[CR]Re: Freewheel re-assembly, was Throw away era..

(Example: Production Builders)

From: "Mr Joe McKishen" <mckishen1@verizon.net>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Wed, 28 Dec 2005 20:51:24 -0500
Subject: [CR]Re: Freewheel re-assembly, was Throw away era..

Just a note on servicing freewheels, when it comes to holding small ball bearings and parts in place, I found using a small amount of fishing reel oil works great, Penn Reel lube works very well. It's very light, but has enough consistency to hold the balls in place during assembly. Plus, even after you have it all together, if it feels like a bit too sticky, a quick shot of any suitable spray lube will dilute the reel lube. All I usually do is put a light trace of the reel lube on the race, and under the pawls, just enough to keep small parts from tumbling away.

When it comes to disassembly, I use one of those cheap stainless wire baskets like the ones that you get at the local dollar store. The one I have is about 11.5" x 8" and about 3" deep. If not, an old baking pan works good too. I break down the freewheel, dumping all of the parts into the wire basket, and then take the whole basket right over to the parts washer, minimizing the chance of losing any little springs or pawls. I use plain mineral spirits to clean all my parts, (any low odor paint thinner works great). I disassemble and wash the parts in the wire basket, then after their all clean, dump the contents of the basket into an old baking pan with a piece of paper towel to soak up the solvent. I reassemble it on another old pan to which I attached the threaded portion of an old steel hub.

Joe McKishen Vineland, NJ USA

Re: Ray Green wrote:

Ray: Stuart says the "throw away era" began in the fifties. It may have done in affluent West Sussex but in Lancashire the "fix it" era lasted well into the sixties. Harvey: At my house, where I work on bikes for pleasure and can squander time, the fix-it era continues. Why, I'm so tight that when I left Cleveland in 1976 the local riders gave me a little plaque with a welded-together spoke as a symbol of my bottom-feeding tendencies...

Ray: I never got the hang of doing the job but a club mate would repair my block if it started freewheeling both ways.

Harvey: I've seen FW start freewheeling in both directions for a couple of different reasons. The most common by far is congealed gunk that catches the pawls and gets the stuck in the "pass" position. I can usually fix this just by time and WD-40 or the equivalent, washing out the junk w/o need for disassembly. I think I once had a Regina that occasionally would skip because of a worn pawl face, but that would not be amenable to roadside fix (scavenge pawls from a FW whose removal slots got torn by some ape with a bad puller and worse methods). And I did have a Suntour to two suffer pawl failures, but that is as likely to jam in both directions as FW in both.

Ray: I recall he used thin string and he did it once at the side of the road using a shoelace! I guess it was to keep the pawls in place? I remember someone puncturing and there wasn't enough tube patch free to find room to stick another one ! Happy days.

Harvey: Here are my instructions, for Regina, Suntour, and other common units with pawls mounted on the main body, for those who dare. DISASSEMBLY: --> I mount the FW on a trash hub that I can clamp in my vise, just to make disassembly easier. --> The lock ring is the outer cone, and LH threaded. Remove with pin spanner or light touch with pointed tool and "Swedish Micrometer" (machinists' hammer). --> Being very careful not to let it fall apart, invert over a small sieve, can, or equivalent. Now lift the hub and body off the cog part, so all the little parts and balls fall into the sieve or whatever and can be cleaned. REASSEMBLY: --> clean everything, with whatever toxic chemicals and repetitive motion combination you prefer. Note that early FW have fine wire pawl opening springs, while later ones have springs made of brass sheet. The former are invisible and have already been lost, but you had a good time getting it open and cleaning it. --> lightly grease both races, just to hold the balls in place. Fill the back/inside race on the cog-holding piece of the body with nice clean balls. Leave the other one for now. Set this assembly with the outside (small cog) down, on something (like a can) that will allow the other half to slide in and through to the bottom. --> reassemble the pawl and spring assemblies on the iner part of the body. Now, for the first of 10 times or so, wrap a loop of thread around the pawls to keep them in place, finishing with a twist, and pull the tails out to the back. You MUST keep tension on this thread. I prefer nylon to cotton, because it is stronger, but a case could be made that when the cotton breaks it might be easier for the FW to chew it up instead of jamming. --> Now, holding the thread ends tightly, carefully slip the inner body into the outer body all the way. If it doesn't go all the way, a pawl slipped, and you can start over at the previous step. Iterate till frustrated, then rest with a cold beer. --> when it finally sits right, carefully lift the whole assembly and turn it over, keeping the parts together. Put the remaining balls in the outer race. Making sure that you hve the original number of incredibly thin shim washers (remember those, from disassembly?) put the lock ring back on. --> Add Sturmey or equivalent oil, and try the ugly thing.

harvey sachs
mcLean va