Sturmey Archer hub noise
 

Have an SA AW 3 speed hub '73 Raleigh. I tried flushing with WD-40 as recommended. Tried a couple of times. Rode bike etc. Drained through filler cap and the usual wheel/spoke mess. Bike is tight. Checked all nuts/bolts. Chain is adjusted so I think I can eliminate the bike frame, fenders, chain guard etc.

Still getting the following;
1. no tick tick tick in second. just an unusual intermittent loud tick that I can't define as rythmic.
2. Very slight tick tick in third with an irregular rattle type sound.
3. Good ratchet sound on coast and all other sounds are eliminated while coasting. Hub is quiet except for the normal ratchet on coast.
4. Hub shifts good and holds the gears.

I am presently draining hub after a ride with the WD-40 and will lube with 10W-30 once it has drained overnite.

All you guys have been helpful in the past, hope someone can put their finger on ithe problem.

P.S. Bottom bracket and pedals feel smooth. The loud tick in second is intermittent and the rattle in 3rd is irregular

Doesn't much matter what we guess. Bottom line is if the problems remain after doing the above and it's adjusted properly it must be taken apart to fix it. I used to enjoy overhauling them - did the first one with no instructions but took a few tries to get it back together. You'll find some books listed in Google that include overhaul instructions, and Sutherland's Manual used to as well.
Or... just find a working hub and remove the entire guts in one unit and replace it with the other. Remove by tapping the flats on the left side (hopefully the wd-40 has loosened corrosion). there is a tool to remove the right "cup" after partial reassembly (I think I still have one) but I would guess it's pretty rare right now in bike shops.

Had a similar problem. I too thought the chain guard was properly adjusted. I took the chainguard off and the problem went away.

If you are getting good gears, I would look somewhere other than the hub.