iwazi

Long time lurker, first time poster. Hi.

I'm pretty new to any kind of wrenching on bikes, but I did my research and made some changes to my son's 20" Raleigh Rowdy to make it work better for him. We replaced the 6 speed freewheel with a Sunrace MFM300 7 speed freewheel, also added a new derailleur, shifter, and chain. He's only put about 12-14 miles on all the new parts, and everything was working really well, until yesterday. He pointed out a noise his bike had just started making. We ended up finding that it was that new Sunrace freewheel that was making a clicking, almost grinding sound. With the freewheel off the bike, I could see that the outer portion with the gears (forgive my newbness) was moving around more than it looked like it should relative to the hub part it's attached to. We put it back on the wheel and I made a video showing how the gear portion can rock back and forth relative to the rest of the freewheel, making the clicking and grinding noises as I moved it. Officially I can't post links since I'm new, but it's on youtube. EDIT: Brian put a link to the video in the first comment.(Thanks Brian) The things still works okay on the bike, but with the extra play in it, and whatever inside is making the noises as he pedals, it doesn't sound good as he rides. Is there any way to tighten things back up on it, or is it just defective? I looked at the original 6 speed freewheel the bike came with, and it doesn't have the same amount of play between the parts. I also don't remember the new freewheel having that amount of play between the parts when I put the bike together.

I don't know if it makes a difference or not, but the day prior he rode through some puddles. Just prior to the noise starting, we had done a bit of a bike wash, but only gently sprayed the freewheel. I wouldn't think the water would have affected how it all fits together though.

brian3069

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyGP...ature=youtu.be

Iride01 

What does it do when on the bike and ridden that annoys you? Some brands will be noisier than others.

iwazi

It wasn't noisy before, but now sounds there are rocks inside it when my son pedals around, almost crunchy, and the aforementioned play in the components doesn't seem right. It wasn't doing this before. The sounds can be heard in the video, but are louder when it's being turned by the chain.

dedhed

A certain amount of runout "wobble" is normal for a freewheel. Mostly from the machining concentricity between the hub & freewheel.
It looks like yours has some slop in the freewheel itself. From the video it appears that sunrace has a lockring design. See the 4 notches inside the cogs and outside where the removal tool goes? See if you can figure out a way to use something to fit in those notches to try to tighten that lock ring. I'd also drip some lube into the freewheel as it does sound a bit "dry".

dedhed

If that doesn't help and you bought it locally I'd think about exchange.

SunRace | TLEF1

Iride01 

Sounds like rocks when he pedals forward? If so, I'd be checking if the derailleur pulley wheels are touching the cogs ever so slightly when under load.

Did the size of the big and small cogs change from the one you replaced? You are certain the DR handles that size freewheel in both min/max tooth and max wrap? Is the chain sized correctly and b-screw adjusted?

woodcraft

Yes, toast.

Andrew R Stewart 

First thing I note/think of is the lack of lube inside the freewheel. That crinkling sound sure mimics a dry bearing and ratchet. Second the "bearing adjustment" does seem a bit looser then typical. Not all that surprising given the cheap grade of the unit. There's no intended adjustment designed in most all freewheels. The threaded race (note it's a LH thread) is just tightened down so much it won't loosen without serious efforts (think hammer and skinny drift punch). One could remove the race and, if any thin shims were present, remove a shim and reinstall the race. This might snug up the slop or be too much removed and the freewheel might end up with too tight a spin. Freewheels like a tad of looseness.

I would drip medium weight oil through the freewheel and see if that helps the noise then decide if replacement is worth it. Andy

iwazi

dedhed, thanks for the suggestions. I do think it's slop between the parts rather than wobble. I actually watched that video yesterday. . I had previously noticed a bit of wobble, but this is different. I pulled the freewheel off the bike and tried moving the lockring with a pair of needle nose pliers against those tabs, but didn't have any luck yet. I'll keep after it. I noticed that laying it down with the largest cog facing down, there seemed to be a lot of oil draining out of the back. So I left it in that position for a bit to see that's actually the case.

Iride01 . . . yeah, I thought at first he had smacked the derailleur against something, but nothing makes contact that isn't supposed to. Like I said earlier, everything was working fine, until this freewheel issue. It's definitely the freewheel.

iwazi

Thanks Andy. I'll definitely give the oil a shot too. dehed also mentioned returning it, but it came from overseas, and that's probably not an option. It was only about $16 though I think. So if nothing works I'll try another one, or maybe a different brand. I liked the MFM300 from Sunrace through, because it gave my son all the exact same (teeth)gears he started with, then just added that 34 tooth to help his little toothpick legs with the hills.

Phil_gretz

My experience with SunRace freewheels hasn't been good. Two of the three were gritty, and had a "thunking" rhythmic sound when pedaling forward in certain cogs. If at all possible, I try to avoid using SunRace freewheels. Dripping with lube may quiet grittiness some, but it does nothing for the "thunk" sound.

dedhed

As Andy said you could pull it apart and see if it has a him or two to remove and tighten up.
A number of threads in C&V about rebuilding freewheels.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...o-heavy-5.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...sassembly.html

Mad Honk 

Anyone here think the change from 6 spd to 7 spd might have anything to do with it? and the larger 34 t cog? MH

Moe Zhoost

Indexed or friction shifting? The first thing I would look at is how that is set up. Slight mis-adjustments can cause the noise you describe.

alo

As someone already suggested, start by putting oil in it, and see how it is then.

trailangel

Axel bearings really loose.

Andrew R Stewart 

I wondered about this too but wasn't sure the axle movement was other then whole wheel movement. I tried to track the axle WRT the freewheel WRT the spokes in the backround. Andy

Russ Roth

Axle movement will be easy for the OP to test, just grab the wheel and try to wiggle it though in my experience it takes a while on a kid's bike for the wheel to make a gritty, dry noise from being loose.

For the OP, if you want a new FW I can send a shimano out on Tues if the post office is still open, I've got 4 or 5 new ones sitting in a drawer from swapping to cassettes. Course if the local PO isn't open that's a different issue.

iwazi

I didn't have any luck with getting the lockring off. I also don't want to spend more than I paid for the freewheel on a lockring removal tool to mess with the defective freewheel. If I didn't have an immunosuppressed high risk kid at home, I'd go down to the local bike co-op or shop and have them try to get the freewheel apart, but we are trying limit trips out of the house for his safety. So I stuck with a liberal amount of oil that I flushed through the freewheel. That didn't resolve what looked like excessive play between the parts, but it did quiet the crunchy sound it was making a bit. It's still there, just not as loud. The real test will be when my son gets it outside and rides it. Since the sound is still there, I'm going to see if I can get a refund or replacement for the freewheel from the seller. With only about twelve miles of use, it should have held up better.

As for questions about the axle bearings, there's no play in the axle. I even put the original six speed freewheel on there and repeated what you saw in the video. It has similar movement between the parts of the freewheel, but not nearly as much as the new Sunrace freewheel. It was also quiet moving it around, with no crunchiness. However, the axle could use some lubrication. It works well enough for now, but I plan to work on it. The bike was used, owned by the previous owner for about two years. I wouldn't say it was abused, but it could have been treated better.

As for the gearing and derailleur, it's indexed and everything shifts and moves okay. No parts contact each other that aren't supposed to. Like I said earlier, that was the first thing I checked.

So again. . . Oiling the freewheel made things better. Not perfect, but it was an improvement. I think for something new it should have held up better for 12-14 miles. I'm planning to try to get the seller of the part to replace it or get a refund instead. Thanks all for the suggestions and the help

iwazi

I'm going to attempt to get a replacement or refund from the seller. If I end up needing to buy another freewheel, any suggestions on a better 7 speed mega range style freewheel with a 34 tooth low gear? My little guy needs it on the climbs.

Andrew R Stewart 

Try to find a Shimano freewheel. They have better QC, might cost a bit more then cheap stuff does but only by a few dollars. BTW freewheel internals can rust in only a few days if the lube is washed out but the water is allowed to stand (inside the freewheel bearings/ratchet). Salt really quickens that period. We had customers who thought they were doing the right thing when they pressure washed their salty bikes. Only to have the bikes rust from the insides out.

When I ran my LBS in Cleveland we saw a LOT of salt rusted bikes during the winters and early spring, That there was a salt mine just off shore, under Lake Erie, made the cost to spread salt during ice/snow months real low. So the highway depts. tended to be loose and free with their use of it. Only the bikes that stayed at the Outer Banks (usually around Emerald Island, NC) were worse IME. Andy

iwazi

Thanks for the offer Russ. I'm attempting to return or exchange the freewheel, but I might take you up on that offer if you have one with a 34 tooth low gear.

iwazi

I didn't think he would have gotten any in there riding through the puddles or during the bike wash we did after, and yeah, we avoided high pressure water. It was more of a shower. I'll keep all that in mind for future maintenance though. I almost went for a Shimano freewheel to begin with. May still end up with one after-all. Thanks.