I have a 2010 Elite+ hub, and it is the version with 15mm steel axle and steel Campy freehub. Hub is about 2 yrs and 10,000 miles old.
Did any of you hear any noises when the bearings went bad?I recently started hearing a
low-pitched squealing sound, and it
seems to be coming from the hub. It is
not like the typical higher-pitched squeak from the derailler cage pulleys. I notice sound when I am pedaling on the road, or on a trainer. Above 20mph, wind & road noise drowns out the sound.
I've partially disassembled the hub, removing freehub & endcaps. The main axle bearings turn very smoothly, by hand. The Campy freehub bearings feel very slightly "grabby" when I stick finger inside and turn -- but hard to believe that small amount of "grab" could create the sound I'm hearing.
Ordinarily I'd just replace the freehub bearings, but am reluctant to spend some $45 on a "blind hole bearing puller" set ( eg, see:
http://www.harborfreight.com/blind-hole ... 95987.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ).
UPDATE Oct 2:
I was able to gently tap out the Campy freehub bearings, using deep socket wrenches to fully engage the bearing and apply force evenly. ( I have a very complete set of shallow & deep sockets to seelct from).
Once removed, the freehub bearings were very smooth! Any roughness I was feeling, was because the outermost bearing was installed too far in, and the hollow spacer tube between the 2 bearings was apparently applying too much lateral preload.
Reinstalled old bearings, using a 5/16" x 3.5" grade-8 nut & bolt as a poor man's bearing press. Various socket wrenches were able to act as the "drift". I kept the hollow spacer axially centered, using another socket wrench as a dummy "axle". Light film of SAE 80 oil was applied to all contact surfaces before pressing the bearings.
The outermost freehub bearing was not pressed as deeply in as factory original. Snug enough to hold the hollow spacer in place, but turns much smoother.
Regardless, this doesn't seem to have been the source of the noise, so I'll have to keep looking for that!