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Need help servicing A type freehub pawls

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Jiff24

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I live in a place where it routinely gets very cold which has been starting to cause problems on the commuter, particularly with the freehub. The longer its gone on, the more sensitive its become. I first started noticing it around -22 F. The pawls began sticking and the crank would just spin free. Now it happens around +25 F. Its made my commuter very unreliable. So I started looking into it online (here and other places) and found one fix which recommended to put some grease that was rated for the cold temps in. So I tore the thing apart, but am now stuck. I was following some guides on icebike.org and parktool.com, but neither one were using this type of freehub body and I can't find anything else about it. I've identified it as an A type freehub body. I can get a new one that I think is the same on Amazon, but I would need to service it with the cold grease anyway. So I still need to know how to get into the pawls and clean them/grease them. I got two types of Dumond Tech lube, one liquid and one grease. They are supposedly rated to -40 F. Its get -30 F. here sometimes. Can some one help me please? I've already taken it in into the LBS and they were not very helpful and even a little rude. So I'd prefer to not have to go back. Thanks.

I'm not an expert but I'll try to answer any questions you guys might have. Thanks again.
 
#3 ·
big_papa_nuts said:
The guy in the video kinda seems like a hack but it shows the basic procedure.
Click to expand...
The hack in the video is Lennard Zinn and the Morningstar Freehub Buddy is sweet. Problem is you might have some difficulty finding one. Some issues lately have made them a little rare. They fit Shimanos's and some SRAMS. Wonderful tool for freehub maintenance. They work by injecting or forcing lube (of your choosing) into the freehub and directly force old lubricate out (if any is there). I personally prefer Morningstar Freehub Soup.



 
#4 ·

Remove seal and flush freehub body with solvent. Spin to to help work the solvent into the pawls. Use compressed are to remove all residual solvent and dry freehub thoroughly. Use a liquid lubricant (freehub oil, lighter oil if riding in -22F) and drip into the freehub while spinning it to work in the oil. Replace the seal and install the freehub body back onto the hub shell. Make sure to grease the fixing bolt threads and torque to 360 in/lbs.
 
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#5 ·
Cleared2land said:
The hack in the video is Lennard Zinn and the Morningstar Freehub Buddy is sweet. Problem is you might have some difficulty finding one. Some issues lately have made them a little rare. They fit Shimanos's and some SRAMS. Wonderful tool for freehub maintenance. They work by injecting or forcing lube (of your choosing) into the freehub and directly force old lubricate out (if any is there). I personally prefer Morningstar Freehub Soup.
Click to expand...


I may get flamed for this but I stand by my "hack" comment. Mr. Zinn is obviously incredibly experienced, and seems to be well connected, but after reading some of his books and columns I feel like his style is very "shade tree". Although I do appreciate the information he makes available.

Also, RIP Paul.
 
#6 ·
big_papa_nuts said:
I may get flamed for this but I stand by my "hack" comment. Mr. Zinn is obviously incredibly experienced, and seems to be well connected, but after reading some of his books and columns I feel like his style is very "shade tree". Although I do appreciate the information he makes available.

Also, RIP Paul.
Click to expand...
No flame. I understand what you mean about Zinn. I got a chuckle reading your reply here. Thanks!

Yeah, RIP Paul. Interesting fellow. I never met him, but talked or emailed back and forth for several years. I've communicated a little with his daughter and she's attempting to find a way to carry the tool business onward. We'll see.
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
Thanks for the replies. That picture of removing the seal looks like its from the guide I was following initially. I wish it was that simple. The freehub that I'm working with doesn't have a seal like that from what I can see. I tried to show it in the picture. Mine has a metal piece where that seal is. I'll get a better picture later tonight. But I agree that it is going to need the lighter oil. I put the freehub in the freezer overnight, and when I tried to spin it in the morning the pawls were intermittently sticking and spinning it even the free direction was very tough. It was very stiff to turn with bare hands. Which indicates to me that its got some nasty gunk inside or something.
 
#9 ·
Just run the dumonde freehub oil through the gap on the backside of the freehub. It'll soak through the other side in a minute or two. When it comes out the same color you're good to go. I wouldn't attempt to disassemble that style of freehub. EVT does make a tool for it though.
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
Well I tried putting some oil in it. I am doubtful that it will drain out the other side though. The other side seems pretty tightly sealed. It did loosen quite a bit with the new oil though. But like I said it doesn't look like its draining, it just filled up that race where the little bearings are.
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
Well it took about about 20-30 minutes of spinning and adding oil but it finally cleaned out and is working better now. Thanks for the help. Now I need to get it back together and running again. Too bad I'll have to wait till next winter to test out those cold temps again. I think they are probably gone for this season. I wonder if I'm going to have to do it again for the hot summer temps when they come around with a different oil. Anyway thanks again everyone.
Image
 
#17 ·


Today I in a hurry was able to clean and lubricate this Shimao XT freehub body, with the hack seen above. I cut a groove in the white nylon rod and the garden hose connector on my lathe, for a rubber seal to sit in. So I plugged the center hole. I filled the room seen down left with deterent and later Mobile 1 gear oil and lastly grease, and pressed the connector against the freehub to make a thight seal. With caution I applied compressed air through the blue hose. Liquids and semi liquids are easily pressed through. Grease required a couple of tries. I did the same on a freehub body from a Bontrager hub.

But I still want to make the original tool as seen below

Hub How-To - Dura Ace 7900 - Slowtwitch.com
 
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