Originally Posted by
balindamood
+1 on the oil. It should re-invigorate the old grease that is in there.
I have a weird tool thing which screws onto the back of freewheels. You then use a grease gun to squish new grease into the freewheel. It is great for blasting out years of gunk and cruddy grease, but it leaves what I believe to be too much grease in the freewheel body (the clicking is gone).....
I've seen those tools. Weren't around long, a they were a poor substitute for disassembly, clean and lube, and reassembly.
The clicking is gone because the grease is where it shouldn't be - in the pawls and springs. They get oil, the ball bearings get the grease. When I service freewheels, that's how I do it.