Originally Posted by
Gyro_T
I have several bikes with various vintages of Shimano free hubs. .. have not had the occasion to completely tear one apart. I have cog and lock ring removal tools, but I noticed ..the cup has slots for a tool. I looked on biketoolsetc and found a tool called a "saint" cup remover. Is this the standard tool for taking those cups out and taking the spindle that holds the cassette off?
What you're referring to as "the spindle" is probably what's more commonly known as the "freehub body". The body is held against the hub with a hollow bolt that the axle runs through. To get the body off you first remove the axle, then insert a fairly big Allen key. Undo counter-clockwise, then pull body axially off hub.
Originally Posted by
Gyro_T
I ... found a tool called a "saint" cup remover. Is this the standard tool for taking those cups out ... I expect to find some nice little pawls and springs, perhaps some little ball bearings under that spindle.
Don't know really, I've never bothered with a special tool for that. Those I've met haven't been that viciously torqued. A file held in a vise worked fine for me. You will indeed find a lot of bearing balls, a circlip that acts as pawl retainer/spring and the pawls themselves.
Here: is a link that may be helpful. It's in Swedish, so you'll have to make do with the pics. Most critical info is: Loosen the hollow bolt a few turns before trying to loosen the cup. Cup comes off clockwise.
It's not that servicing is that difficult really. More a question of the freehub body being so well sealed, and the bearings sort of delicate, that by the time you notice somethings wrong it's usually beyond repair anyhow. One service task that does make sense though is to clean and repack with a lighter oil for winter use.