[NorCalTaz]

Hi, I took the derailleur jockey wheels off of my GX Eagle and was careful mark which side was facing outward to start with. However, I was not as diligent enough, and now things don't sound quite right. I noticed that the there are two different types of washers, three with a raised bevel and one a lower one. I have found exploded view on SRAM's parts catalog, it is still very vague. So, what's the correct way to do this ?

Raised on left, flatter right

For Upper wheel - use shorter screw, flatter washer inboard, raised outboard , looking carefully I see a 'U' on the wheel and that is facing outward

For Lower wheel - use longer screw, raised washers both sides , looking carefully I see a 'L' on the wheel and that is facing outward

 

[sturge]

See photo's of my $110 paperweight on post #729...maybe it will help you put humpty-dumpty back together!

https://forums.mtbr.com/drivetrain-...etrain-shifters-derailleurs-cranks/sram-eagle-1x12-1002523.html?highlight=eagle

 

[NorCalTaz]

Found out that what I was doing was correct, a bit of barrel adjustment seems to have done the trick. I did find this video which

helped.

 

[Bradford2000]

Man, thank you for posting this. I did the same thing and was having trouble figuring out which direction everything goes.

 

[virtualjsk]

Hi, I took the derailleur jockey wheels off of my GX Eagle and was careful mark which side was facing outward to start with. However, I was not as diligent enough, and now things don't sound quite right. I noticed that the there are two different types of washers, three with a raised bevel and one a lower one. I have found exploded view on SRAM's parts catalog, it is still very vague. So, what's the correct way to do this ?

Raised on left, flatter right

For Upper wheel - use shorter screw, flatter washer inboard, raised outboard , looking carefully I see a 'U' on the wheel and that is facing outward

For Lower wheel - use longer screw, raised washers both sides , looking carefully I see a 'L' on the wheel and that is facing outward

Thanks. This is really helpful. My X01 2.1 is making noise, and I think it has something to do with the way I installed the jockey wheels after I serviced the bearings. Which way do the shoulders (on the 3 washers that have them) face when installed? Do the nipples face inward, or outward?

 

[Blingoose]

Thanks. This is really helpful. My X01 2.1 is making noise, and I think it has something to do with the way I installed the jockey wheels after I serviced the bearings. Which way do the shoulders (on the 3 washers that have them) face when installed? Do the nipples face inward, or outward?

All “Nipples” face inward. Both jockey wheels should be flat and smooth on the outside.

 

[shannonleemadden74]

Should you put grease on the inside of the caps before installing?

 

[slomtbr]

Should you put grease on the inside of the caps before installing?

Grease will attract dirt. I remove the bearing seals, make sure they run smooth and add a drop of oil before replacing the seals.

 

[Mojave G]

Thanks this helped me a bunch, I should have paid more attention when I took mine apart! Bolts and spacers all looked the same at first glance. Tiny differences though.

 

[HotPotato]

The slightly different one of the four washers can only be assembled properly in one position, where the shape of the washer matches with the protrusion around one of the screw holes of the hanger plate. If you offer up the washers, always with smooth side away from the pulley wheels, it will become self-evident when you've got it right - or wrong.

On my Force-1 derailleur both pulleys are confusingly stamped with a 'U'. The 'L' on the lower pulley and the 'U' on the upper pulley should both face outwards away from the bicycle wheel.

 

[Cleared2land]

First, be aware that several YouTube videos that show the pulley/jockey wheel assembly has got them fitted wrong, You can see as he removes the Sram lower pulley wheel the 'L' denoting 'lower' is clearly visible. It shouldn't be. The 'L' should be on the inner, bike wheel side of the derailleur.

One other minor issue is that several online descriptions of this assembly say that the lower jockey wheel is stamped with an 'L' and the upper one with a 'U'. This is a bit misleading as both pulleys are stamped with a 'U'. The 'L' on the lower pulley and the 'U' on the upper pulley should both be away from you (towards the bicycle wheel) when you're reassembling the derailleur (meaning that, rather confusingly, the 'U' stamped on the lower pulley is facing outwards).

Maybe there is a reason that everyone has the jockey wheels with the 'L' oriented facing outward on the drive side. Not inward towards the wheel. Because they are correct.

There's a logical reason they are facing outward because you service the derailleur from the drive side.

 

[HotPotato]

Maybe there is a reason that everyone has the jockey wheels with the 'L' oriented facing outward on the drive side. Not inward towards the wheel. Because they are correct.

Hi Cleared2land - Your reply goes to show how much confusion there is around this issue, but if you look in the SRAM user manual page 24 (see link below) , you will find that they are catagoric on this point.

They say the following, and have diagrams to match: Orient a new pulley so the etched letter is facing inboard. (that's their bold highlight, not mine).
1x-mechanical-road-systems-user-manual.pdf

 

[Cleared2land]

Your observation is indeed interesting.
Perhaps there is some confusion because you are referencing SRAM Road Systems, not a SRAM GX MTB Derailiure. The MTB SRAM Service Manual illustrates just the opposite. It appear like the Road bike derailleur, but clearly states outboard. I'm really surprised there is a published difference. I wonder why?

This is interesting there's a difference between road and mtb. I'm on the road right now,so I can't reference the mtb service manual, but I will try to find this afternoon and post the illustration. It will be close to midnight your time when I will try and find this.

There's another trick that I have used for many years in placement is the direction of the jockey wheel cutouts and the correlation with direction.

 

[HotPotato]

I've just put in a request for guidance about this from SRAM so as and when I get something back from them I'll also post here.

 

[Cleared2land]

The image directly below on Left is from the SRAM 1X MTB Mechanical Derailleur Manual.
The one on the right is the image from the road manual.
Note the orientation of the lower jockey wheel cutouts. They appear to be slanted counter-clockwise (anti-clockwise for the UK). Your Road image appears to be oriented or slanted in the same direction as the MTB image. Perhaps a bit challenging to see the detail of orientation. My point is they are both oriented in the same direction. If the 'L' was inward, it would appear from the drive side as going in opposite direction

Photo below is two new jockey wheels and if you look closely, you can see both orientation and the 'L' and 'U'. note the different orientation of the cutouts with different orientation. If you face the 'L' inward, you change the orientation of the view like the jockey wheel on the right with the 'U'.

 

[HotPotato]

@ Cleared2land - I contacted SRAM about this and in their reply they say 'The pulley wheels will face with the letters toward the rear wheel; this would ensure the chain always has proper engagement as it passes through the cage.'

Despite this reply, I think you make a compelling point above. Further more, after carefully looking at the details of the pulley cut-outs on the SRAM user manual that I referenced previously, I think that they have made a couple of errors which makes me think that this particular manual is in error. I've also looked at a Specialized Diverge, which has almost the same drivetrain, and is assembled from the factory with the L and U engraved on the pulley wheels facing outwards, away from the wheel. As you point out, the SRAM 1x mtb mechanical derailleur user manual also clearly shows the engraved letters facing outwards.

Putting this all together, I think my original belief - that the the engraved L and U should face inwards towards the wheel - was wrong and the manual linked just above in this comment has the correct info. SRAM needs to clarify this issue and correct the information they are providing wherever it is erroneous.

I'm going to edit my original comment above, if I can, to remove the misleading information.

So it's all clear then.

 

[HotPotato]

Here's what SRAM Support had to say on this - and btw, they came back to me pretty quickly and were very helpful...

'I managed to locate a new Force 1 derailleur in my office to use as a reference. The pulley wheel with the grooves will go on on the lower, and the other one without grooves will go on the upper section. I'll attach a couple of pictures of what I mean. The "L" on the bottom pulley wheel will be facing away from the wheel. I hope this helps remove any confusion.'

Here's the images from SRAM Support (copyright: SRAM)

 

[Cleared2land]

Good to hear that was clarified.
From a mechanical perspective, it was always easy for me to orient without looking for the 'L' by visualizing how the jockey wheel teeth fed into the chain.
Cheers!

 

[Labamba]

MTB (GX Eagle AXS) etched letters go OUTBOARD.
Road 1X etched letters go INBOARD.
Both these recommendations are from the respective SRAM User Manuals.

 

[NorCalTaz]

MTB (GX Eagle AXS) etched letters go OUTBOARD.
Road 1X etched letters go INBOARD.
Both these recommendations are from the respective SRAM User Manuals.

I just had a jockey wheel freeze on my GX AXS, not sure why. When I replaced them, indeed the letter (U,L) were facing outward as you stated.