Overhaul a freehub?

jrab

Has anyone ever stripped and re-greased a freehub body? I don't mean take the freehub body off the hub, I mean actually dismantle the freehub to get to the bearings and pawls inside?

If so, how easy was it, and were you successful (ie did you manage it without having springs and ball-bearings flying around the garage?!) Any tips/tricks as to how to get into it, etc?

I have an unbranded hub with very noisy freehub bearings. I'd like to just replace the freehub, but without any markings I'm guessing what it is (I THINK it's a Novatec), and struggling to find anyone who has in stock a freehub that looks like it might fit.....

Thanks for any help!

Richard

nicklouse

to quote Sheldon

Shimano Freehub ® Body Servicing
Generally, Freehub ® bodies are not repaired when they fail, because the labor cost of servicing them is often greater than the cost of buying a brand-new body.

If you really want to take one apart and overhaul it, they may be serviced in the same way as conventional freewheels. You'll need a fairly hard-to-find old-style Shimano special tool (TL-FH 40) to unscrew the cup, which is also the cone for the main bearings.

for a shimano type.

others just pull apart but I would not bother doing any more than pumping some grease or oil into them.

jrab

Thanks.

I'd have a few more options if I could identify or find a replacement!

Thanks for the mention of the tool - my body has two tabs inside that look like they're meant to accept a specific tool to unscrew the inside of the body - I'll look up that Shimano one and see. Have been thinking of trying to make something.

It looks like the rear seal has gone and let mucky water into the back of the freehub. The bearings were horribly grumbly and the inside of the body was showing a fair bit of corrosion, despite the front seal and hub bearings being fine.

I started by trying to ease some lube into it (like this http://www.halorims.com/uploads/techinfo_2.pdf) but it didn't seem to make much difference. So I flushed it through a few times with degreaser and was amazed how much muck came out. Then I flushed it through over and over (and over!) with spray grease - lightest lube I could think of. After that I've left it soaking in oil for a couple of days, turning it regularly.

I think it does feel smoother, but it's hard to tell without assembling it back onto the wheel.

What concerns me most is that theres a lot of seepage through the seal at the back, so once back on the bike and in the wet & muck, the light lube will not last long.

If I can open it up and fill it with grease that will last longer, plus I may be able to get a new seal and new ballbearings.

Richard.

allthegearnoidea

one method ive tried in the past to prolong the hub body some more was to melt down some Thick greaseand drip t in through the back after flushing through, helped a bit, but tbh, not really worth the hassle! hub body's are circa £20, and you'll prolly never get it as smooth as a new one!!
(do you know what wheels/hubs they are??)

02gf74

^^^ and if the seal is gone, then it wil fill up with gunkge in no time.,

kaytronika

From what I recall anything thicker than a light spray lubricant can stop the freehub from engaging too well anyway.

I've got a 17 year old one that keeps slipping
and a newer one that basically sounds like it's eating itself.


I bought a whole new hub and replaced the bearings/axle while I had it all apart. Cost about £20 for a Deore one.

The bike with the 17 year old freehub needs a back wheel, so that can wait.

ride_whenever

Really not worth it!

I accidentally did my singlespeed freewheel and it was not really the same after (I lost 2 bearings and had four left over, there were like 1000 tiny bb in there!) so I've just replaced it...

jrab

Thanks for the advice guys.

My first thought was to replace the freehub, but my biggest issue was identifying it. Having pulled the hub apart, the only identifying numbers / marks of any kind were the bearing sizes. Absolutely NOTHING on the hubs.

I noticed that the front hub seal was twisted and the front hub bearing wasn't in great shape. Listening closely to the freehub, it did sound like it was the front bearings that were ropey - obviously water has got in through the front seal, had a go at the front hub bearing and eaten up the front freehub bearings.

Didn't feel overly happy about pulling the freehub apart, and couldn't find anything the engage the notches at the front anyway. So I pulled the back seal off - the rear bearings looked fine - and poured engine oil (closest I had!) through it for two days.

With the help of hot water and pliers I straightened up the front hub seal, and got a new 6000RS bearing for a few quid. Put it back together again, and span the wheel up in my hand - unfortuantely no joy. Still pretty noisy and the vibration was very obvious. Damn!

Fortunately, by this time my Sherlock Holmes-ing by email with Taiwan (Novatec, very helpful), had identified the right hub model, and that Chain Reaction stocked the right freehub body (Pro-Lite branded, but hey!). With a bit of luck it will be here tomorrow / Thursday and I can get the wheel back on the bike.

Richard