pastorbobnlnh 

I wrote the below in a different thread yesterday:

I can show you all sorts of pictures (they are posted in other threads) of why the above doesn't ever really "clean" a freewheel and never lets you examine for corrosion or other damage.

jonwvara 

I use mineral spirits or WD-40. I hadn't realized you can't get mineral spirits in California.

jonwvara 

The fumes are bad and I don't like to get it on my hands, but my main concern is flammability. People get badly burned doing stuff like that with gasoline all the time.

Of course, people are also injured in bike accidents all the time, so it would not be unreasonable to say that flushing a freewheel with gas is just one more small added risk, especially if it's something one does infrequently. But given that safer and equally ineffective solvents are available (Pastor Bob is correct to point out that a solvent flush is perhaps better than nothing, but it's not a proper fix), I don't think it makes sense to use gasoline.

BFisher

My preferred degreasers are WD-40 and Black Jack Asphalt and Tar Remover.

I've disassembled and repacked about a dozen, or so, freewheels and don't mind doing so. But I understand if some don't care to.

JohnDThompson 

Well, there's this:



Even has a Zerk fitting for your grease gun!

You have to be careful, though; cold weather can cause the pawls to fail to engage. Use the lightest grease available, not heavy-duty marine grade grease. Phil Wood used to distribute these injectors, and noted that you could remove the Zerk and thread a Phil grease tube directly into the injector, but I feel the Phil grease is far too viscous for this application.

trailangel

That's some funny **** right here! I bet you got your first DWI when you were 16.
BITD, I too used gasoline. Everybody did.... it's all we had in the garage.
Now I have about 1/3 of a bottle of mineral spirits, and apparently you cannot get it here in Los Angeles. The next time I go to Bakersfield I'll see if I can pick up a case...and you will see me selling bottles in the Home Depot parking lot, right next to the day laborers. Not sure if it's a L.A. county ban or state wide.
What sane person actually takes apart a freewheel anyway? Clean it, use it.

tkamd73 

All my bikes, with the exception of one, are 6 speeds. This is CV forum right? Universal cycles, eBay whatever, Shimano freewheel less then 15 bucks. Usually 3 to 5 years on a bike I ride regularly. Time is way more important then money, and any time I can avoid working with solvents, I will. All the guys I knew, that worked with solvents on a regular basis, are dead.
Tim

texaspandj

I tried the dribble oil in freewheel as BF members suggested, Once. It didn't work for me, it made my dura ace 6 speed freewheel loud. So disassembled, cleaned and repacked with grease, which BTW is the way they were originally assembled. Every original Shimano and campagnolo freewheel that I've cracked open was originally packed with grease. Also not marine grease (like jelly) but with lithium grease (like peanut butter). So thats what I use now. I like the Dura Ace freewheels and so I rebuild them and they'll probably last longer than me.
As for gasoline, my Dad used it to wash grease off his hands. I've done it too. He'd just pour some on each hand and then rub his hands together. But my Dad was from a whole different generation, farm boy, WW2 veteran and hands like bricks.
However my mechanic Uncle Joe introduced me to Gojo. Different generation, Vietnam veteran.
I now use mineral spirits or paint thinner, brush and gloves. I'm a different generation as well, smarter (maybe) but definitely not as tough but at least I'm Mentally strong like them.

Salamandrine 

Old bike shop method was give it a soak in the solvent tank, blow it out with a compressor (if there was one), dribble some Phil oil in there. Done.

A physical repack of a freewheel would have cost more than a new freewheel.

The solvent tank guy would come every so often and swap out your dirty solvent for new stuff.

cs1

For those of us who grew up in the seventies all the great products we have available today didn’t exist. So we made due with what we had. Some still do.

dddd

In lieu of using gasoline or other solvent that will need to be discarded, many freewheels just need some lube and not any kind of flushing to work perfectly.

I keep a squeeze bottle with motor oil mixed with 20% solvent that I use as a general lube and penetrant prior to servicing old weathered bikes.
It goes on all of the threaded fasteners, pivots, derailer pulleys and metal-to-metal cable runs. It can even be used for temporary lubing of dried-out bearings on lesser-quality bicycles (sufficient to get the bike on the road for evaluation so that servicing over a period of actual use can be facilitated).

For freewheels that don't have seals, I put 20 drops into the drive-side gap between the inner and outer freewheel body, this for freewheels that are presumed to be virtually "dry" inside. I don't then normally have to re-visit the freewheel innards for some years, I save time, and am left with zero petro products to dispose of.

Cleaning a crusty freewheel exterior (and chainrings), I leave it dry and start with mechanical removal of inter-cog detritus using a stainless steel flat ruler against the sides of the spinning cogs. Depending on how gummy the deposits, the detritus may or may not simply fall off onto the grass at the side of my house where likely no one will step on it and track it around.
For tougher or "gloppy" deposits on bike components, gasoline is not a very aggressive solvent at all versus the petro-based Finish Line Citrus Degreaser, which aggressively dissolves almost all detritus except for water-proof grease (water-proof grease is troublesome if it is in a bearing retainer, almost impossible to clean out!).

Moral of the story is to use as little solvent as possible, and to keep all degreasing products away from your skin and from the air that you breath.

Nemosengineer 

I clean freewheels in a 50/50 denatured alcohol/acetone mix with a ultrasonic cleaner, because there are people out there that think filling a freewheel with spray can chain lube is a good idea, This solvent mix will dissolve almost any 45 year old goo that's in there with a one or two day soak, If that doesn't do it switch the solvent to MEK (methyl ethyl ketone), followed by blowing the internals with compressed air. For lubrication I use 85W/140 gear oil injected with a syringe and let it drip dry for a hour or so before installing. I have had good luck using this method.

: Mike

jonwvara 

I don't actually remember much about the 1970s because I was taking a lot of acid. But I do remember the 60s pretty well. Things were really tough in those days. We didn't even have disco music or The Dukes of Hazzard then. But I seem to recall that we did have both mineral spirits and WD-40.

cs1

I’m glad nobody else is around to hear me laughing out loud over that one. Maybe the best answer yet on all of BF. Touché my friend.

jonwvara 

Glad I made you laugh. It's hard to get nuance on the internet sometimes. I was hoping you'd see that I was just messin' with you, not trying to give you a hard time. Carry on!
Jon V.

Bad Lag

Well, I never new cleaning a freewheel was quite so controversial.

I keep single use, solvent-resistant glove in the parts cleaning tray. They not only keep the solvent off the skin but also the nasty, black grease.

No matter which solvent I use, I do my cleaning out of doors only, so there's lots of fresh air.

We also have a stiff on-shore flow at all times, so there's not really any solvent smell, either.

Perhaps, I will disassemble, clean and grease one of my unused freewheels. I haven't done that in a long, long time. I have all the tools needed.

For lube, I have quite a selection of greases, including a large tub of waterproof grease that looks and feels just like Phil grease. Lithium grease was suggested, I have some of that, too.

pastorbobnlnh 

Good for you!

I almost exclusively use Super Lube synthetic grease. It has the widest temperature range and is extremely resistant to water and salt contamination. I've worked on a significant number of freewheels which were ridden in coastal areas and they suffer significantly from internal moisture and salt contamination. No amount of "flush and dribble" will properly service one.

For instance this DuraAce 6 speed from Long Island (IIRC), which is equipped with extra seals (making "flush and dribble" nearly impossible) to keep the contaminates outside and the good the grease on the inside:

The outside doesn't look too bad, but as I opened it for cleaning and service, first removing the top plastic seal and the outer bearing race/retaining ring...

...and discovered this.

63rickert

Phil grease is fine for freewheel internals. Back when such things were possible it was my experience the pawls would get sticky at around minus ten Fahrenheit.

Bad Lag

I have so many greases it's not funny; more than a lifetime's supply. I have red. I have blue. I have black. I have white,...

Holy smoke!, that freewheel looks terrible. I'd say it is a testament to how poor seals are more of a hindrance than a help. Once the stuff gets in, it cannot get out. Also, it shows how grease traps contaminants, whereas, solvent and oil flush them back out.

The pictures are also a good prompt to actually take one apart and see how I'm doing. My freewheels have survived for almost 50 years on a diet of solvents and Phil oil. Still, it will be instructive to take a look. Holy smoke!, t

sdn40

I never knew grease collecting was a thing !

Miele Man

I really enjoy disassembling, cleaning and then rebuilding a freewheel when I'm in the mood for it. The quietness of a rebuilt freewheel can be quite soothing.

Cheers

obuckler

I found that I like older freewheels after trying the newer ramped shimano offerings early on because I could better feel/hear the actual shift process and therefore could tell I had the chain in the sweet spot.

When i first tried ramps people I was riding with had to tell me to adjust my chain half the time. That’s my age I know.

Right now I have a suntour perfect 5 speed apart and ready to lube. It’s great fun and since the cogs aren’t worn it will run just like new.

I do like six speeds better but have a harder time finding ultra spaced versions.

Velo Mule

Pastor Bob, you have made your points eloquently. And, I agree with you. I know that many here don't want to open up a free wheel and try to corral all those tiny balls and it is easy to buy an new one. I like my old SunTours and Shimanos. It is not too hard to do. By the way, I also like Regina Oro's and Atom freewheels, but don't have any in the fleet now.




I think Sheldon Brown advocated for not opening up a freewheel and I see his point. If your pedaling, there is no friction from the freewheel, there is nothing slowing you down, the only time a freewheel will slow you down is when you are coasting. A bike shop would never rebuild a freewheel, but as a hobbyist, I do it.




I like smooth quiet freewheels even if it doesn't really improve my efficiency.

Miele Man

A bike shop won't rebuild a freewheel because it'd cost the customer as much or more than a new freewheel would. I think that's why so many home bicycle mechanics learned to do their own freewheel rebuilds. Besides that, it's not really that hard to do. The hardest part is getting the body back onto the carrier without displacing any of the ball bearings. The next trickiest part is getting the pawls into place as the freewheel is reassemble. All that isn't really hard to but is kind of finicky.

Cheers

BrewsterII

Pastor Bob rebuilt the Shimano freewheel on my Trek. It runs so smooth I think I actually gain speed when coasting, LOL. I have 1 or 2 more I need to send back to him. The results are more than worth the money IMHO.