Bicycle Mechanics - Alex AKX R1.0 freehub removal

I'm trying to get the freehub body off by following http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/howfix_freehub.shtml. After taking the axle, cones, and ball-bearings out, I can't really figure out how to proceed. There's a hex-looking thingie inside the hub, but it's absolutely the largest one I've ever seen -- do I need to find a wrench to fit it? I tried pulling the freehub body straight off without success (though I didn't try too hard for fear of damaging something).

To give a feeling for the size of the thing I just stuck an 11mm OD circular bar through and it had about 2-3mm of wiggle room. Looking through the hub from the freehub side, I can just barely see the flats of the hex part; I'd estimate the ID of the circle I can see at ~12mm, which would suggest that I need 14mm or 15mm wrench. The ID of the cup on the other side is ~15mm, so I won't need a wrench larger than 16mm at most. (For the record, I have a metric ruler, but don't have calipers handy, which is why I'm estimating)

So am I (hopefully) missing something? After I eat and check back here for replies, I'm planning on heading to the LBS to see what they say, and possibly to Lowes or Home Depot afterward if I do in fact need a rebar-turned-Allen-wrench.

If you look at the site you listed they show a hex wrench being used to remove the freehub holding bolt. These are usually 11 or 12mm; Park lists them elsewhere on their site as parts HR-11 and HR-12.

Why are you trying to remove the freehub body?

I need to clean and lubricate the freehub -- I was riding in a downpour at the beach, and I think I got sand into it (before I started messing around with my wheel, it was temporarily in fixie mode, which was my first tip that something was seriously not right).

Well, go easy. I've rebuilt numerous freewheels but have yet to disassemble a freehub (of course, now that you've put the bug in my ear...).

It doesn't look too bad, but the Park site warns that replacement parts are not readily available, and replacing a whole hub is a bit more pricey than a mucked-up freewheel.

Let us know how it goes.

It came off with a 12mm like you said. I degreased the heck out of it, then gave it a few shots of light oil and it worked like a charm. (I wasn't able to get the actualy body off of, for lack of a better word, the core, but it seems to have turned out OK anyway). So I put everything back together, and the rolling is silky smooth. Of course, I found out on my test ride that the inside of the DS chainstay is cracked at the weld to the BB, so now it's time to wait for/find a frame :o(