extra noises in freehub
 

I am overhauling a 1990s Trek 970. It is on the stand and when the rear wheel is spinning but the pedals are not turning (inotherwords, coasting on the stand) there is an extra rhythmic clicking noise, much less frequent and much, much louder the the typical freehub click. It sounded like it was coming from the hub.

I took off the wheel, took the cassette, axle, etc. off. I spun the wheel in my hand, holding the freehub. I thought I could feel the extra click or bump, but wasn't entirely sure. I took off the freehub and cleaned it as per Park Tool instructions. I oiled it and put it back on the wheel. I cleaned, lubed and installed everything else. Put the wheel back on and it still has the same extra click.

Ideas? Do I need a new freehub body? Is there any chance it could be the cassette? I don't have a spare but I could hunt one down. I would note that the cassette was tough to remove (not the lockring, the cassette body) and I had to give it a tap from the backside. There also were little gouges in the freehub body.

OK, quick, easy diagnostic.

Remove the cassette, and/or install the wheel bypassing the chain, close the QR and spin the wheel. Do you hear it?

If so, it's the hub bearings (or related).
If not, put your finger against the freehub body and stop it while the wheel keeps spinning. Hear it now? If so, it's inside the freehub itself.

You can remove it, do a solvent soak and flush, set it on end to drain, then relube with a decent, sticky oil (not grease). Mount it, mount the axle, grease and adjusting the bearings and see if it's gone.

Or, once you've isolated it to the freehub, simply ignore it until here's a problem.

It is in the freehub body per your diagnostic.

Previously I took the freehub body off, soaked, flushed, and oiled. It made no difference. So ignore? I assume it isn't a safety issue, just an irritation issue.

Yes, ignore it unless you want to replace the freehub on suspicion alone. Often these are the result of uneven distribution of lubricant in the ratchet ring or elsewhere, or maybe a tiny piece of metal chip that didn't flush. It might not matter at all, or one day the freehub will fail (slip or more rarely lockup) and you can put butter and jam on it.

Thanks FB! I'll see if it drives the spouse crazy or if he can live with the click.