pastorbobnlnh 

Those who have read my posts about freewheel maintenance know I don't feel flushing a freewheel and then oiling is enough. The first reason is that at the factory the bearings were installed with grease. Oil will not lubricate in a lasting way. The second reason is, unless the body is taken apart, you cannot evaluate the internal condition.

Pictures are worth a 1000 words so I hope these convince many of you to take a punch and hammer, remove the retaining ring, and clean those bearings and internals. Here are the close ups. I didn't take a picture before I opened it up, but it looked to be NOS.











I'll take after pictures tomorrow.

balindamood

Those photos make me feel like going to the dentist.

WNG

Nasty! Looks like it suffered from water penetration. Another reason why you shouldn't clean your bike with a hose.

dddd

Experience talking here...

New ball bearings will help smooth out and restore tolerances of the rusted bearing assembly.

I highly advise using some removeable-grade LocTite on the cone ring threads, no matter what method and tools that you use for tightening it.

pastorbobnlnh 

I'm certain a tooth brush will be a tool used in today's cleaning! Possibly a dental pick as well!

Hard to say. It was sent to me from a customer in CA for service. He had just received it from a source in Europe, who had claimed it was basically brand new. It spun, but not with the smoothness of the other DuraAce freewheels I've serviced. It was very stiff.

I was not surprised by the internal condition, but truth be told, I've seen really abused and neglected Suntour Perfects look better on the inside. I wonder if this one was stored in a very damp seaside environment, and over the past 25-30 years it absorbed the moisture.

The teeth on the cogs did not look as if the freewheel had ever been used.

I've only had this issue once, and it was one of the first freewheels I serviced. It was for BF member Jim Mueller. When he emailed to say it had come loose, I remembered not using the hammer and punch to lock it into place. I directed Jim to do so, and the freewheel has worked perfectly since.

I've never noticed any Loctite residue on any of the freewheels I've opened so far. It certainly won't hurt when putting it back together. In fact, the Sante I failed at servicing for Michael Angelo, might work with Loctite on the threads. It's worth a try since it is such a nice freewheel in the first place. It's a shame it can't be used.

puchfinnland

I have serviced 3 freewheels and you can hear the difference.
its quite easy really and best done with the freewheel removed from the wheel

word of note- I keep putting in too much grease so be very frugal,
too much is too much friction- I dont like to see the cranks rotate when I walk the bike

pastorbobnlnh 

Agreed. Just enough grease to hold the bearings in place for reassembly. I also keep the grease away from the pawls. on the pawl pivots I use a drop of high grade machine oil that has a bit of silicone in it. I also rub the surface of the teeth on the inside of the outer body with the same oil. This way it keeps the grease to minimum, but allows enough lubricant to migrate to the pawls.

A few pictures to illustrate.




Sachs


Regina (note the dental floss used to hold the pawls in place during assembly)


A Suntour. When I first got started I tended to overdo the grease. I quickly discovered this is way too much!

puchfinnland

I see the dental floss,
I just stick the bearings on the inner race so the pawls never touch the bearings

pastorbobnlnh 

In the case of the these Regina freewheels, the springs losely fit behind the pawl. There's no retaining ring like on Shimano, Sachs, and most Suntours.

Here are some "after" pictures:

The races are not in great condition. These are such a contrast to the other DuraAce freewheels I've worked on which had a mirror finish on the races.







The bearings must have been the culprits. They were trashed and rightly replaced.



New bearings and grease applied, ready for assembly.



I was not as satisfied as I would have liked, but I can't turn back the hands of time and renew the races. Will the freewheel function? Yes, But probably more like an inexpensive one instead of at a Dura Ace level of quality.

dddd

About the grease, certain greases have a solid feel to them but once the bearings turn the grease moves nicely aside so as not to create viscous drag.
One such grease is the Finish-Line Teflon-fortified grease, white in color and with basically no "webbing" character at all.
It holds the balls very well, but the freewheel turns nicely and the pushed-aside grease sould provide a nice, stationary "wall" barrier to the elements.

Pastorbob is right about not using too much grease in the bearings.

rousseau

Yes! Yes! Noted! And thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

That was effusive. Why? Because I used your method with the dental floss today for the first time, and it worked. Oh, lordy...it worked. The first time. Easy. I cannot describe the feeling of sublime joy and transcendence I felt when the hub body slipped so easily into the rim because the pawls stayed tucked in.

I've changed the balls on my 1997 Record rear hub about six times over the years, and every time the pawls have caused me to curse out loud in a way that I fear the neighbours may have overheard. But not today. And never again!

Thank you!

By the way, Captain Obvious here to report that that's a heckuva lotta balls you got in that there hub.

JohnDThompson 

Maybe you need one of these:

Rabid Koala

I love to dismantle freewheels to service them, they sound and spin so nicely after they are done. If you are afraid of lots of small bearings, then better leave it to an expert!

pastorbobnlnh 

CO,

Are you mixing a freehub for a cassette up with a freewheel? You mention a '97 Record Hub. These are quite different from a freewheel and one installed onto a freewheel hub. Pictured above are all freewheels which use dozens of 1/8" bearings on tow races, one inner and the other outer.

But if my dental floss trick worked for you on freehub system, thank you for the credit!

BTW, this is a freehub and cassette.



John, I have one of these but have never used it. Also, I never would because it cannot clean the inside of the freewheel, and it would push grease all over the pawls. IMO, using it would be worse than flushing an assembled freewheel with WD40 or something else and then dripping oil into it.



I have not mastered wheel building, truing and spoke tensioning. Under the guiding eye and hand of my nephew I can do it, but he lives in TN and I live in NH. So I don't feel confident doing it alone yet. Will I ever gain this skill? Eventually--- but probably not until retirement.

qcpmsame 

Great thread Pastor Bob, thanks to you and everyone else that contributed to it. I learned some things that I will take with me from this one. What brand and thickness of grease are you using on the freewheels you are rebuilding? I agree with the light application of the grease on the balls and races, I learned this the hard way on motorcycles when I was working in a shop back in high school. Do the rebuild as you said above, taking it apart, clean everything well and reassemble it carefully and grease sparingly with the correct grease for the application. I especially like you dental floss usage.

Bill

KS_rider

pastorbob,

would you be so kind as to tell us how you begin the disassembly process? do you loosen the retaining ring while the freewheel is still on the bike? or can it be done with the freewheel off the bike and sitting on a workbench? maybe you could show us another wonderful picture of how you do this and what tools you use?

thanks!

jimmuller 

All interesting stuff. Just one point to keep in mind when planning all this work. Unlike other bearings on the bike, the freewheel bearings are not under load when they are spinning. When they are spinning the only load is the weight of the cogs and a small part of the chain. The only load is when they aren't spinning at all.

rousseau

Yes, it was the dental floss trick that was the relevant part of your post and for which I am ever grateful. I was replacing the balls on a Record hub, vastly different from what you were working on (and vastly fewer balls--just 19 in total).

pastorbobnlnh 

For 95% of the freewheels I service I use Super Lube synthetic grease. The reasons are several: It is very very water and salt resistant. It also has an extreme temperature range so it will function the same no matter how hot, cold, humid, or wet the weather while you ride.

Super Lube also has a very very long shelf life. I've taken apart NOS freewheels that have sat for 20-30+ years and the grease was shot. It had either hardened to thick paste that I had to use a knife to scrape out or it turns about the color of a brown paper bag and is very oily and has spread all over place.

I am sorry, I've never taken any pictures taking a freewheel apart. I should do a short video.

For most, taking a freewheel apart on the wheel is your best option since a special holder is needed for a vice and workbench. I recommend removing the cogs for cleaning. The first and sometimes the second un-thread in the standard direction. In the case of most Shimano, Suntour, Maillard, and Sachs, the rest slip off with their spacers. Older Reginas and Atoms have cogs which thread off the rear as well. And some newer Reginas have a middle cog which also threads on and off in the standard direction.

With the cogs removed, thread the freewheel body onto a wheel with a tire mounted and partially inflated. Sitting in a chair with the wheel in your lap while it leans against a wall or bench and is mostly upright, take a punch and insert it in the right hand notch in the retaining ring. Strike the punch towards the floor. The retaining ring is reversed threaded. As the ring comes loose, move the wheel to a horizontal position in your lap with the body facing the ceiling.

Have a container ready which fits over the body and up against the spokes. When the ring is completely loose, place the container over the body and quickly flip the wheel 180 degrees while holding the cup in place. The outer body, the bearings, spacers, and sometimes the pawls and springs will fall into the cup--- most of the time. Carefully take a look and sometimes you will see bearings or pawls sticking to the inner body. Make certain you don't loose these to the mess on your shop floor.

Remove the inner body from the hub with your freewheel tool. Place this in the container. I then soak everything with WD40 and if it is in a really dirty condition let it sit overnight. I then wipe as much of the dirt away with a rag or paper towels. Next the parts can be scrubbed in hot soapy Dawn dish water. An old toothbrush and a Scotchbrite scouring pad are helpful in this process. I place the parts in a small toaster oven at 200F to dry.

Jim is correct in that freewheel bearings are not like any other set of bearings in your bike. Load is minimal, but there is friction, therefore a lubricant is needed. Cleaning and new grease does keep contaminates at bay and thus keeps your freewheel working in tip top shape and is thus very unlikely to fail.

JohnDThompson 

I've been using it for 30 years or so. You can flush out the freewheel beforehand with solvent and then pump in the grease. If the grease coming out the other side is discolored, keep pumping until it comes out clean. Use a light grease to prevent the pawls from sticking. Eerie-quiet freewheel stays that way for years, as once the grease is in there dirt can't penetrate to the mechanism.