Originally Posted by
redtires
Well...the short answer is, you can't. What's happening is the grease that is keeping the pawls inside the freewheel body moving freely is pretty much gone, and what is left is most likely very dry and full of years of grime and grit. You can remove the freewheel, flush it out and re-lube it with some heavy lube. My favorite is Phil's Tenacious oil. The reason why it feels "dry" is that really, it is. WD-40 is NOT a lubricant...it is a water displacement and penetrating fluid. Basically, you've actually removed the lubricant with the WD-40. The other thing you can do is simply buy a new freewheel and chain and call it good. '87 is six speed, yes? You would probably have to look around a bit, but they are out there, just make sure it's a compatible "twist-tooth" freewheel. Technically, you can actually take the entire freewheel apart and lubricate it "properly", however that is a very cumbersome job. I was never a fan of it, even as a professional mechanic. Whatever you choose, good luck!
the thing is im pretty sure the grease in there had disintegrated and or dried up completely or at least nearly which was the cause of the sticky/gummed up feel i was feeling, now that the dirt and messed up old grease is gone i can backpedal fine, coast fine, (which i was previously unable to do) so im thinking tomorrow ill flush all the old crap out with more wd40(this pretty much is the only viable option, the machanics at the shop said it would not be their time or my money to mess with it, the most they said they could do was squirt some oil in there, which i had tried already to no avail. ) so after its all flushed out ill let some motor oil or something of its ilk soak in, and i mean alot of it, and then just prey i can get a little bit of grease to get taken in by the oil, sound like a decen enough plan?