pastorbobnlnh 

@BrewsterII and @Velo Mule thank you for the kind comments and endorsements.

A few more reasons for a proper service on an annual or as needed due to severe riding conditions basis:

1. Cleaning the sprockets will extend their life, the chain's life, and the RD's pulley & wheel lives
2. Removing and greasing the hub threads yearly helps prevent seizure and removal notch failure
3. Wear on sprockets tends to occur on the hub side of the freewheel first. Removal allows better inspection
4. Internal damage to pawls, springs and bearings, cannot be determined unless the two body halves are separated

A few tips:

1. Grease the bearing races in the outer body and place bearings there
2. The exception is the hub side bearings of Shimano 6 & 7 speed freewheels. In this case grease the inner body race and place bearings
3. Place a drop of oil on the pivot points of the pawls and wipe the ratchet teeth of the outer body with oil prior to greasing and bearing placement
4. The exception is many older 5 speed Regina such as the Corsa. The pawl pivot is a "peg" in a loose hole and it needs grease to hold in place
5. Most Shimano, Suntour, Sachs and newer Regina freewheel body halves re-mate with no challenges
6. However, older Regina, Maillard and Atom models require a certain degree of finesse with the pawls in order to mate the two body halves
7. Most can be accomplished by tipping the outer body onto one pawl, while using the blade of a pocket knife to compress the other pawl interior of the ratchet teeth
8. Some older Regina models with wire push springs require careful wrapping with floss tape to compress the pawls. The floss is not knotted and removed after re-mating
9. Some older Cyclo models require magnets to hold the pawls in place for re-mating
10. My preferred grease is Super Lube synthetic due to its very wide temperature range, water, and salt resistence