Steps E8000 odd sound

[Juhas]

On my last ride my Shimano Steps E8000 motor began to make some odd noise when assisting. Shimano system isn't the most quiet system but now it sounds very loud. It sounds kinda grindy and then there is also this just hearable sound like some belt is whining inside. No error codes and the motor seems to be assisting 100%.

Anyone has any idea why it makes that sound. Is it beginning to fail? I have contacted Wiggle about it but they seem to be very busy.

Update: I contacted local Shimano service center and it is taken care of via warranty, new motor now.

 

[R120]

Take it your local Shimano Service centre, and get them to have a look - doesn't sound right to me.

 

[OldGoatMTB]

Yeah, that doesn't sound good at all. I would not ride it anymore until it is fixed.

 

[Benbenben]

As the engines aren’t serviceable I would think about booking in at Shimano centre but trying to ride as much as possible in the mean time and break it Properly while it’s still under warranty. Have heard of some people with motors that are on their way to breaking (noisy etc) that have been returned to owners not fixed and told they were within tolerance.

 

[Macone]

mine is 9 weeks away from running out of warranty and just started making a grinding noise last weekend. It only does it after a couple of km's of first flat riding on my way to a local hill climb that I do regularly. I then get about 2 km up the hil (its 5 km to the top) its pretty steep and I use boost mode for most of the climb in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears. Hell of a climb that I enjoy but what appears to be happening now is once the motor gets quite warm through the climb it starts making a noticeable grinding noise. I suspect that once it gets quite hot, the lubrication in the gears is getting too "runny" and not lubing properly. I tried the same hill last night in about 4 degrees celcius and it did not happen. last weekend on both Saturday and Sunday when it was about 15 degrees celcius, it did it both Saturday and Sunday. I've got the bike booked in at the LBS that I bought it from, tomorrow. I did video with good audio and have given a copy to the shop but its in .mov format which will not upload on here. I have just on 5300km's on the clock and want this sorted before my warranty runs out as it will soon be summer here in New Zealand and then I ride in sometimes 30 degrees so this could be a major issue. anybody else experienced anything similar?

 

[Macone]

Heard back from the LBS yesterday. New motor on the way. 5300 hilly kilometres with a 115-120kg rider on top and bearings on the way out. only had a couple of months warranty left so very happy with this result.

 

[E-Bandit]

Mine just started making the same noise , more noticeable in eco and trail but boost can’t really notice it, it’s like a slight rubbing noise like discs rubbing in the pads, but as soon as I stop pedalling noise goes away.
Motor is only 5 months old and 1000km, keep riding it and see what happens

 

[ebnash]

My bike is brand new and on the 3rd ride, intermittently a noise will produce for 1 revolution that sounds like a swing set blowing in the wind. High pitch squeal for a very short time. Also, outside the normal motor noise, it does sound grindy on my last ride. I do a lot of climbing and I weigh around 245lbs. so I just wonder if I'm too much for this system. Occasionally on super steep sections, I will stand up in 1st or 2nd gear (in eco) and if I apply enough force, the unit beeps at me, but produces no error.

Am I over torquing the motor???

The annoying thing is that I'm going to have to go beat the shit out of this thing to get these noises to produce regularly. No way they will reproduce for a tech who will just ride it in the parking lot with all of his 150lbs.

 

[ebnash]

Here we go. On the stand this morning while cleaning and lubing the chain. This bike has a total of 3 rides. Motor is off in this video, but makes the same sound regardless on/off/eco, etc...

 

[OldGoatMTB]

It couldn't be a squeaky pedal, could it?

 

[SmokeyBear]

As the engines aren’t serviceable I would think about booking in at Shimano centre but trying to ride as much as possible in the mean time and break it Properly while it’s still under warranty. Have heard of some people with motors that are on their way to breaking (noisy etc) that have been returned to owners not fixed and told they were within tolerance.

T

 

[SmokeyBear]

T

Just so you know, these motors are perfectly serviceable, my e8000 was giving some strange bearing noise after 1400 miles, out of warranty and not wanting the hassle of sending it away, I decided to strip it down and see what the problem was.

I found one bearing that was clearly dead and noisy, I replaced it, cleaned and greased everything, re-sealed the case, just tested and working perfectly, silent like new again.

If anyone needs any help, I've got bearing numbers and pictures to show what goes where. I couldn't find much info online.

Cheers
Jack

 

[nosenada]

If anyone needs any help, I've got bearing numbers and pictures to show what goes where. I couldn't find much info online.

Cheers
Jack

Please post your pictures and bearing numbers. That would be very valuable information for the community to have.

 

[OldGoatMTB]

As a follow-up to the original post, I went to do a general tighten-up and notice I had lost two bolts which secure the motor. Replacements were supplied by Felt and I installed with blue thread-locker. Seems to be running normally, and quietly without the klunking sound, again.

 

[steve_sordy]

I had a bolt come loose on the e8000. You can only see it by looking through the chain ring. Before I knew it the bolt had machined its way through 3/4 of the spider! New chain ring required and no riding until it arrived.

 

[OldGoatMTB]

Did your motor sound like this:

I've had this noise come and go before on my E8000. Noise is reproducible under load and becomes more pronounced in Boost mode. I've brought my bike into the shop several times before for that noise in the video. The 1st time into the shop, Shimano replaced the motor under warranty (it was a bearing issue). The 2nd time, the chain was stretched out. The 3rd time, frame bearings needed to be replaced (yup on my bike the frame bearings made the same sound. I didn't believe it so I had the tech show me before replacing them). The 4th time, the chainring had to be re-centered since it was slightly clocked to one side (on my bike, I'm using a 104 BCD spider with a Wolf Tooth chainring and I didn't center the chainring to the spider correctly).

From experience, when my bike start to make this noise, I try to K.I.S.S. before bring it into the shop. I check the frame bearings > check the chain for stretch > check the chainring > bike shop

My problem was what I described as a "klunking" when the motor would engage. It wasn't like what you had in the video. I do sometimes get creaking but those can be caused my a number of reasons and I just grease and tighten everything I can.

 

[Juhas]

Did your motor sound like this:

I've had this noise come and go before on my E8000. Noise is reproducible under load and becomes more pronounced in Boost mode. I've brought my bike into the shop several times before for that noise in the video. The 1st time into the shop, Shimano replaced the motor under warranty (it was a bearing issue). The 2nd time, the chain was stretched out. The 3rd time, frame bearings needed to be replaced (yup on my bike the frame bearings made the same sound. I didn't believe it so I had the tech show me before replacing them). The 4th time, the chainring had to be re-centered since it was slightly clocked to one side (on my bike, I'm using a 104 BCD spider with a Wolf Tooth chainring and I didn't center the chainring to the spider correctly).

From experience, when my bike start to make this noise, I try to K.I.S.S. before bring it into the shop. I check the frame bearings > check the chain for stretch > check the chainring > bike shop

I dont think the sound is the same as mine, see below.

 

[BikeTrailsAndWaggingTails]

@Juhas Sounds similar.

I agree with @OldGoatMTB on greasing and tightening everything for creaking noises. For me, I usually start with inspecting my frame bearings, check for chain stretch (i use Park Tool CC-2), and check the chainring to see if it's still centered.

 

[OldGoatMTB]

@Juhas Sounds similar.

I agree with @OldGoatMTB on greasing and tightening everything for creaking noises. For me, I usually start with inspecting my frame bearings, check for chain stretch (i use Park Tool CC-2), and check the chainring to see if it's still centered.

Couldyou elaborate on checking to see if the chainring is centered? How do you do that?

 

[Derek]

Perhaps simply remove the chain and see if the squeak is still there. Helps eliminate non crank / motor items easily..

 

[wattermelon1]

Just so you know, these motors are perfectly serviceable, my e8000 was giving some strange bearing noise after 1400 miles, out of warranty and not wanting the hassle of sending it away, I decided to strip it down and see what the problem was.

I found one bearing that was clearly dead and noisy, I replaced it, cleaned and greased everything, re-sealed the case, just tested and working perfectly, silent like new again.

If anyone needs any help, I've got bearing numbers and pictures to show what goes where. I couldn't find much info online.

Cheers
Jack

I would love to get that info from you. Ima at about 1100 miles on my motor and it has started making a loud weird noise and I'm pretty sure it is a bearing issue in the bottom bracket similar to what you experienced. I am also out of warranty and need to do it myself if possible so any advice or help you can give would be much appreciated since it has been very difficult to find any info regarding this type of fix. Thank you.

 

[Spiff]

SmokeyBear already started the thread below to provide the information about changing Bearings:

STEPS E8000 Motor Service

I've just serviced my E8000 motor and replaced some bearings, it's now working quietly and smoothly like new. If anyone needs any advice, I've got the bearing numbers and some pictures to help see what goes where. Gimme a shout if you are stuck.

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