Hub overhaul - now no clicking from paws

Overhauled my XT rear hub with very generous amounts of Phil Wood
grease, now the paws don't click when I spin the wheel. They still
engage and don't feel like they are sticking. I'm guessing some of the
grease got squished up into that area. Anybody ever had this happen?

-n

The answer is never to use grease, only use a few drop of light oil only.
The grease will begin to harden over time, this will cause you no end of
problems.



"NoNeedForAName" wrote in message
...
Overhauled my XT rear hub with very generous amounts of Phil Wood grease,
now the paws don't click when I spin the wheel. They still engage and
don't feel like they are sticking. I'm guessing some of the grease got
squished up into that area. Anybody ever had this happen?

-n

Justin Carline wrote:
The answer is never to use grease, only use a few drop of light oil only.
The grease will begin to harden over time, this will cause you no end of
problems.


No grease on hub bearings? Are you sure? I did not grease the paws
directly, it got pushed up there by accident.

-n

Grease on the hubs or bearings, oil on the pawls and ratchet mechanism.


"NoNeedForAName" wrote in message
...
Justin Carline wrote:
The answer is never to use grease, only use a few drop of light oil only.
The grease will begin to harden over time, this will cause you no end of
problems.


No grease on hub bearings? Are you sure? I did not grease the paws
directly, it got pushed up there by accident.

-n

NoNeedForAName wrote:

Justin Carline wrote:

The answer is never to use grease, only use a few drop of light oil
only. The grease will begin to harden over time, this will cause you
no end of problems.


No grease on hub bearings? Are you sure? I did not grease the paws
directly, it got pushed up there by accident.

I would remove the freehub and flush it. It will mean regreasing the RH
bearing, but that's better than the pawls clogging on the road.

Zog The Undeniable wrote:

I would remove the freehub and flush it.

Zog,

Could you please explain how to flush a freewheel body.

Thanks,

n

NoNeedForAName wrote:

Could you please explain how to flush a freewheel body.

Remove axle and RH ball bearings. Insert a 10mm allen key (that's a
very big one) right into and beyond the race, and remove the freehub
body; it's a normal RH thread so turn it anticlockwise. Keep the hollow
bolt and washer safe. At the back of the freehub there is a seal to
remove - note which way round it goes. Run a very light oil (sewing
machine oil?) through the body to flush it thoroughly, so that the pawl
noise comes back. Replace in the opposite order to removal.

There is a rare tool called a Morningstar Freehub Buddy which makes the
flushing more effective. You can use it to flush properly with solvent
then blow dry with compressed air before relubricating.

If you can't get the pawl noise back, buy a new freehub body. They're
not outrageously expensive.

Zog The Undeniable wrote:
Remove axle and RH ball bearings. Insert a 10mm allen key (that's a
very big one) right into and beyond the race, and remove the freehub
body; it's a normal RH thread so turn it anticlockwise. Keep the hollow
bolt and washer safe. At the back of the freehub there is a seal to
remove - note which way round it goes. Run a very light oil (sewing
machine oil?) through the body to flush it thoroughly, so that the pawl
noise comes back. Replace in the opposite order to removal.

There is a rare tool called a Morningstar Freehub Buddy which makes the
flushing more effective. You can use it to flush properly with solvent
then blow dry with compressed air before relubricating.

If you can't get the pawl noise back, buy a new freehub body. They're
not outrageously expensive.

Great! Good as new now - I owe you one

-n

Go here for more instructions and pictures!:

http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/..._freehub.shtml

NoNeedForAName wrote:
Overhauled my XT rear hub with very generous amounts of Phil Wood
grease, now the paws don't click when I spin the wheel. They still
engage and don't feel like they are sticking. I'm guessing some of the
grease got squished up into that area. Anybody ever had this happen?

I wouldn't worry about it. You might have problems in cold weather if
the grease stiffens enough to cause the pawls to stick. I don't know how
you got grease in there, things are pretty well sealed. You need a big
Allen (10mm) to get the freehub body off of the freehub, you can then
carefully remove the thin rubber o-ring like seal from the back side and
flush/oil around the many tiny ball bearings there, without dismantling
the freehub body. I generally buy rear freehubs when I see a good sale
and use them for parts -- cheaper than buying parts separately, and all
the Shimano stuff is usually interchangeable.