Freewheel removal - I will not be defeated!

[simon.r]

The combined power of mine and MrsR's thighs has destroyed the 6 speed freewheel on our cheap tandem, so it needs replacing (or at least removing and looking at).

I assume it was assembled without a drop of anything resembling lubricant and it's well and truly seized on.

While trying to remove it on Sunday evening I destroyed my chain whip.

I splashed out on a quality new chain whip which arrived in the post today.

I have now destroyed my freewheel remover!

A new one will be ordered imminently.

Yes, I could pay a shop to remove it, or it'd probably be cheaper to buy a new wheel, but I will not be defeated!

 

[fossyant]

I have a garden hoe I put on the end of a big adjustable spanner for those occasions. 6ft spanner !!!

I remember one occasion where I couldn't remove the freewheel. On my last try, something slipped and I fell backwards across the drive. That's it, to the shop tomorrow. Tomorrow came and I thought I'd give it one last go, it was loose.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Get a cassette remover like this, or a similar freewheel remover if it is a freewheel.
Supplement with a long piece of strong tubing, I use the bottom half of an old garden parasol.

 

[Tim Hall]

I can't see why you need a chain whip to get a freewheel off. Freehub yes, but surely you just (hah!) screw the tool to into place and give it lots of welly. Holding the tool in a vice and turning the wheel is a good approach.

 

[I like Skol]

The combined power of mine and MrsR's thighs has destroyed the 6 speed freewheel on our cheap tandem, so it needs replacing (or at least removing and looking at).

I assume it was assembled without a drop of anything resembling lubricant and it's well and truly seized on.

While trying to remove it on Sunday evening I destroyed my chain whip.

View attachment 125685

I splashed out on a quality new chain whip which arrived in the post today.

I have now destroyed my freewheel remover!

View attachment 125684

A new one will be ordered imminently.

Yes, I could pay a shop to remove it, or it'd probably be cheaper to buy a new wheel, but I will not be defeated!

Amateur!

 

[Karlt]

I broke a bench vice removing a freewheel. Horrible things. "Hey, let's arrange things so that this bit is tightened onto that bit constantly by leg power from people who with well developed leg muscles. What could possibly be the problem with that?" The freehub+cassette couldn't come quickly enough.

 

[simon.r]

I can't see why you need a chain whip to get a freewheel off. Freehub yes, but surely you just (hah!) screw the tool to into place and give it lots of welly. Holding the tool in a vice and turning the wheel is a good approach.

If the freewheel's working you can just (hah! indeed) unscrew it, but as the freewheel's broken the tool alone is just turning the freewheel and not loosening it.

I don't have access to a decent vice. My small clamp onto the table vice is nowhere near man enough for the job - I've tried it!

 

[I like Skol]

Something not adding up in this thread! If it is a freewheel then there is no need for a chain whip if broken or not. If it is a cassette then you will need the whip regardless of if the pawls have failed or not. I reckon you are a complete amateur and you are actually trying to tighten the freewheel by mistake!

 

[simon.r]

Something not adding up in this thread! If it is a freewheel then there is no need for a chain whip if broken or not. If it is a cassette then you will need the whip regardless of if the pawls have failed or not. I reckon you are a complete amateur and you are actually trying to tighten the freewheel by mistake!

I'm confused.

It's definitely a freewheel. I am definitely not trying to tighten it. I am 99% certain that when the tool is inserted and turned (anti-clockwise) the whole freewheel is moving but not unscrewing. Thinking about it, you're right - by using a chain whip I'm just stopping it unscrewing. I am a twit. Is it possible that something else is broken?

I am currently sat inside in my pyjamas, the wheel is in the garage, so I'm not going to check it tonight.

I will report back tomorrow!

 

[Deleted member 1258]

If the freewheel's working you can just (hah! indeed) unscrew it, but as the freewheel's broken the tool alone is just turning the freewheel and not loosening it.

I don't have access to a decent vice. My small clamp onto the table vice is nowhere near man enough for the job - I've tried it!

I presume you have a freewheel in both directions, no drive? I've dealt with one of these in the past, they're a bugger to shift. How long has it been on the bike? If the pawls are just sticky rather than broken it is possible to dismantle the block and unstick the pawls.

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

I don't have access to a decent vice. My small clamp onto the table vice is nowhere near man enough for the job - I've tried it!

I have not the best vice at home. If I ever have a freewheel like that whilst working at home, I pop across to my friendly LBS. The freewheel is quickly removed for the cost of a couple of pints. At the right shop it's really not an expensive job. Avoid the Halfords and Evans' of this world - you want the scruffy looking corner shop with cobwebs in the windows

It sounds like it's a screw on freewheel, so there isn't need for the chain whip, just the right freewheel remover. It looks like the broken one is a lockring remover rather than a freewheel remover. They look similar but they are not identical nor interchangeable. The splines are wider on a Shimano pattern freewheel remover than on the lockring remover - it shouldn't rattle about on the splines when inserted

Freewheel remover in vice, pointing up
Sit the wheel onto it and engage the freewheel into the splines
If you like, you can pop a wheel nut on the freewheel side to keep it engaged, stop it lifting as you try to turn the wheel anti-clockwise. But only put the nut on loosely as the freewheel/tool as it unscews will otherwise tighten onto the wheel nut - as soon as you've shifted it a bit, you can take the nut off as the brute force will be no longer needed.

 

[simon.r]

I presume you have a freewheel in both directions, no drive? I've dealt with one of these in the past, they're a bugger to shift. How long has it been on the bike? If the pawls are just sticky rather than broken it is possible to dismantle the block and unstick the pawls.

Yes, that's it, no drive in either direction. It's done less than 100 miles, but it's a cheap Falcon freewheel on a cheap wheel. Doesn't look as if the block can be dismantled.

My head's hurting now, I'll have a re-think tomorrow and update this thread.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Yes, that's it, no drive in either direction. It's done less than a 100 miles, but it's a cheap Falcon freewheel on a cheap wheel. Doesn't look as if the block can be dismantled.

Many years ago, when 6 speed was cutting edge technology we would dismantle them to clean and regrease them. There would be a plate with two holes in it and we would use a punch and a hammer to unscrew the plate, it was an opposite thread, clockwise to unscrew it, lots of small ball bearings inside and when we regreased we had to be careful not to get grease on the pawls or they would stick, we would tie the pawls down with cotton so we could reassemble it then remove the cotton.

 

[MichaelW2]

Use a big bench vice. Spray some WD40 and leave for a few days. Unscrew by the rim, much easier with an inflated tyre in place.
Some removal methods advise holding the tool in place with an axle nut or QR. In a vice, gravity will do the work. If you unscrew hard into the QR/nut you may get just as stuck .

 

[fossyant]

A photo of the 'freewheel' would help and we can confirm if its a freewheel or freehub with cassette. Picture from the side please.