Originally Posted by
Otis
If the prongs are already broken, then saving it is a waste of time. Plus they are broken because that thing is really stuck on there. Unscrew the outer plate. Use a pin spanner if possible, but most likely a drift and hammer will be needed. It is reverse thread.
Once the plate is off you can pull off the cogset and let all the bearings roll onto your shop floor. Let this happen as it will make you feel better about ruining the rest of the freewheel body. Once all the cogs are off you should have a nice exposed snout you can firmly clamp in your bench vise. Clamp and turn the wheel counter-clockwise and it should come off. If not use a little heat and penetrating fluid until it does.
I would have but..
The damn French put the outside plate on the inside! There was nothing to unscrew.
It was a nice Moyne 4-speed at one time. But with the outside plate on the inside, I took my right-angle grinder and ground in two large slots opposite of each other. The outer most cog was split in two in the process. I put a 1/4" piece of steel in the vice and used it as a giant screwdriver blade. The heat from the grinding must have loosened the freewheel a bit because it wasn't too difficult to screw it off.
I'll take pictures of the carage in the morning.
