bikeman9000

Hi all,

I have an 87 Peugeot road bike which has always had a sticky freehub. When I move the bike forward the pedals move too, sometimes the chain jumps, etc. It seemed to get a bit better with use. I didn't ride it for a few years and now it is quite bad (chain jumps quite a lot) wheel hub assembly.

I soaked the freehub in mineral spirits for ~24 hours, taking it out every once in a while to spin it around a few times. Sometimes it spins relatively freely, but it frequently 'catches' on something internally and spinning stops. If I press in on the inner cylinder of the freehub (sorry not familiar with this term) while attempting to spin I can free it up. It sounds/feels vaguely metal-on-metal -- not gummy like dried up grease. I hoped that applying lube might make it fully free but no, the 'catching' persists. I tried to flush it again, this time with WD-40, then mineral spirits, then lube, but nothing improved.

I haven't tried putting everything back together yet as I'm waiting on some grease in the mail. I feel like there is a small chance

I was just wondering if the problem I'm facing sounds familiar to anyone. E.g. is the hub body perhaps dying? If so, am I able to convert to re-use the 'inner' part of the tube and convert to a hyperglide system, or is the problem going to persist if I do that? Or maybe it's bad bearings inside the freehub?

Any feedback appreciated.

grumpus

You seem to have covered the possibilities with this freehub - there's a piece of junk in there that isn't going away unless you pull it apart (although it might get chewed up and spat out with further use, or I suppose it could lock solid). Most UG freehub bodies can be replaced with HG bodies, the exceptions being early UG and various Dura Ace. It's worth looking on eBay for new old stock parts like this, particularly the bodies that have both internal and external threads so can take either UG or HG cassettes.

bikeman9000

Thanks for the response. And I suppose I'm asking for trouble if I try to take it apart and then put it back together? I'm not very mechanically knowledgeable and any problems that require creative solutions might be too much for me. My understanding is that putting the freehub back together properly isn't super straightforward and requires a bit of general know-how.

dedhed

​​​​​​

bikeman9000

Will any hyperglide freehub be compatible with my uniglide? I am fairly certain it is not first generation. And then I can just slap any 7 speed cassette on?

bikeman9000

I did a search of ebay and amazon and unless I'm missing something it seems that 7 speed hyperglide freehubs are pretty hard to come by. I see only two different ones on ebay from the same seller with no part number. Maybe I'm better off just taking apart and cleaning the one I have, assuming there is no major damage to the body itself.

rccardr 

It would be a good idea to post pics of the part you are describing into your gallery (you can't post 'em yet) to ensure that answers are factually correct.
1987 was a period when manufacturers were slowly moving from freewheels to freehubs.
I'm not personally familiar with Peugeot bikes of that model year but would not be surprised if your bike was equipped with a freewheel.
Which would be good for you as they are MUCH easier to replace as a unit.

bikeman9000

Thanks for the response. I've just created an album with two pictures of the freehub/freewheel. I don't know how to link to it (I tried to "Share" but nothing happened) but hopefully you can see it in my profile. The dustcap says "Shimano 6D".

rccardr 

Well, that's definitely a Shimano 7 speed UG freehub.
I happen to have one of those in my parts stash and it's practically new.
Yours for the cost of postage, e-mail me at rccardr@cox.net since you can't PM yet.

dmark 

I have one from an Arabesque group that was like that and soaked it in a peanut butter jar for a couple of months shaking frequently and occasionally removing and spinning and it cleared up nicely. I then repeated the process in straight 30w oil for a shorter period.
Old example was not removable or it would be 7 speed now.

bikeman9000

Hm I never thought of just leaving it in solvent for a while but maybe it's worth a shot. I had given up on solvent as it seemed like there was metal stuck inside but I could easily be wrong about that. I guess I have nothing to lose by trying it.