Soody

I serviced this 8 speed shimano hub the other day
the metal dust cap infront of the DS cone would not pry off (infact i bent it a little bit trying) (dunno what i should have done there...)
The hub was filthy and not being able to get in to the cup with a rag i resorted to spraying with degreaser and hosing it out to clean , which seemed to get it good
Then let it dry in the sun for a day and repacked with fresh grease.

The hub spins well now, but the freehub feels a bit rough/dry, presumably as it's been affected by the degreaser and the spraying. It works fine but you can feel it coasting in the stand and you can feel it coasting while riding. There is also (and I think was before) a little play in the freehub.

What could/should I do about this? The worst scenario would be breaking it as it doesn't not work.

Andrew R Stewart 

The high road is to revisit the hub overhaul but with the axle and its bearings removed then remove the freehub body from the hub shell. A 10mm (IIRC) hex key (needs a long lever or bench vice to hold the key) will fit inside the hub and engage the FH body's retaining and hollow bolt. Once free of the shell, the FH body can also be cleaned in solvent and fresh oil can be dripped through it. Reassemble and try to do the best job of removing the old grease from behind the dust cap (I find a small wad of paper towel on the end of a screwdriver helps wipe out the cup). Make sure the FH body's retaining bolt is both greased and fully tightened. I suspect that Shimano (or maybe Park Tool) has a specific torque for this. I generally tighten down this bolt to around what I would with an axle nut or a bit more. Andy

Soody

cheers
i think I will do as you say

is this something that can often go wrong though? I'd kick myself if it did seeing as it works fine enough now

LV2TNDM

Yes, remove the freehub body, flush with your choice of cleaner and then introduce ample light oil. Might want to be sure to get out the excess, as it will just end up all over your wheel if you don't. Be sure to keep an eye on the spacer between the freehub body and hub shell (if there is one). It can be easy to miss and lose. Freehub won't mount properly without it.

Trick to many Shimano hub overhauls: Don't remove the dust caps! They're VERY prone to bending and difficult to get seated back in place without damaging. Just leave them; it makes hub overhaul more challenging, but it's worth it.

Andrew R Stewart 

Sure, anything can go wrong. But with the right tools and mechanical common sense the likelihood of messing up is less than if one is clueless and tries to make do with the wrong tools.

If you have access to compressed air the flushing out, from the FH body, of old lube and solvent will go faster. I will place the FH body on a paper towel when I drip in fresh lube. The paper will wick away excessive lube in a less messy way. Andy