Okay, rather than start a new thread, I thought I'd just hijack this one for my own personal purposes. I hope no one minds too much.
I recently built a 1950 DYNO4FOUR hub (= FG) into a CR18 26 x 1 3/8 rim and installed it on my Fothergill. I bought the hub fairly cheap on ebay over a year ago, did some cursory cleaning and lubrication but have not completely overhauled it pending testing, which of course was pending building it into a wheel.
So I rode it about 50 miles yesterday. And...
Cable adjustment seems to be correct; it slipped only once, when in H gear. Didn't slip in N once.
But in both L and B it would slip every five or ten revolutions of the crank. Slippage was momentary; one kerchunk it would catch again, and be good for another several revolutions. I found that I could prevent slippage if I backpedaled for an instant, which I guess was enough to let the pawl(s) reengage a bit, after a few revolutions of the crank. But I didn't enjoy riding this way. I thought maybe a few hours of constant use would improve the hub's performance; but it did not.
So tonight, or tomorrow night, I'm taking it apart, inspecting, cleaning, and putting it back together. I'd be happy to replace parts that need replacement, but
I don't have replacement parts. I do have more hubs (AW's), mostly newer. Some parts are the same... some are not.
Oh, and a separate issue: the trigger won't hold it in B gear.
Suggestions?
My only experience has been with AW hubs. L and B would refer to 1st and 2nd, respectively, right? then N and H for 3rd and 4th? It sounds like either the pawls are worn or the clutch doesn't stay engaged. It could be that the clutch spring is weak. However, I would suspect a weak spring would be problematic in H, but not in L or B.
As for the trigger, aren't those pawls known to wear down and lose their ability to stay in a gear? I have an old 4-speed SA trigger that I'm using on an AW 3-speed, and it holds B very tenuously. It's never popped out on its own, but I barely have to touch it to get it jump out.