Replace spacers with balls in single freewheel?
 

Amended.

part one.
are you a qualified engineer, or a bike mechanic with decades of experience?
no?
then quit trying to second guess things you know little or nothing about.

part 2
that is a large BMX frewwheel.. put the cover back in it before things fall out, ok?
take the wheel to a good bike shop that deals with BMX bikes frequently.. they will have that rather rare freewheel remover tool.
PS.. those things love to get stuck on hubs, all too often... a wrench and sweat may not easily remove it, and the tool you find may break.
typical cost to get that freewheel off is 5 to 10 bucks... much less than a proper freewheel tool and a huge bench vise or air gun/compressor/socket.

good luck :thumb:

That's a really patronising answer. Unhelpful too. This is a forum for people who want to learn about bike repair. I think you should keep your opinions about someone's ability to learn about things to yourself.

To OP - I'll answer your questions in the order you asked them.

First, it is pretty common to use various designs of cage for bearings. It's sometimes because it's cheaper, but sometimes done because it makes assembly easier. Either way, that isn't an uncommon design for a freewheel.

Second, removal really depends what you want to do with the freewheel.

There will be a tool to remove it that you probably won't need again. If you rebuild the frewheel now you've taken it apart and cleaned it but want to use it on another bike, best to go to a shop. If you're finished with it, you can destructively remove a threaded freewheel with a cold chisel or other solid metal bar - I've used old bb spindles in the past.

1. Hold the hub in a vice by the other end of its axle.
2. Tap sharply against the spline sideways on to turn it anticlockwise. You will loosen it with a few goes, then unscrew by hand. Once it goes, it will move easily.
3. Remember - always grease the threads and be very careful when you put your freewheel back on. It's a fine thread and if you crossthread it the hub is toast.

Incidentally, if you find your freweel tool is getting damaged, you're probably mishandling it. Use the axle nut or qr to keep the tool firm and square on the hub and use a vice to keep the wheel steady.

you just told someone how to ruin a bike hub and freewheel.
and in the future, when telling someone how to ruin an axle's threads, the proper spelling is "VISE".
oh, and the area that someone would hit that particular freewheel to remove it, if they like ruining them, is a Notch, not a Spline.

The bearings are only there for coasting, so they aren't important.

Freewheel bearings are only relevant when coasting; under power, all the bearings do is retain alignment of the inner and outer freewheel bodies. More balls wouldn't change anything about this.

You absolutely can remove a freewheel you don't intend to reuse with a drift and hammer. I've done it many times when I didn't have the right tool to hand.

Also I'm British, and that's how we spell vice.

I really think you should consider how people would react if you spoke like that to someone's face.

I don't really care if you say something rude to me, but the OP came to you asking for help and you told them (a) the answer was too complicated for them and (b) not to bother trying to do the job themselves. This seems a totally inappropriate response for the "bicycle mechanics" thread and I don't know why you bothered.

Stick to teaching music.. i'd hope you're better at that.

here's an example of my sense of rhythm... this was John and Val's only hit song.
The basic Guitar chords and beat is from me... John Asked How i would simplify his tune, after i reminded him of the Simplicity of several, at the time, hits on the radio...... John re-wrote the song around it, then when he played it for Val, She said, "But baby, i CAN'T Wait!" regarding the syncopation... John then rewrote the lyrics .... in a few other versions., you can hear her missing the hitch. I played those simple chords on his emerald Green Gibson ES-335.... ahh, memories!
I went into Live Audio Mixing and Stage Managing, rather than playing bass.... i gave Dave Grohl his first lesson in proper Stage Monitor use... watched Flea play bass all night, from 10 feet away, even with a VERY unusual body part, Rarely seen used, or even considered, to strike strings.. :innocent:, etc.
:D
Search: Nu Shooz I Can't Wait.
i suggest the "Power Mix"... the vox effects are excellent... i'd have left the synth echo on the cutting room floor.
site is blocking the link :foo:

I think I'll leave it, thanks. I'm not really interested.

Thank You.
Sign found at a cross walk, near a Music School... "C sharp, or B flat."