Free hub question
02-01-16, 01:19 PM
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Free hub question
Hey all,
I'm regreasing everything on my Trek 7300. I am planning on pulling the free hub and greasing the bearings of that (not the axel bearings). What type of lube do you recommend? I know it can't be too sticky. Any ideas?
I'm regreasing everything on my Trek 7300. I am planning on pulling the free hub and greasing the bearings of that (not the axel bearings). What type of lube do you recommend? I know it can't be too sticky. Any ideas?
02-01-16, 01:31 PM
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Thick chain oil. Drip it in the back between the core/shell. Some freehubs have a rubber seal that fits in this area, if so, remove it first. Opening a freehub is a fool's errand, and any general maintenance you can do by opening it, can be done with it closed, anyway.
02-01-16, 01:36 PM
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Freehubs are typically not hard to remove. That makes flushing and relubing pretty easy. (I like mineral spirits and 30W chainsaw oil for those tasks, respectively.)
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02-01-16, 05:53 PM
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You can use grease on the FH bearings if you wish; just don't get any in the ratchet mechanism...
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02-01-16, 08:30 PM
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Since freehub's with loose balls usually don't have an adjustable bearing race and require a slight looseness to the bearing adjustment rather then risk the chance of messing up this "adjustment" on reassembly and or loosing internal parts most will just do as ThermionicScott mentioned. Flush and drip thick oil inside. Andy.
02-01-16, 08:49 PM
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Don't disassemble the freehub body unless you have lots of spare time and enjoy dealing with many tiny bearing balls. It's not necessary.
Remove the body from the hub shell and remove the rubber seal from the back side. Drip light oil (I use Tri-Flow) into the gap between the rotating outer shell and the core. Flood the bearings and rotate the outer shell to distribute it. Replace the rubber seal and let the excess oil drain. Reinstall the body on the hub shell, reassemble the axle and hub bearings and adjust the bearings.
Solvent flushing before adding the oil can be done but shouldn't be needed unless the freehub was very sticky and trouble prone prior to the relubing. I've got several hubs with 30,000 to over 55,000 miles on the original freehub bodies that were maintained this way and all are in perfect working condition
Remove the body from the hub shell and remove the rubber seal from the back side. Drip light oil (I use Tri-Flow) into the gap between the rotating outer shell and the core. Flood the bearings and rotate the outer shell to distribute it. Replace the rubber seal and let the excess oil drain. Reinstall the body on the hub shell, reassemble the axle and hub bearings and adjust the bearings.
Solvent flushing before adding the oil can be done but shouldn't be needed unless the freehub was very sticky and trouble prone prior to the relubing. I've got several hubs with 30,000 to over 55,000 miles on the original freehub bodies that were maintained this way and all are in perfect working condition
02-01-16, 09:35 PM
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Thanks for the help all! I'm probable going to dip it and reoil with chainsaw bar oil. This bike has never been maintained, so I'm going over absolutely everything as I plan on putting a lot of miles on it this summer
02-05-16, 06:24 PM
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Alright, I have the free hub off. It's pretty nasty. I'm going to dip it. My question is, how much chainsaw oil should I put in? I don't want to mess up the pawls but want to lube both sets of bearings. Any help would be great. Thanks
02-05-16, 10:37 PM
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The internal volume and gaps will determine the amount of oil/lube retained after flushing away the grit and soaking lube through it. Andy.
