Servicing a screw on freewheel - anyone done this?

For discussions about bikes and equipment.
LittleGreyCat
Posts: 1177
Joined: 7 Aug 2013, 8:31pm

Servicing a screw on freewheel - anyone done this?

Post by LittleGreyCat »

https://sheldonbrown.com/freewheels.html

The freewheel is unscrewed and has been cleaned up (which will have got cleaning fluid inside to the bearings).

Just reading through this (taking me a while) and haven't got to the bit where you strip the whole thing down.

Has anyone done this?

The alternative seems to be to keep running lube in from the back until it comes out clean, or submerging the whole thing in a bath of TQF and twiddling it until all the dirty stuff has come out.

Noting that this strategy (recommended by Brucey) worked wonders for my freehub which was all gummed up inside but is now ticking away nicely.
thirdcrank
Posts: 36776
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Servicing a screw on freewheel - anyone done this?

Post by thirdcrank »

You can dismantle and rebuild a freewheel, but depending on the innards, it can be a total faff. It must have been discussed before. The two main problems are keeping track of the zillions of ball bearings and restraining the pawls to reassemble.
tatanab
Posts: 5033
Joined: 8 Feb 2007, 12:37pm

Re: Servicing a screw on freewheel - anyone done this?

Post by tatanab »

Several decades ago I did this many times. From memory, the hardest part is getting the left threaded lock ring to let go. Restraining the pawls is easy enough, and always worked for me. A loop of cotton from the sewing box holds the pawls down while sliding the last parts in place, then a quick tug will snap it so it slides out..
cycle tramp
Posts: 3532
Joined: 5 Aug 2009, 7:22pm

Re: Servicing a screw on freewheel - anyone done this?

Post by cycle tramp »

Deleted
Last edited by cycle tramp on 5 Mar 2024, 10:27pm, edited 1 time in total.
Motorhead: god was never on your sidehttps://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=m ... +your+side
thirdcrank
Posts: 36776
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Servicing a screw on freewheel - anyone done this?

Post by thirdcrank »

IIRC Sheldon Brown used to take the line that it wasn't worth the trouble, but explained how to do it for anybody really wanted to do it. I suppose there are now more riders desperate to maintain irreplaceable kit.

The current SB advice seems more detailed than I remember so perhaps his legacy is being maintained (by John Allen?).

(Or my memory is failing)

https://sheldonbrown.com/rebuild-freewheel.html
fastpedaller
Posts: 3435
Joined: 10 Jul 2014, 1:12pm
Location: Norfolk

Re: Servicing a screw on freewheel - anyone done this?

Post by fastpedaller »

If there is no side-to-side movement I'd be inclined to just use the 'soak' method rather than risk any potential damage by dismantling/reassembly.
User avatar
fausto99
Posts: 952
Joined: 19 Sep 2011, 10:06am
Location: NW Kent

Re: Servicing a screw on freewheel - anyone done this?

Post by fausto99 »

No one has mentioned what a faff it is to mess around with shims to set the up the clearance/play on reassembly. I think that’s the reason flushing is the preferred option.
slowster
Moderator
Posts: 4629
Joined: 7 Jul 2017, 10:37am

Re: Servicing a screw on freewheel - anyone done this?

Post by slowster »

Video of the procedure for a Shimano freewheel (although I note he adds a bit of grease *under* the pawls, which I would not do because I think that creates a risk of a pawl sticking down).

LittleGreyCat
Posts: 1177
Joined: 7 Aug 2013, 8:31pm

Re: Servicing a screw on freewheel - anyone done this?

Post by LittleGreyCat »

Thanks to all.

I basically bottled it and ran a load of lube in.

It certainly sounds OK - memo to self to schedule some proper maintenance time in spring.
drossall
Posts: 6115
Joined: 5 Jan 2007, 10:01pm
Location: North Hertfordshire

Re: Servicing a screw on freewheel - anyone done this?

Post by drossall »

What the others said. Many years since I've done it, but not unduly difficult. You used to be able to buy replacement pawls and so on for Regina freewheels - the pawls would occasionally chip or break. Cotton thread as above to hold the pawls down for reassembly. I've still got the custom spanner used to service some Suntour models.
rogerzilla
Posts: 2887
Joined: 9 Jun 2008, 8:06pm

Re: Servicing a screw on freewheel - anyone done this?

Post by rogerzilla »

Not too hard. Stick the balls in place with an oil-soluble grease (like Park) that will just hold them. When it's back together, you can flush it with lots of oil again.

Shimano BMX freewheels have 48 balls. Per race!
cyclop
Posts: 964
Joined: 3 Oct 2013, 7:49am
Location: Dumfriesshire

Re: Servicing a screw on freewheel - anyone done this?

Post by cyclop »

I can still remember doing this 55yrs ago....once.Cotton thread worked for me as well.I recently flushed a freehub by immersing totally in a tub of white spirit and then spinning rapidly with a drill in which was a wire brush which gripped the freehub nicely.Loads of gunk came out.I then heated the freehub to drive off the spirit and relubed.This would work with a freewheel as well.Does heating a freehub/freewheel harm it?No idea but I have been heating chains for years to drive off white spirit and I get as much as 500mls from a chain :lol: (joking,no idea how much I get out of them)P.s,white spirit is reusable if you let it settle.
francovendee
Posts: 3148
Joined: 5 May 2009, 6:32am

Re: Servicing a screw on freewheel - anyone done this?

Post by francovendee »

Only as far as changing the shims to remove excess play.
It worked but when the rim wore out I changed the wheel for a freehub.
User avatar
Mick F
Spambuster
Posts: 56359
Joined: 7 Jan 2007, 11:24am
Location: Tamar Valley, Cornwall

Re: Servicing a screw on freewheel - anyone done this?

Post by Mick F »

Often used to dismantle my Suntour freewheels.
The main thing to do, is loosen the ring whilst the unit is still on the wheel.

Remove the unit and then unscrew the ring, removing it and any shims. Do all this over a tray to catch the bits. Ring is left hand thread.
Pull the whole thing apart, including the springs and pawls.

The balls, the ring, the pawls and springs can be dropped into a cleaning solution, then strained out.
Refit the pawls and springs and grease liberally.
Refit the inside balls in the outer of the unit using grease to hold them inner end upwards, and then lower the boss holding the pawls into it rotating it to allow the pawls to go in.
Hold the thing together and turn it over and lower it down onto the tray.
Using grease, fit the rest of the balls into it, and fit the shims, then screw on the ring finger tight.

Refit to the wheel, tighten, and then check that wen the ring is tight, the unit spins freely with no play. If there is play, remove the ring and a shim, and try again.

The whole thing looks complicated, but it isn't. It's simple and basic.
Mick F. Cornwall
iandusud
Posts: 1577
Joined: 26 Mar 2018, 1:35pm

Re: Servicing a screw on freewheel - anyone done this?

Post by iandusud »

When I was a teenager I had a bike with a 5 speed TDC (T.D. Cross) freewheel that used to eat pawls, so I got good at rebuilding it. Those were the days when you could go to your local bike shop and by replacement pawls. They were also, sadly the days when British component firms where making such crappy freewheels that they sold replacement pawls! No wonder they went out of business.
Post Reply