E-Bike Motor repair assistance

[m1lfr3d]

hey, im new to the forum, i joined because i have a kind of confusing question.

so my motor is having trouble and im trying to open up the shell to look at the parts.

this is a rear wheel motor that came from an e-bike kit where the motor is situated inside a black shell in the middle of the rear wheel, between the spokes and rim.

i have looked up videos on how to remove the protective shell to get at the motor, but all of them feature a removable plate that can be taken off after removing 8 screws holding this plate onto the rest of the shell.

my shell has these 8 removable screws, but they dont seem to serve an actual purpose as the shell is actually one solid piece i cant seem to find and part that is removable.

my question is, is there maybe other locations on the shell this removable plate may be?

i figured since its a rear wheel (and the only videos i found were for front wheel motors) i may need to take off the gear cassette before being able to remove anything, i just dont own the cassette removal tools at this time.

 

[rich c]

It would help if you told us what brand and model motor you have. For your info, the motor just doesn't fall apart after you remove those bolts. Often you have to put some force on the axle to pop the case apart. I put a 2x4 on the floor and tap the axle on the opposite side from the 8 bolts. There is a pilot machined on that aluminum housing and it needs that little bit of force to open it up. That should show up in those videos you have been watching. If you have a gear hub motor, watch for a little key that indexes the armature to the axle. Take a lot of photos as you disassemble everything. There can also be some shim washers on the inside and they MUST go back in the same place. No idea what you think you will find by looking inside. No different than those folks who pop the hood on there car, expecting the problem to shout out at them by just looking.

 

[m1lfr3d]

thanks for the reply, i bought the kit off of amazon, so i dont really know the brand or model since amazon doesnt give much details and the box was a basic cardboard box with no branding.

i only know it came from china, because when i contacted support with questions, they apologized for not speaking good English.

in terms of applying force, i did see that in the videos and acted accordingly, i tried not only popping it off with a flathead screwdriver and a workbench as leverage(that is how i found there was no grooves for where two seperate pieces would be put together).

i also tried pulling it out with a rope tied around the axel and some bolts (i already have a replacement tire/motor so this one breaking due to excess force isnt the end of the world).

 

[harryS]

Maybe you could buy a freewheel puller and see if there are more screws under those gears.

 

[m1lfr3d]

Maybe you could buy a freewheel puller and see if there are more screws under those gears.

thanks, thats exactly what i was thinking, i just wanted to see if anyone else agrees or if that was a dumb idea before going and buying the freewheel stuff

 

[byunbee]

I would start with removing the cassette first.

 

[rich c]

I would start with removing the cassette first.

Nope, the cassette or freewheel threads onto the opposite side of the housing and has nothing to do with splitting the motor housing.

 

[byunbee]

Nope, the cassette or freewheel threads onto the opposite side of the housing and has nothing to do with splitting the motor housing.

Ok. I stand corrected. I thought it would help to see both sides to understand how the casing is assembled.

 

[rich c]

Maybe you could buy a freewheel puller and see if there are more screws under those gears.

The freewheel is part of the housing that spins. The axle and armature are fixed in the bike. I can't see anyway that there could be bolts tying anything together there. I took my Bafang apart twice. The main part of the casing is just like a bucket with the magnets all around the outside. One bearing on the side near the freewheel, one bearing on the cap that closes the housing. I think there is a pilot on the cover and a recess bore on the main housing. Evidently the pilot is very tight, or they put RTV on it to seal it up. There is no way to put a puller on it, you just have to split the cover off the housing. But since we have no pictures of the motor, no identification I guess, it's all just pissing in the wind at this point. I thought all freewheels were threaded on?

 

[m1lfr3d]

okedoke i took some pictures, maybe they will help, i dont see how though, there is no branding or anything i can see.

 

[m1lfr3d]

if you look right on the edge between the spokes and where the screws you, it does LOOK like there is a lip where 2 pieces would meet.

but i can assure you from dealing with this for the last 2 days, if it COULD come off it must be sealed with something.

like i said i literally wrapped a rope around the nut in the pictures and pulled up while standing on the rim as hard as i could, and it didnt even seem to budge and inch other the spokes bending with the pressure slightly.

 

[rich c]

What your pictures tell me is that you have a direct drive hub motor and not a geared hub motor that I was telling you how to take apart. THAT"S how they can help. Fairly certain this video tells you how to take it apart. Of course it's up to you to confirm that and take the appropriate steps to take it apart and not destroy something. But from my seat in front of the computer it looks like this is the way.

 

[m1lfr3d]

unfortunately that video has been one ive already watched, and you can see in those videos, the seperation between the plates i mentioned that i cant seem to find on the shell.

ive been going at it again today with another flathead, running it along every surface, and there doesnt seem to be anywhere i can wedge anything into.

 

[rich c]

unfortunately that video has been one ive already watched, and you can see in those videos, the seperation between the plates i mentioned that i cant seem to find on the shell.

ive been going at it again today with another flathead, running it along every surface, and there doesnt seem to be anywhere i can wedge anything into.

Why do you think they had a circle of bolts on that flange if there isn't a separation point under the flange? You need a very sharp steel chisel or strong knife to tap in under the flange. The guy in the video talks about that very thing. If you insist there is no way to separate it, I suggest you just buy a new motor.

 

[tomjasz]

Have you removed the axle nut?

 

[m1lfr3d]

ok i FINALLY got it seperated. turns out the seperation was in a very odd location, not just under the screws like the videos all showed, it was like after spokes, so i had to remove all the spokes first.

either way doesnt matter, the current step im on is i have one of the covers off (the cassette gear side). and the motor is out of the shell, but the cover on the side opposite the cassette gear is still on, im pulling as hard as i can but it seems to get caught about 3/4 of the way up the axle, not sure why.

any ideas? maybe im just not pulling hard enough?

to reference the earlier video. i seem to be at the part that the guy busted out a gigantic vice grip looking thing. is this a necessary tool or just something he chose to use?