anyone have any good tips for fixing a freehub which will not coast? it will rotate 3/4 of the way then seize up. dirty bearings? busted pawl spring? from all the mechanics ive talked to, it sounds like freehubs are not always very interchangable. the freehub is 8 speed and its on a no namey hub laced to a trek matrix rim. cant i just swap out freehub bodies**********

Usually when they jam, it's broken pawls so they're toast, but don't give up yet. First check that it really is the freehub, and not just crud jammed behind the cassette.

Next flush it with solvent and see if you can flush out dirt or grit that's jamming it. If you flush out metal shards that's what's left of broken pawls. Flushing is best done by removing the freehub to protect the hub bearings and avoid the mess cleaning on the wheel would cause. Different freehub involve different disassembly procedures, so do it according to your hub.

its definitely not the cassette. i put it on a backup wheel i had sitting around. but the wonky wheel is &*^$#@'d up. i will try and flush it out and see what happens. thanks for the tip. sucks too because that was a good rim.

We know it isn't the cassette because that has no moving parts. But it could be something behind the cassette between it and the hub. It's isn't rare for string, small twigs or other crap to get caught in the spokes and wound down between the hub and cassette.

Don't worry about the loss of the hub and wheel. Modern freehubs are modular and the freehub body where the problem is removable and can be replaced. Replacements usually aren't hard to source, but foa older or rarer hubs, you might look for a dead wheel with a matching hub and cannibalize the freehub body.

confirmed freehub is out of commission. removed the axle, found metal shards in the grease AND the hub and freehub are one piece, no way to remove it as far as i can tell. hopefully somebody handy can reuse the rim.

Don't give up yet!!! Look down inside the axle hole on the freehub side. Is there a hex in there. If so that's the nut that holds the freehub body to the hub shell. Here's one tutorial that may help, and if you search the net you'll find more.

In my experience there, I've never found any freehub/cassette system where the freehub cannot be removed. The only ones that aren't serviceable are those where the freehub outer body and cassette are one piece, and the inner body is part of the shell. These are usually all steel and used on ultra low end bikes.

As you point out the wheel - the rim spokes and hub shell - are OK so you don't want to give up without taking a shot of salvaging them. If it's beyond you, bring the wheel as is to a local shop and ask if they can replace the freehub body.

the hub and freehub are one piece. its weird. definitely no way to remove the freehub with a allen wrench. when you look through the axle shaft you literally can see all the way through. eh, its a moot now. i put it on a few pile and somebody else walked off with it. no worries, i scored a pair of fulcrum racing 7 at a bike outlet for 150 bucks!!