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Stuck Freewheel

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Old 06-18-11 | 03:06 PM
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Stuck Freewheel

OK guys this is the toughest things i have ever encountered.

Regina oro 5 speed freewheel, had been there maybe for zillions of years, campagnolo hub. Got this in a trade.

Applied some heat and nothing. the prongs were in bad shape so the tools were turning at some point that the last time i tried a corner of the prongs things came out.

Penetrating oil was applied also.

Was able to take the 1st two cogs out. Tried to use a vicegrip and a gig ass vice and nothing.

Tried to hammer it out also and nothing. Ended up braking more pieces of the 2 prongs that became pratically 1 and a half prong now.

Tried to hit the 2 little pint holes to lose the mechanism also, nothing

Besides using a dremel to cut the 3 remaining cogs and cut the floating part of the body to be able to disassemble the freewheel, which remains to do?? Any more ideas??

Thanks.
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Old 06-18-11 | 03:19 PM
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Did you try and hammer the small holes clockwise or anticlockwise? The outer bearing cone is left-hand threaded, it unscrews clockwise, but it might well be rusted on. If you're sure you got the direction right, you could always dremel the cone away, it would probably be easier than going through the cogs. Once you've done that, unscrewing the inner part of the freewheel is no trouble if you have a vice.
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Old 06-18-11 | 03:23 PM
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The Regina freewheels were notorious for stripping the prongs and requiring destructive removal. Try removing chunks of the inner body until the cover plate can be unscrewed. You know that the cover plate is left-hand threaded, yes?

And is this on a built wheel? If someone's cut out the spokes, I'd suggest tossing it. There's no way you're going to get the freewheel body off a bare hub without even more damage.
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Old 06-18-11 | 03:52 PM
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If you've removed enough sprockets to expose enough body, put that into a 5 or 6" vise, and crank down hard.

Your goal is to crush the body until it either cracks, or binds to the inner body. Wear good protection, because if or when it cracks there's a good chance of some high speed shrapnel.

Once you've crushed it and have a good grip, grab the rim in both hands and turn to the left. Expect lots of spoke pinging, and you might need to tighten the vise even more, but it will come off.

Alternately, you can set a cold chisel against the outer cone and shatter it, allowing the outer body to come off. Then you can use a pipe wrench to remove it, or go back to the vise. Note when holding the inner body in a vise don't squeeze too hard, as that will increase the pressure on the threads.
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Old 06-18-11 | 05:10 PM
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I'm trying to remember if a different brand freewheel tool would work better .... for instance, I think the Dura-Ace remover had a ring around the 2 notches, so it would stay on better without slipping ..... just a thought that another brand might work better.
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Old 06-18-11 | 05:45 PM
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Thanks guys, well no i did know the cone thing unscrew the other way but i found out the hard way...

I did a transversal cut to cut the cone out, balls started to fall out then noticed the cone was lose then found out the thing has left threads Took all out, put the wheel in the vise and nothing happened, i have a tiny vice. Grabbed the pipe wrench, a hard push and the remaining piece came right out. It has no grease or anything, totally dyed.

Now i know what to do the next time. Thanks guys
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Old 06-18-11 | 06:22 PM
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Old 06-18-11 | 07:21 PM
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That Tori is pretty hot, isn't she?
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Old 06-18-11 | 07:44 PM
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Originally Posted by Homebrew01
I'm trying to remember if a different brand freewheel tool would work better .... for instance, I think the Dura-Ace remover had a ring around the 2 notches, so it would stay on better without slipping ..... just a thought that another brand might work better.
If the notches are intact, the Dura-Ace, Bicycle Research, or Campagnolo #704 freewheel tool are the best to use as they have the retaining ring to help prevent slippage.

Once the notches are damaged, it becomes very difficult to remove the freewheel in a non-destructive manner.
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Old 06-19-11 | 02:32 AM
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I'd take a dremel and carefully flatten damaged slots on inside of the freewheel. It may widen the slots a little bit, but better than a bent or sharp pointed edge that will force the tool off to the side. Next, is it possible to find some copper pipe or tube to fit just inside the freewheel. If you can cut a section about 35mm long, this can rest inside both the freewheel and rise up into the tool and keep the tool aligned on the slots. Re-secure the tool with QR skewer and then take a big long wrench. It should yield and break free.
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Old 06-19-11 | 08:54 AM
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Thaks... i applied mayor surgery yesterday, after 2 hours cutting and figuring out i got it out
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