Originally Posted by
JohnDThompson
SunTour "Perfect" and "Pro-Compe" freewheels used shims to adjust the bearing pre-load. The "Winner" freewheels used a cup-and-cone arrangement with a special wrench to set the pre-load:
^ Spot on! It's usually the red Park pin spanner that tightens the freewheel "cone." And it's almost always counter-clockwise threads. Yes, you may be able to adjust preload by changing the number of paper thin washers. However, I expect today's freewheels to lack these. If you do remove the cone, you MUST hold the body with the cogs on it down! If you lift it at all, you'll have about 60 tiny bearings come out of the other side and drop all over the floor! Yes, freewheel overhaul is not for the faint of heart. But if you have the proper tools and work area, you can do it.
PS I have (or had) that tool. Brings back some good old memories!