cleaned the old ones and put them aside for emergency use.

[Kalidurga]

MDHillSlug: Actually, it was reading that article in RoadBikeRider that made me realize I need to do this.

divingbiker: C&O/WMRT loop between Fort Frederick and Hancock.

tzvia: Are there very many small parts under the bearing covers? I think my concern is that I'll lose track of the order in which things come apart and then put them back together wrong. The one thing I haven't found on-line is a diagram of all the components involved.