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here is how to assemble syncro hubs easily and cheaply

first you need a 'special tool' a 45-60mm jubliee clip - a decent quality clip is essential. Drill a hole in the clip thats just a touch bigger than the spring and the ball.

next, get your hub and satisfy your self that its unworn and the inner is fitted the right way - the larger step in the inner always points the same way as the larger step in the outside. Also make sure that the gaps are lined up correctly on the inner and the outer.



now push the inner outwards so that the jubilee clip can be slipped over, it should be just slack enough so that it can rotate around - if its a new clip you will probably have to keep adjusting the size through out this process until the clip is the 'perfect' size, once its sized you wont have to adjust it again. Next, line the hole in the jubilee clip up with the hole in the inner and slip the spring, then the ball in, then rotate the clip round to the next hole and repeat. Its best to fit the springs now, rather than before the jubilee clip as it stops them getting caught in the edge of it when you drop it on.



once all three balls are in place, rotate the jubilee clip so that the 'saddle' part is covering one of the detent balls - this is important as the clips are never quite 'round' and this is the tightest part. Then lay the hub flat on the bench and push the inner down, it will only go so far as the balls will prevent the inner going all the way in.



now take three small flat bladed screw drivers, push then down the jubilee clip to press the balls further in, i use a smaller one against the saddle of the clip and two slightly larger ones against the two other balls



if your clip is new, you may need to adjust the size to allow the screwdrivers to push the balls in enough to defeat the outer, or slacken it a little to the inner can slide.

now push the inner with your thumbs and it should 'pop' into place, you may need to jiggle the screwdrivers about a little, or use the shaft of a hammer to lightly 'tap' the inner home. if you need to use anything more than very light force then you havent pushed the balls far enough home with the screwdrivers to allow them to pop past the lead in on the outer race.

with a bit of practice (and once your clip is the right size) this is a two minuite job


before you know it you can have done loads of them.......

Nice one Rich,I bought the proper churchill tool and with that it was still a pain in the butt job, never did find one ball that went across the office took to doing it in the bathroom then with the plugs in the bath and sink so as there were less places for it to get lost behind

Gray wrote:Nice one Rich,I bought the proper churchill tool and with that it was still a pain in the butt job, never did find one ball that went across the office took to doing it in the bathroom then with the plugs in the bath and sink so as there were less places for it to get lost behind

the advantage of using clip is that the only time the balls are under tension is once they are behind it, they cannot escape as there is never an oportunity for them to do so using this method.

the other tip i have is to disesemble old ones inside a carrier bag to stop the balls and springs going to far!

Totally totally brilliant thank you for sharing this system.

A bit more brut force approach

Tools needed: a long tie wrap (not too wide), a protective cloth, a piece of wood (not too thin) and a proper hammer.

Procedure: Put the tie wrap around the inner hub and while fitting the balls and springs, tie it up firmly. The connection between the two ends of the tie wrap should be disaligned with the balls. Pack the combination of the inner and outer hub (with the tie wrap fitted to the inner hub) in the cloth and put it on a flat surface (it seems to work better if the protuding outer hub is on top). Put the wood on the lot and make one decent hit with the hammer on the wood to move the outer hub over the inner one, which will move the tie wrap out of the way while the outer hub will slide over the balls etc. Unwrap from cloth, remove tie wrap and finally center the two hubs by hand. Throw away the used tie wrap.

the other tip i have is to disesemble old ones inside a carrier bag to stop the balls and springs going to far!

Well, that's me scuppered straight away. Carrier bags are 5 pence a throw west of Offas Dyke.

What a brilliant guide Rich. I used a Piston ring compressor but I can tell you your method looks a good deal easier. Great article and photos are a huge help. Cheers. Mark

I used a tool made by me, but then I broke it. Then I used a spray cap and it worked pretty well too.

For someone who needs to assemble lots of synchro hubs, this tool looks nice though:

http://www.guess-works.com/Tech/synchro.htm

ricardo wrote: For someone who needs to assemble lots of synchro hubs, this tool looks nice though:

http://www.guess-works.com/Tech/synchro.htm

the tool in the video was sold by MRA minis and cost about 25 quid - my jubilee clip cost a quid and has done 60 hubs so far!

thats a yorkshire money saving tip!

Now make some 3sync ones