sd5782 

I know, another noise question. I get a tic tic tic sound when leaning left or turning left only. It sounds like the noise when a brake pad hits on an out of true wheel. External sounding and I’m 90% sure it’s from the back.
Details;
-1984ish Shimano FH 6207 uniglide that came on a used bike, so is new to me. I did swap out the free hub from the Uniglide to the slightly wider Uniglide/hyperglide to run 7 speeds.
-new grease and bearings
-I recently rebuilt the wheel with Super Champion 58 rims to replace the skinny Mavics that were on it. Spokes are all even and tight
- cones races and hub cups were beautiful looking

Riding with the brake quick release off and brakes really loose, same noise. I just took rear wheel off to spin and feel bearings and all seems smooth. I’m new with freehubs. There is a slight bit of play rocking side to side in freehub body. Mounted wheel shows no play in bearings. Reassembling wheel after checking gave slightly less noise, but I think I had it clamped a bit less tight.

So freehub experts, point me to something. I have some guesses. I’ve recently started using slightly thinner wheel bearing grease? Perhaps one of the dust shields hits on the cone. Perhaps I need a different thickness shim behind the freehub? Perhaps this freehub is internally not up to par (I have a couple spares)? Perhaps I have the bearings adjusted too tight?

No noise at all going straight or leaning right, and the noise is present while coasting or pedaling. Bike is a 1983 Trek 700 for those interested. I really want this hub to work as I have some custom gearing on it that suits me just right. Thoughts?

bboy314

Did the noise suddenly start when you replaced the freehub?

Since it’s only when turning one direction, I’d start by examining the headset, and looking at the front hub for a rubbing dust seal. I’ve had front disc brakes rub when turning one direction, from fork flex, but it sounds like that’s not in play here.

Also, are any of your cable housings a bit short, running out of slack when you turn left?

sd5782 

I never really rode on this hub before on this bike. I did take a couple short rides on the donor bike with the original freehub and didn’t notice anything, so that may point to it. Actually I probably shouldn’t even say turning, as it is basically just when leaning and no cabling is even stretched in the least. Should the mounted up freehub have a bit of rocking motion when all is adjusted? I’m a freewheel guy and those have some play in them

curbtender

Ticking noises...first check I do are cable ends that may be touching something. Not sure what would be in a freewheel that would make it tick. Maybe a spoke?

MilhouseJ

Is it once per revolution of the wheel, or more frequent? How are the ends of the rim itself joined, is it pinned together, staked, or welded? I had a front rim that was pinned and it had a consistent tick with every revolution, one that I found especially irritating.

sd5782 

Noise is once per revolution. NOS rims.

MilhouseJ

From the images I see when I search for those rims, they look pinned at the joint. The left side might just be ticking because of flexing in the rim at the joint under load, only presenting when the majority of the load is to the left of the center line. Without seeing it firsthand, it's hard to say for certain though..

sd5782 

No gaps in joint, and spoke tension is up to spec and even, hopefully holding them together. I’m leaning towards freehub, freehub shim or bearing adjustment. At the point when I pull it apart, I will change several things so as not to have to pull it all apart again. I know this might not pinpoint something, but who wants to pull the freehub and rear wheel multiple times? I’ll probably start by readjusting the front with new grease and paying attention to the dust shields for interference.

Iride01 

You might have the wheels checked and make sure the spoke tensions are correct on all the spokes. Even releasing the brakes to let them open wider, there is always that chance that a imbalance of tensions from one side to the other might let the rim briefly scrub the brake pad at some point.

So you must be pedaling when you go through these turns. But are you certain that you may not have a hesitant foot or slow foot in the left turns and it's just the free hub doing what it's supposed to do? Or is your free hub super quiet and the click of it don't overshadow the other click you are hearing.

sd5782 

Noise is coasting or pedaling. Spokes are all even and tight and tension checked with a gauge.

KCT1986

The Shimao freehub bodies that attach to the shell in this manner should be really tight. The 10mm hollow bolt needs to be torqued down quite hard.

The FH-6207's instructions below. See the instructions for replacing the freehub body.

SI-N-29-000-00-ENG.pdf (shimano.com)

This is an old design so don't know exactly how it should be assembled with a newer freehub body. Are you using the rear dust cap? Does the replacement body normally use a washer between the body & hub shell? You may need to try a couple of configurations to see what works. Don't know if the shell can be damaged by over-torquing the freehub body (always wondered if the washer present on newer designs was used to better distribute the load).

Crankycrank

How old are those Super Champion Rims? Not sure if they have the same issue as some older Mavics but the pins holding the joint together were prone to coming slightly loose and causing an annoying tick.

sd5782 

Thanks for the Shimano diagrams. I did crank the 10mm bolt down tight , but probably not 400 in/lbs tight. And as for the rims, I’m not sure of the age, but probably later model and NOS. I got another set this year at the Monroe Michigan bike swap from the same seller. They looked pristine and even wrapped in plastic. They are the only new rims I’ve built with and were a treat to use. I sure hope they are fine, as they are quite nice. After doing the easier front wheel first, I will reevaluate the rear with an eye toward the shim in back. As stated, I have a couple more of these freehubs. The annoying tic tic seems external when it happens. My clue was it was lessened when I took rear wheel off to check things and reassembled with a wee bit less QR clamping pressure.

MilhouseJ

There wouldn't necessarily be a gap that you could see, it could be flexing and rubbing against itself just enough to make a ticking noise. I've heard that it's safe enough to ride a rim like that since the tension of the spokes and tube/tire will keep everything together, but I didn't like the noise it made so I sourced another wheelset. YMMV.

MilhouseJ

That's my thought as well. If it's once per rotation, then it kinda points at the wheel hoop itself. Since it happens either coasting or pedaling, I'd think it rules out the hub.

alcjphil

Revolution of What? Pedals are easy to find out, Wheels depend on what gear you are in

sd5782 

Wheel revolution

MilhouseJ

And it doesn't matter if he's pedaling or coasting, so that would rule out what gear he might be in.