Originally Posted by
melville
Be ready for a swell adventure! Also be ready to replace the old thing.
It sounds like you may have a New Winner freewheel, which aside from being one of the most awesomely strong freewheels ever, is also one of the few in which the freeplay can be adjusted.
Unfortunately, there is a special tool. If your LBS has been in business 30 years or so, they will have the tool, but only if the mechanic has been there all that time will they know what it's for.
IIRC, the part that says 'unscrew' is the locknut, and the other point at which the tool fits is the outer cone.
DO NOT TAKE IT ALL THE WAY APART! Open it up enough to fill the space with Phil Tenacious Oil, adjust it to the desired freeplay, lock the adjustment down, and leave it sitting upright for a few days to drain the excess oil (you don't want it all over your wheel and frame).
Be prepared for any of this to go horribly wrong. IOW, be ready to buy a new freewheel!
Good luck
Mel
Ha ha, Melville, we must have both been writing responses at the same time because when I hit "submit reply", yours was up. Not surprisingly, we had about the same thing to say; freewheels are best left alone.
Can anybody say with confidence how many tiny bearings are insid a freewheel? Not me. I always get the feeling that there is more space between bearings when I go to re-assemble than I saw when I started. When you see that cat-wisker spring inside the freewheel, you get the immediate impression that you have gone where the home mechanic is not supposed to go.