Powertap freehub won't come off at all
 

I've got a G3 powertap and need to replace the freehub body. Generally you just pull on the powertap freehub and the thing comes off, but all 6'1" of me pulling with all my body can't get the freehub off of the powertap. I've tried with the cassette on (for grip) and off, I've tried messing with the set screw, I've tried tapping with a hammer/screwdriver, and I've tried letting some WD40 soak in. No luck.

Any ideas?

Did you remove the end cap on the freewheel side?

I did end up removing the end caps on both sides, altho I've never needed to bother removing them before. No change.

Ok, I also tried heating up the freehub....no success.

Finally, I used a 3-arm gear puller that I use to pull crankshaft pullies off V8s. I put the 3 smallest cogs on the freehub to give the tool something to grip, and a small dime sized washer sat on the end of the 15mm axle for the puller to push against. Came off (with some force) in seconds. Freaking insane.

The old freehub and the hub internals all look fine, so I simply cleaned them up and re-greased the hub. The 11speed freehub slid right on, altho I don't even want to know if it slides back off. That'll be a surprise for another day.

This is similar to the tool I had to use:

http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j0...r-SN0110C-.jpg

PS, my older PRO+ powertap freehub still slides off as easy as it did on day 1. Not sure whats up with this G3.

Usually you have to take care they don't fall off after you remove the end cap. Never saw one stuck like that.

Digging up an old thread but i am having the same problem. Pulling on it and i can't get the Freehub off at all. sadly i don't have a tool as mentioned above. Any other ideas how to get the freehub off, non-destructively? I only wanted to pull it off to clean and regrease the pawls.

Some of the older designs have a threaded endcap. Make sure yours is not one of those designs.

If it's frozen on though you can try a little penetrant oil on it. I've worked on tons of them but never really ran into this issue. My guess would be that the bronze sleeve that runs on the axle between the freehub and the axle is possibly wedged or jammed in there for some reason.

Was going to mention tot he OP to be sure to check that the bronze bushing came off/apart from the freehub.

Hey thanks for the response. It's definitely one of the newer 15 mm generations where you can just pull off the endcaps. Previously the freehub with the cassette on it would just come off without much force at all by just pulling it, but now it won't budge. i'll try running some penetrating oil into it see if that frees it up.

Having it soaking with penetrating oil overnight it still wouldn't budge with some prying and gentle tapping on the freehub. Eventually i resorted to the solution as mentioned above.

I bought a cheap gear puller and that got it off. How it is possible i don't know since the bearings were replaced a couple months ago but the metal parts of the freehub bearings that slide over the axle had corroded. Leaving clear rings of corrosion on the axle (superficial, could be removed with some rubbing of a cloth). This probably caused enough expansion to clamp the freehub down on the axle. It took some force with the gear puller to get it off.

In the end though this ordeal still hasn't sorted the underlying issue. there was a ticking sound coming from the rear wheel and i figured the pawls of the freehub needed some lubing. All the pawls felt fine and a clean and relube didn't solve it. now looking into replacing the freehub altogether as well as lubing up all the eyelets of the Mavic open pro the wheel is built into. Will also check spoke tension....

Always fun when you have a click or creak you can't quite lock down. ( i know it's the rear wheel btw because when i change it out for a different rear wheel the click is gone).

I had an Open pro rim that had a click at one of the spokes. I would occasionally lube it until the rim began to crack at the eyelets and I replaced it with an Open Sport.

That Sumbich Was On There!
 

The crank puller doohickey is a good idea, but I don't have one, nor am I patient enough run to the hardware store, so time for a BFH. I put a 3 cog assembly on, secured by the lock ring, held the wheel by the cogs with the free hub between my fingers, placed a steel rod (drill shank extension) on the edge of the axle and tapped the axle with hammer. Came off with several good taps. The drill extension was what I came up with quickly, but the handle end of a screwdriver with a larger diameter than the axle, but smaller than the free hub ID would probably be ideal.

Ah yes, the spacer that if is left out, the wheel locks up completely when you tighten the QR. (Ask me how I know :innocent:)

The probably thought they were doing good completely degreasing your parts when they replaced your bearings.

Ticking could also be spoke or rim. Something rim joints will tick too if it's an Al rim.

Old post but the spacer was on there. Only thing that was observeable that could cause such a clamping force was the mentioned corrosion. Clicking sound was later solved by retensioning the spokes and lubing the eyelets by removing the rim tape. Wheel takes some abuse but is now functioning just fine again.

Yes. I have a few cassette bodies to switch between 10 and 11 and when you pull them off, the spacer *usually* stays on the axle.

One time it didn't it came out with the body, and I just stuck the new body on and it took me a while to figure out where the part had gone to.