Originally Posted by
alms
What's the chance that both the freewheels are problematic? The suspect the wheel might be the problem after all is dawning on me...
It's not that unlikely... I imagine you'd have to pay quite a bit for a quality freewheel, if they're still available. Why are you worried about the wheel? You've had the hub apart and seen the races haven't you?
If the cups, cones and balls are smooth and the cones are properly adjusted, there's nothing wrong. The ticking is likely to disappear when the wheel's clamped in the frame and the balls are under slight preload. It's just the sound of gravity having its way with the balls, because they don't entirely fill the race.