Rusty skewer

[Donerol]

Today I had to remove my back wheel to repair a puncture.  It has a pitlock skewer and when I removed it there was a smear of rusty liquid on it. It wiped clean all right and the skewer itself wasn't actually rusting, so I'm wondering where the rust came from (the inside of the hollow axle?) and if this is something I should worry about. The hub has the internal mech, with the dangly concertina cables.

I got the bike (Raven Tour) second-hand some years ago and have done regular oil changes. I don't remember whether the hex skewer it came with showed signs of rust.  I think this is the first time I've had the pitlock skewer out for about four years.

Any thoughts?

[martinf]

Use some waterproof grease on the skewer when you put it back. I think this is OK with a Rohloff, but not on a SON dynamo hub. The latter has a breather hole to reduce internal condensation, this hole could get blocked by the grease.

[Donerol]

I had already smeared a tiny amount of grease on the skewer originally and once I'd wiped it there was no trace of any rust having started. I'm more concerned that the Rohloff's axle is rusting away from the inside.

[geocycle]

The rohloff also has a breather hole so do not smear lots of grease on the skewer.  I would be very surprised if this was anything more than superficial oxidation on either the skewer or the axle.

[Donerol]

I know about breather holes and am always very careful to use just the merest skim of grease.  It sounds as if to don't need to worry too much - hope not, anyway!

[Captain Bubble]

Use a stainless steel skewer such as Pitlock.

[Donerol]

From my original post:

Today I had to remove my back wheel to repair a puncture.  It has a pitlock skewer...

 

[ledburner]

Has the hub been through Deep water?

Mine did just after being rebuild by Rohloff.  
 It was in the work shop for conversion to disk end cap and external gear box.
Imagine my horror when I found a pothole that  was in the middle deep in a puddle, all this happened in a deluge.
Lesson learnt, wet feet are better than A Huge bill. All worked out well. As soon as Was out of the flood, Quick Releases. Opened. Checked ext box at home. Goit getting out in the fresh air that countst away with it, might not be so lucky, if there is a Next time.