Date: Sat, 18 Jan 2003 08:52:06 -0500 Jon M. Schaer's hint on how to put freewheels back together is helpful - if you already know what he's talking about. Here's another in the same category, I'm afraid. At least for Atom and Regina hubs, I always just put a loop of decent nylon thread around the body so it held the pawls in compression. Then the body would slide together easily. Holding it so it didn't open up and spill balls, just let go of one end of the thread and pull the other. Voila! Of course, the reason I thought to do this has to do with how i used to feed chicken gizzards to pet snakes, but that's off list, so you better not pick up that part of the (pardon me) thread. :-)
harvey sachs mcLean va
Jon said: At least in all the fw's I've rebuilt, there's a physical constraint that requires the bearing installation to be done a certain way. You'd normally be inclined to grease each cup race of the outer body as you would in a hub, and tack the balls in place. This won't work. Once the balls are placed in the rear race, the pawls won't compress enough to squeak past when you try to slide the bodies together.
You have to place the rear bearings on the "cone" race of the outer body. Spread just enough grease on the race to tack the balls in place. Then you'll have to have to hold the two bodies in position and rotate the bodies a little until the pawls drop into the teeth, and the two will slide together. The front bearing set can go in the cup race of the outer body fine. Go lite on any grease used. Grease in the pawls can limit action enough to impede engagement.
I use thicker oils to lube them. Phil oil is fine. 90W hypoid gear oil is cheap. BTW, if the fw body doesn't have an oil port already, drill one while you have things apart. Just not in the pawl area. Then you can re-oil by just removing cogs.
Jon Schaer
Columbus, OH