freewheel repairs

[AndySV1K]

Has anyone made any freewheel repairs?

specifically, im talking about the little sprung widgets (sorry dont know the technical term for it) fitted inside the freewheel body, the bits that actual spring out and grip the machined inner hub.

Ive just started to get the crank slipping, i traced it to the freewheel and when i stripped it, found wear on the spring widgets, also because of the worn metal mixing with the oil and thickening it also made the widgets slow acting, probably what caused the first slipping.

Ive stripped them out and ground them down to renew the profile, they are of course now slightly shorter, but the profile is now flat as opposed to rounded due to slippage.  put everything back and oiled, and all appears good, it even sounds like a new one (well newer)

er...oh yeah, my question

well its just a concern over whether my repair will last, have you done the same and got plenty of miles from it? or did it fail pretty quick?

having spin carbon wheels means i will probably struggle to buy new spares for them unless these widgets are standard items used in other wheels.

Andy.

[Simon]

I've stripped freewheels in the past mainly because of water/dirt ingress so I've only needed to clean and relube.
However I would believe that grinding down the Pawls will work but not for long.
I imagine the Pawls are hardened and grinding them would remove the hardened area.
Isn't the freehub a shimano compatable item ?

Simon.

[AndySV1K]

i dont know without taking it to a shop to compare.

thank you for telling me the name of the offending item though, maybe i can search for pawls and find something to help.

if i cant find a replacement, i could always harden them myself, although to what extent they want hardening would have to be a guess.

Andy.

[Old Proflexer]

i've taken a few apart in my day, but mostly for road bikes - only a couple of mtb freewheels

what i decided to do was just soak the freewheel in a solvent for a while, spin it and clean it out that way.
got a lot of the built up material out and i'd just use a moly oil to relube, set it on it's side on some paper towels
and let the excess oil drain, and reuse.

saved me a lot of time and headaches trying to find all those little ball bearings in some of the units.

OP

[AndySV1K]

Update...

Ok ive had some success (i think)

I tracked the pawls to being the same or very similar to a DT swiss hub (onyx)

I hunted around a little, spoke to a couple of bike shops who just didnt give a **** (and they wonder why we buy from the internet!    )

then managed to find some at Phil corley's in milton keynes, just been there and picked them up.

Bloody expensive for a tiny piece of metal, but pretty vital for any ride!

im going to take them with me, any slippage and i'll whack in the new ones.

Dont want to change them unless there is a problem as the retaining spring is a little delicate.

Andy.

[Colin]

..........managed to find some at Phil corley's in milton keynes, just been there and picked them up.

That means you're near me, Oh, I see from your profile that you're in Northampton, so am I, just outside in a small village towards Towcester.

PM me if you ride regulalry anywhere around here, I still go down to my old hometwon area just north of Luton to ride with a bunch of guys from Harlington on Thursday evenings. (Did Woburn/Wavendon Woods last night).
I was thinking of entering the FNSS race at Delapre this evening but it's p1ssing it down atm so I'm wimping out!

Col.

[AndySV1K]

Hi Colin,

Im sure i PM'd you recently about joining me on a ride from Towcester to Market harborough!

One of us has memory problems!  (could be me!)

im setting off to cornwall tomorrow, will be starting at Lands end on Mon and heading towards Northampton for Sun, where i will ride through the county, then the following day, i will continue up to scotland and finish in John O Groats.

Everybody keep their fingers crossed that my trusty 856 holds up to the distance.

Andy.

[kiwi]

im setting off to cornwall tomorrow, will be starting at Lands end on Mon and heading towards Northampton for Sun, where i will ride through the county, then the following day, i will continue up to scotland and finish in John O Groats.

Everybody keep their fingers crossed that my trusty 856 holds up to the distance.

Andy.

I hope this freewheel isnt on the 856....considering what you are contempalting woulnt a new freewheel be warranted?