My freewheel was barely turning causing the bike chain to sag while riding. Your cleaning technique cleaned it out and now it spins wonderfully. It is oiled and now works great. Thanks, Richard
Hi there , I recommend my favorite lubricant mix of atf automatic transmission fluid can be Dextron and acetone , You can play with mix ratio . Aceton is major ingredient of carb and break clearing spray and atf lubricates transmission but has many cleaning agents. This mix works great on older bikes and winter rides. It will help with removal of freewheels as well This type of lube is inexpensive but very effective.
I took my late 1980s freewheel, a SunTour Pro-Compe, and the 2012 SRAM chain to work today for a good cleaning. A parts washer box with MEK flowing through the brush made quick work of getting all the gunk out from between the cogs and the inside of the freewheel body. It also made the chain nice and shiny silver again.They will dry for a few days before I relube them with Pedro's SynLube, also from the late 1980s. 409 spray cleaner did an excellent job of cleaning the chain rings. MEK-Methel Ethel Ketone. Serious stuff. Do not use without wearing heavy rubber gloves and a face shield. The freewheel removing tool for the SunTour has the same two tabs. 1980 Gios Torino Super Record with the first generation Campagnolo Athena group.
By the way I've been enjoying your videos greatly, and telling myself how awesome it is to have somebody who makes so many good quality helpful videos.
When reinstalling the freewheel put some anti-seize lubricant on the threads. That should make it a little easier to remove in the future and prevent potential damage to the notches in the freewheel.
Thanks for the video, Shyflirt1. The less work involved in this job, the better. I have used WD-40 and Phil Tenacious as well. It may help to dry the WD-40 so it doesn't dilute the oil and allow it to migrate off the races. Laziness is the mother of all invention. I leave the freewheel on the hub (cheater bars have their disadvantages, eh? I have also whacked myself.) I place the freewheel face-down on a rag, then spin and flush it with 10w30 from the hub flange side. Then let it drain onto a rag overnight. Freewheel life is less about the lubricant and cleaning method, and more about frequently removing the dirt from the bearing races. Whatever works for you is good enough. Again, thanks for the video.
Thanks, saw this after I dunked my whole set in thinners, can't refurb entirely because I can't budge the cone ring but this gives me confidence I've not completely ruined my freehub. Brilliant. More miles in it yet! 👍👍👍❤️
Motor oil mixed with petrol works perfect. The petrol makes the oil very light and fluid and once applied, the petrol evaporates quickly and leave the thick oil in place.
Just came across this video. First, the outside cleaning as shown is very likely to result in degreaser and contamination entering the interior of the freewheel. Secondly, ss the larger gap is always at the back of the freewheel, and most of the contamination enters there, it is preferable when flushing to do so from the front, so as to allow any larger particles to flow out freely from the back.
the soap won't hurt your freewheel buddy. it's being saturated with wd40 repeatedly. the remaining molecule of dish soap isn't going to implode your freewheel.
Could you do a video on how to clean/lube/maintain an adjustable wrench/crescent wrench? Also here's a tip I read on wikipedia: when applying significant force, the "fixed tip" on the wrench should point to the direction of movement, because it spreads the load onto the whole handle instead of just the moving part. Following that logic, you might have used it the other way round to reduce the chance of damaging the tool!
You can use a blower (not a hairdryer) and blow dry the freewheel to make sure enough of the WD40 gets out. Some gets evaporated faster and some simply gets pushed out, along with whatever old gunk it was trying to clean.
Mansur, try the whole process I go through in this video. If it doesn't free up, then replace it. It could just be dirt, dried grease, etc. Or there could be damaged bearings or other parts inside. But chances are it just needs cleaned and lubed.
Do u think its okay to clean the free wheel cassette submerged in a small container of degreaser, and do u think it's ok to re oil it with automatic transmision fluid .
Glad I saw this, I can't get the ring off mine to take the freewheel apart, waiting on an FR-7 to remove it for cleaning and to replace a broken spoke. Now that I know I can clean and lube it without disassembly I'll give it a try. Already ruined two screwdrivers with a hammer trying to get that ring off an old bike. Would be nice if they made a grease fitting to just inject into it.
@@RJTheBikeGuy Ah! You're right. I recall now you were using marine lube I think it was with the little gun to squirt it into the pawls and such?? I guess for whatever reason I was thinking grease.
Hi there! Thanks for all the brilliant videos! Is using oil instead of opening the freewheel and putting grease in sufficient enough to keep the bearings lubed after flushing everything out? And also, soaking a freewheel in diesel or paint thinner and then lubing it like you did here, would that be ok? Thanks again
A good synthetic oil is preferable to grease. These bearings only roll when when freewheeling, so they are not under the pressure axle bearings. I have not used diesel, so can't tell you.
I had a nice Suntour Winner freewheel that was practically frozen from dried, old grease and a general lack of use. My local bike co-op friend suggested letting it sit, submerged in bio-diesel for a long time, spinning it occasionally, and that will loosen and dissolve the oil. I must've forgotten about it in a pot of bio-diesel for MONTHS. It really loosened it up! I let it dry and then put Phil's Tenacious Oil in like RJ does, spun it for a long time and it's probably one of my favorite sounding, smoothest rolling freewheel I have. So yes, I think this can work.
Hi! It's interesting how you use oil instead of grease. I'll try your technique with an old Regina freewheel. Btw, I wonder if there's a more generic way to categorize that oil. Where I live, Phil tenacious oil it is not available, so I'm looking for a substitute instead. Could you please tell me any possible workaround? Thank you!!
I was under the impression that the 2 prong freewheels were usually early ( pre-index shifting) Sun Tour. The index shifting Sun Tour freewheels use a 4 prong tool.
I have a 4 prong suntour freewheel. What exactly makes it "designed for index shifting?" The cog teeth appear all identical (not like the Shimano Hyperglide types with ramps and things aligned a certain way...)
@@nofortunatesonII The 1986 bike is friction but I think the bottleneck here is the shifters. It might be index if I got some newer shifters. I'll look at the spacing on the freewheel next chance I get.
I just completed a complete disassembly, clean/degrease, then re-assembly of a Shimano MTB freewheel, with about 70 loose ball bearings. Although it was a good learning experience, good to get inside of it to see how it worked, I would have to say, for all the trouble, and also considering how quickly these things suck in dirt, a good reverse solvent flush followed with lube as depicted here, will suffice for me in the future.
Fun stuff, eh? I have another video where I disassemble a freewheel. It was kind of rusty, so I was going to trash it anyway. I didn't bother putting it back together. They are generally not worth taking apart and putting back together.
I flushed mine with WD-40 and then used mineral spirits, there was about 35 years worth of crud in mine. Mineral spirits don't leave as much residue as WD-40. I would let whatever solvent you use dry before adding oil, however.
I had watched another video that showed grease being used to lubricate the cassette, so I took mine all apart, cleaned it out, packed it with grease, and afterward the cassette wouldn't even spin, and the pawlings were stuck to the grease like glue, so it spun both ways. After taking it apart again, it was a sticky, gummy mess, and it was a heck of a job getting it all cleaned out of there again. So, I started searching for the best way to lubricate a freewheel, and came across this. I'm surprised that it's actually oil that's recommended to be used to lubricate it. While that certainly would allow it to spin freely, and wouldn't gum it up at all, I'm just wondering about the viscosity, and the oil staying in there and lubricating the bearings. How often to you oil your bearings...? How about weather affecting it, like if you get caught in the rain or something...?
Thanks RJ you did best to make me be a Master of fixings my bike in Northern Afghanistan far away from technology. you must tell me where are you from? cheers!
Do you have any experience with the Stein Tools freewheel injector? I've stumbled across it and wonder how it is used. No videos on youtube that I can find. Help RJ, you are our only hope!
I like to submerge the whole freewheel in a paint thinner such as varsol and use my wife's toothbrush to clean it. I do this twice as the first time , the thinner gets pretty dirty. Then I use leftover full synthetic car engine oil to lubricate the freewheel, chain and anything else that needs a lube around the house. Have been using synthetic oil for many, many years. My current cars take 0W20 and 5W30. Both work fine :) Note: Use a good quality bearing grease for repacking BB and hub bearings though.
I was thinking of going the "submerging" route too as I think my freewheel grease has really dried out and will be hard to thoroughly remove using the WD40 approach. I was planning on using petrol instead of paint thinner and then flushing out the petrol with a good spraying of WD40 after the petrol has done its job. I'll apply Phil's Tenacious oil as the final step. Anyone see any problems with using gasoline instead of paint thinner (beyond the environmental concerns)? P.S. I put my bottle of Phil's Tenacious Oil in a bath of very hot water to decrease its viscosity before applying to the freewheel. I think this improves its ability to penetrate into all the nooks and crannies of the freewheel's interior.
@@SignorLuigi I don't see a problem with using gas, but I'd just spray it with compressed air at that point, rather than WD-40. Not much point with WD-40 after soaking it in gas. It'll evaporate and be bone dry hella fastn primed for lube.
Hey RJ, dose this method strip the grease out from the bearings and only replace it with a thin oil? I just watched your other video "disassemble a free wheel" where you open the freewheel up, clean and re-grease the bearings. Would that be a better approach to get the freewheel in tip top condition?
Hi there, I was wondering what would be a good oil/lubricant to use on the sprockets. Would it be just the same stuff you use on the bike chain? I am looking for something that doesn't splatter all over and that keeps the mechanism relatively clean. Kind regards Tona
You don't need to oil the sprockets. I used Finish Line dry lube for my chain that leaves teflon in the hinges. I use Phil Tenacious Oil inside the freewheels/freehubs.
shyflirt1 Thanks for the reply. Why do you only lube the chain and not the actual gears? I have bought a new old stock Regina freewheel, and I was wondering if it is necessary to oil up the insides or if it's ok to run on the stock grease. It seems to spin freely. Your videos have been very helpful for my bike project.
shyflirt1 Thanks for the reply. I will soon install the new freewheel to my bike. I recently bought a Campagnolo aero seatpost, but i'm still not sure if it is original, as it has no campy logo. Would you know if this is a fake or how to tell if it's real? www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261700628422?_trksid=p2059210.m2750.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
hey Tona the best thing to do is clean your chain ,your de railers and all your gears and do the wax process, it works the absolute best ,just go to you tube and typein BEST CHAIN lube and the guy will walk you through it it is real easy.
medium-weight is maybe a 20W motor oil. "thin" would be OW-5W. I'm guessing they want a medium-weight in there because it'll resist rotational forces better. All that said, I've usually destroyed the smallest 2 rings by the time the internals start mucking up. It's a same, really, but all that grit just chews up the teeth.
Hi RJ - do you wash out the marine grease after changing the bearings, or is Phil Tenacious Oil just for subsequent lubrications? Thanks for all the videos. I’m about to refurb a 1970s Centurion with confidence.
Since I was a kid, I have always hated the sound of the cassette on all my bikes and learned how to eliminate that annoying sound with car oil. Even when I turn the pedal backwards. Lower quality car oil is better than the best bike oil for me.
Thanks for the super clear and helpful vids. However, I just tried what you suggest here (clean, thorough dose of WD 40, then medium weight oil). When I shake the freewheel after this, I can hear the bearings inside dancing around and there is play between the inside and outside (cogs) pieces. In my case (80s helicomatic freewheel) this solution is not good, would need to open the freewheel and put some proper dense grease to keep bearings in place. Unfortunately I dont have the tool to do so, so my freewheel is (I think) ruined.
Hey RJ - I have that mid 60s Schwinn Continental (posted to your FB page) and have been cleaning that 5 speed freewheel. I can't get it nice and shiny like yours, though. Even after soaking in paint thinner overnight and a variety of brushes, it's basically black other than the tops of the teeth. I know I can lightly sand off that layer (tried on the back of it) but is there any other solution?
If you remove the sprockets from each other, you could try a tube of Autosol. It was about the only thing I could find that would take off 20 years of tarnish and oxidation from an old bike I've been working on. It worked, but still required TONNES of elbow grease. But nothing else, all the steel wools, degreasers, white spirit, even Brasso, would work. The good thing about it too is it's not water based, so you're not getting watery based stuff into bearings etc. It's only a paste, and probably covalent/oil based paste at that. Try that.
Matej: what this guy posted below is worth a try. I've seen mechanics use carb cleaners in vehicle workshops on similar oily/stained gearing parts with very good results. "tv1canada1 year ago Hi there , I recommend my favorite lubricant mix of atf automatic transmission fluid can be Dextron and acetone , You can play with mix ratio . Aceton is major ingredient of carb and break clearing spray and atf lubricates transmission but has many cleaning agents. This mix works great on older bikes and winter rides. It will help with removal of freewheels as well This type of lube is inexpensive but very effective. Show less"
Thanks for the video!I have question.My bike's freewheel got totally stuck it's kinda fixie.When i pedaling it's ok bt whenever I stop pedaling the freewheel don't stop it keeps on moving forward.Any help will be appreciated.thank you
If you leave it on the wheel you can scrub and spin, scrub and spin. Then remove it from the wheel. I spin my freewheel up on a motorized wire buffing wheel after lube.
OK I'm confused about lubes.. If you mix a lighter oil (wd40/gt85) with a grease, the former degreases the latter does it not? I say this because I spray that stuff for cleaning/degreasing! Your freewheel was noisy before and after but I'm talking about the quiet ones where u can barely hear the ticks when riding. As a freewheel uses grease for quiet running, if you replace this with a "medium oil" won't that make it noisier especially if the WD40 residue is left which acts as a thinner or degreaser to the heavier oil?
Hold the wheel vertically with the freewheel away from you and the wrench horizontal and push down; you can't exert enough force pulling toward you as in the video, and it's not general practice; if it's stuck put the wheel with remover in a vice and rotate the wheel, you can generate sufficient torque that way.
Exactly! I saw an old bike mechanic do that the other day. Simple out. Put it into a good solid bench-mounted vice, and rotate the wheel. The right job.
After much deliberation among the various choice of oil on the shelf in my garage, I selected air compressor oil. It's a non detergent 30W oil. Seems about right.
It depends on the bike. Do you have a freewheel? A cassette? Of some other kind of hub system? If you have a freewheel, the easiest thing is to replace it. If you have a cassette, replace the freehub (I have a video for that). If you have some other kind of bike, it will likely be more involved.
shyflirt1, if I upload a video of the sound my 1995 bmx bike is producing from the rear sprocket (I think it's called a freewheel) will you help me diagnose the problem? it's making a clicking sound and it's just a single chain one gear.
Hey rj! I went to my local bike shop for them to clean my drive train and lube my freehub but after they do it my hub became quieter can u give me solutions or can u tell me what happened to my hubs?
@@RJTheBikeGuy :::: I'm sure you do just another thing to mention about it's usefulness. I'm in the middle of rebuilding an 83 Fuji Espree 25", getting a small clicking noise from the cluster when the wheel turns. Noticed the cluster wobbling just a little as well. No doubt it needs grease.
@Viktor M Nitrile is a good go-to. Can be bought by the box at Harbor Freight in different thicknesses. All but the heaviest weights are pretty much garbage.
Then it will be rusty in two weeks but nice and clean today, i do like WD40, may be do the WD40 before cleaning. How about using chain Saw bar oil very sticky oil, bob a bit of 3 in one in to thin it, a great job
I'm religious about getting any kind of degreaser out with compressed air. It can make a mess and get in your eyes, though. However, it is really not that big of a deal. At a certain point, whatever is left is going to flow out with some of the lubricant, so just lube it a little again if you're concerned. I kind of tend to the ShelBroCo OCD level of cleaning, though, so don't necessarily take your advice from me, lol.
Well in my case it's not stiff, but rather stuck open so I can't pedal. And it only happens when it's cold so there's no surefire way to test aside from just trying to flush all the stuff out.
For internal components such as ball bearings, and for threads of screws, use a grease. use a chain-specific lube for the chain. Other bare metal can take a solvent like WD40 or Ballistol You'll find that 3-in-1 gets really gummy really quickly.
Removing a cassette is different. Also, there are a couple kinds of cassettes. Here is for a Hyperglide cassette: th-cam.com/video/W4tQcAc9Lo0/w-d-xo.html and this is for a Uniglide cassette: th-cam.com/video/1zWYLb2RMPA/w-d-xo.html
Think I would have cut a 2 litre plastic coke bottle maybe about 3 inches higher than the cassette. poured the degreaser and let it soak for 15 min, and went an had a beer.
Much easier and safer to put the tool (Park FR-2) upside-down in a vice and crank the rim.... :) My investment in an ultrasonic cleaner has paid for itself 100 times!
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My freewheel was barely turning causing the bike chain to sag while riding. Your cleaning technique cleaned it out and now it spins wonderfully. It is oiled and now works great. Thanks, Richard
Hi there , I recommend my favorite lubricant mix of atf automatic transmission fluid can be Dextron and acetone ,
You can play with mix ratio .
Aceton is major ingredient of carb and break clearing spray and atf lubricates transmission but has many cleaning agents.
This mix works great on older bikes and winter rides.
It will help with removal of freewheels as well
This type of lube is inexpensive but very effective.
I took my late 1980s freewheel, a SunTour Pro-Compe, and the 2012 SRAM chain to work today for a good cleaning. A parts washer box with MEK flowing through the brush made quick work of getting all the gunk out from between the cogs and the inside of the freewheel body. It also made the chain nice and shiny silver again.They will dry for a few days before I relube them with Pedro's SynLube, also from the late 1980s.
409 spray cleaner did an excellent job of cleaning the chain rings.
MEK-Methel Ethel Ketone. Serious stuff. Do not use without wearing heavy rubber gloves and a face shield.
The freewheel removing tool for the SunTour has the same two tabs.
1980 Gios Torino Super Record with the first generation Campagnolo Athena group.
Excellent illustration, narration, and skills, and equally importantly a very nice person!
By the way I've been enjoying your videos greatly, and telling myself how awesome it is to have somebody who makes so many good quality helpful videos.
When reinstalling the freewheel put some anti-seize lubricant on the threads. That should make it a little easier to remove in the future and prevent potential damage to the notches in the freewheel.
Also prevent "bonks to the melon"...
Thanks for the video, Shyflirt1. The less work involved in this job, the better.
I have used WD-40 and Phil Tenacious as well. It may help to dry the WD-40 so it doesn't dilute the oil and allow it to migrate off the races.
Laziness is the mother of all invention. I leave the freewheel on the hub (cheater bars have their disadvantages, eh? I have also whacked myself.) I place the freewheel face-down on a rag, then spin and flush it with 10w30 from the hub flange side. Then let it drain onto a rag overnight.
Freewheel life is less about the lubricant and cleaning method, and more about frequently removing the dirt from the bearing races. Whatever works for you is good enough.
Again, thanks for the video.
Thanks, saw this after I dunked my whole set in thinners, can't refurb entirely because I can't budge the cone ring but this gives me confidence I've not completely ruined my freehub. Brilliant. More miles in it yet! 👍👍👍❤️
You are fine! Just flush it out and lube it. I recommend Phil Tenacious oil.
Is there an alternative use can use
Motor oil mixed with petrol works perfect.
The petrol makes the oil very light and fluid and once applied, the petrol evaporates quickly and leave the thick oil in place.
I'll stick with this method thanks. Phil Tenacious is what many bike shops use.
Motor oil will over lube and ball will be very loose, and it will become very noisy.
You say "cheater" we say "breaker" in the UK... Cos, something IS going to break. Your knuckle, your tool, or the component.
Just came across this video. First, the outside cleaning as shown is very likely to result in degreaser and contamination entering the interior of the freewheel. Secondly, ss the larger gap is always at the back of the freewheel, and most of the contamination enters there, it is preferable when flushing to do so from the front, so as to allow any larger particles to flow out freely from the back.
the soap won't hurt your freewheel buddy. it's being saturated with wd40 repeatedly. the remaining molecule of dish soap isn't going to implode your freewheel.
I can give it a listen.
Could you do a video on how to clean/lube/maintain an adjustable wrench/crescent wrench? Also here's a tip I read on wikipedia: when applying significant force, the "fixed tip" on the wrench should point to the direction of movement, because it spreads the load onto the whole handle instead of just the moving part. Following that logic, you might have used it the other way round to reduce the chance of damaging the tool!
You can use a blower (not a hairdryer) and blow dry the freewheel to make sure enough of the WD40 gets out. Some gets evaporated faster and some simply gets pushed out, along with whatever old gunk it was trying to clean.
Dedy Johan use a compress air can instead.
Yeah, a compressor or canned air. Get all that old junk and WD-40 out of there before wasting your sweet Phil lube
Carb cleaner and eye protection.
Remember, the WD stands for water displacing.. can be very handy to help dry it off.
Mansur, try the whole process I go through in this video. If it doesn't free up, then replace it. It could just be dirt, dried grease, etc. Or there could be damaged bearings or other parts inside. But chances are it just needs cleaned and lubed.
Do u think its okay to clean the free wheel cassette submerged in a small container of degreaser, and do u think it's ok to re oil it with automatic transmision fluid .
Great job R. you are become a teacher for sure
Glad I saw this, I can't get the ring off mine to take the freewheel apart, waiting on an FR-7 to remove it for cleaning and to replace a broken spoke. Now that I know I can clean and lube it without disassembly I'll give it a try. Already ruined two screwdrivers with a hammer trying to get that ring off an old bike. Would be nice if they made a grease fitting to just inject into it.
If pump grease into it, you will likely make it not work. The pawls will get stuck.
@@RJTheBikeGuy Ah! You're right. I recall now you were using marine lube I think it was with the little gun to squirt it into the pawls and such?? I guess for whatever reason I was thinking grease.
Thanks!
Love your videos. They’ve helped me return 2 old Specialized bike to their glory. Great stuff.
Hi there! Thanks for all the brilliant videos!
Is using oil instead of opening the freewheel and putting grease in sufficient enough to keep the bearings lubed after flushing everything out?
And also, soaking a freewheel in diesel or paint thinner and then lubing it like you did here, would that be ok?
Thanks again
A good synthetic oil is preferable to grease. These bearings only roll when when freewheeling, so they are not under the pressure axle bearings. I have not used diesel, so can't tell you.
I had a nice Suntour Winner freewheel that was practically frozen from dried, old grease and a general lack of use.
My local bike co-op friend suggested letting it sit, submerged in bio-diesel for a long time, spinning it occasionally, and that will loosen and dissolve the oil.
I must've forgotten about it in a pot of bio-diesel for MONTHS. It really loosened it up!
I let it dry and then put Phil's Tenacious Oil in like RJ does, spun it for a long time and it's probably one of my favorite sounding, smoothest rolling freewheel I have.
So yes, I think this can work.
Cool! I have one of those around here, along with the tools for it.
I use Mobil 1 full synthetic 5w20 motor oil. Works great
Is Phil's Tenacious Oil the same thing as chainsaw chain oil but at an astonishingly higher price?
Another masterclass tutorial. I am going to watch them all !!! Would you use car lub oil if you don't have tenacious one? thx Nick
Car oil would probably work.
Hai ......can you recommend any other lube because this product is not available in India
thanks for the guide..I will have no problem cleaning my cassette now.
Hi! It's interesting how you use oil instead of grease. I'll try your technique with an old Regina freewheel. Btw, I wonder if there's a more generic way to categorize that oil. Where I live, Phil tenacious oil it is not available, so I'm looking for a substitute instead. Could you please tell me any possible workaround? Thank you!!
Really useful, thanks so much for posting!
Can you use wet chain lube instead of the tenacious oil?
I was under the impression that the 2 prong freewheels were usually early ( pre-index shifting) Sun Tour. The index shifting Sun Tour freewheels use a 4 prong tool.
I have a 4 prong suntour freewheel. What exactly makes it "designed for index shifting?" The cog teeth appear all identical (not like the Shimano Hyperglide types with ramps and things aligned a certain way...)
Yes, I have a 1987 Bianchi that needed to 2-pronger.
I have two 4 prong suntour fw's from 1986 and 1990. The first is index and the 1990 is accushift index
@@johnsmithers284 Despite the series, they are both index. As far as I know, the two prong units were non-index.
@@nofortunatesonII The 1986 bike is friction but I think the bottleneck here is the shifters. It might be index if I got some newer shifters. I'll look at the spacing on the freewheel next chance I get.
Can I use Tri-Flow General Purpose Lubricant
Cool that's exactly how I do it right down to the W-D 40 and Phil Wood grease.
I just completed a complete disassembly, clean/degrease, then re-assembly of a Shimano MTB freewheel, with about 70 loose ball bearings. Although it was a good learning experience, good to get inside of it to see how it worked, I would have to say, for all the trouble, and also considering how quickly these things suck in dirt, a good reverse solvent flush followed with lube as depicted here, will suffice for me in the future.
Fun stuff, eh? I have another video where I disassemble a freewheel. It was kind of rusty, so I was going to trash it anyway. I didn't bother putting it back together. They are generally not worth taking apart and putting back together.
hey i had to do that i used thick grease to puter together. helps a bit
I flushed mine with WD-40 and then used mineral spirits, there was about 35 years worth of crud in mine. Mineral spirits don't leave as much residue as WD-40. I would let whatever solvent you use dry before adding oil, however.
True.
I had watched another video that showed grease being used to lubricate the cassette, so I took mine all apart, cleaned it out, packed it with grease, and afterward the cassette wouldn't even spin, and the pawlings were stuck to the grease like glue, so it spun both ways. After taking it apart again, it was a sticky, gummy mess, and it was a heck of a job getting it all cleaned out of there again.
So, I started searching for the best way to lubricate a freewheel, and came across this. I'm surprised that it's actually oil that's recommended to be used to lubricate it. While that certainly would allow it to spin freely, and wouldn't gum it up at all, I'm just wondering about the viscosity, and the oil staying in there and lubricating the bearings.
How often to you oil your bearings...? How about weather affecting it, like if you get caught in the rain or something...?
Thanks RJ
you did best to make me be a Master of fixings my bike in Northern Afghanistan far away from technology.
you must tell me where are you from?
cheers!
United States.
thanks alot Shyflirt1 .Hope it will do the job.
Do you have any experience with the Stein Tools freewheel injector? I've stumbled across it and wonder how it is used. No videos on youtube that I can find. Help
RJ, you are our only hope!
I like to submerge the whole freewheel in a paint thinner such as varsol and use my wife's toothbrush to clean it. I do this twice as the first time , the thinner gets pretty dirty. Then I use leftover full synthetic car engine oil to lubricate the freewheel, chain and anything else that needs a lube around the house. Have been using synthetic oil for many, many years. My current cars take 0W20 and 5W30. Both work fine :) Note: Use a good quality bearing grease for repacking BB and hub bearings though.
I was thinking of going the "submerging" route too as I think my freewheel grease has really dried out and will be hard to thoroughly remove using the WD40 approach. I was planning on using petrol instead of paint thinner and then flushing out the petrol with a good spraying of WD40 after the petrol has done its job. I'll apply Phil's Tenacious oil as the final step. Anyone see any problems with using gasoline instead of paint thinner (beyond the environmental concerns)? P.S. I put my bottle of Phil's Tenacious Oil in a bath of very hot water to decrease its viscosity before applying to the freewheel. I think this improves its ability to penetrate into all the nooks and crannies of the freewheel's interior.
@@SignorLuigi I don't see a problem with using gas, but I'd just spray it with compressed air at that point, rather than WD-40. Not much point with WD-40 after soaking it in gas. It'll evaporate and be bone dry hella fastn primed for lube.
@@mikagami69 Thanks!
How come you could open the free wheel without the chain whip? If I recall correctly you used a chain whip in the other video?
th-cam.com/video/qcgz3-XyNkI/w-d-xo.html
Hey RJ, dose this method strip the grease out from the bearings and only replace it with a thin oil? I just watched your other video "disassemble a free wheel" where you open the freewheel up, clean and re-grease the bearings. Would that be a better approach to get the freewheel in tip top condition?
Oils is better. I use grease in the other one to hold the bearings for assembly.
Hi there, I was wondering what would be a good oil/lubricant to use on the sprockets. Would it be just the same stuff you use on the bike chain? I am looking for something that doesn't splatter all over and that keeps the mechanism relatively clean. Kind regards Tona
You don't need to oil the sprockets. I used Finish Line dry lube for my chain that leaves teflon in the hinges. I use Phil Tenacious Oil inside the freewheels/freehubs.
shyflirt1 Thanks for the reply. Why do you only lube the chain and not the actual gears? I have bought a new old stock Regina freewheel, and I was wondering if it is necessary to oil up the insides or if it's ok to run on the stock grease. It seems to spin freely. Your videos have been very helpful for my bike project.
shyflirt1
Thanks for the reply. I will soon install the new freewheel to my bike. I recently bought a Campagnolo aero seatpost, but i'm still not sure if it is original, as it has no campy logo. Would you know if this is a fake or how to tell if it's real?
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261700628422?_trksid=p2059210.m2750.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
No idea. Sorry.
hey Tona the best thing to do is clean your chain ,your de railers and all your gears and do the wax process, it
works the absolute best ,just go to you tube and typein BEST CHAIN lube and the guy will walk you through it it is real easy.
medium-weight is maybe a 20W motor oil. "thin" would be OW-5W. I'm guessing they want a medium-weight in there because it'll resist rotational forces better.
All that said, I've usually destroyed the smallest 2 rings by the time the internals start mucking up. It's a same, really, but all that grit just chews up the teeth.
can I use the wd 40 bike degreaser for the whole thing? (he used like clr or something and then wd40)
Hi RJ - do you wash out the marine grease after changing the bearings, or is Phil Tenacious Oil just for subsequent lubrications? Thanks for all the videos. I’m about to refurb a 1970s Centurion with confidence.
The oil is better but won't hold the bearings in place for assembly.
Thanks so much!
Can you use triflow instead of Phil tenacious oil? Is there a certain torque spec when reinstalling the freewheel?
I recommend Phil Tenacious. Tri Flow is too thin.
Since I was a kid, I have always hated the sound of the cassette on all my bikes and learned how to eliminate that annoying sound with car oil. Even when I turn the pedal backwards. Lower quality car oil is better than the best bike oil for me.
If I soak the freewheel to get some rust off for the cleaning process, is the rest of the process the same? Would you advise against soaking it?
You still need to flush out the old grease. Evaporust does a good job,
Thanks for the super clear and helpful vids. However, I just tried what you suggest here (clean, thorough dose of WD 40, then medium weight oil). When I shake the freewheel after this, I can hear the bearings inside dancing around and there is play between the inside and outside (cogs) pieces. In my case (80s helicomatic freewheel) this solution is not good, would need to open the freewheel and put some proper dense grease to keep bearings in place. Unfortunately I dont have the tool to do so, so my freewheel is (I think) ruined.
You might be able to overhaul it. Might be trashed.
@@RJTheBikeGuy Overhaul how? Thanks
Though generally they are just replaced.
th-cam.com/video/T_vRbBRPr3c/w-d-xo.html
@@RJTheBikeGuy Cheers
Could you use degreaser (I have Park Tool Bio ChainBrite Cleaner) instead of WD40 to flush the freewheel?
Probably. I like WD-40 though for this.
Would It be an awful idea to use tri-flow as the final lube to go in the freewheel? You used Phil Wood, but would tri-flow suffice?
I am thinking Tri Flow might be too thin.
Hey RJ - I have that mid 60s Schwinn Continental (posted to your FB page) and have been cleaning that 5 speed freewheel. I can't get it nice and shiny like yours, though. Even after soaking in paint thinner overnight and a variety of brushes, it's basically black other than the tops of the teeth. I know I can lightly sand off that layer (tried on the back of it) but is there any other solution?
If you remove the sprockets from each other, you could try a tube of Autosol. It was about the only thing I could find that would take off 20 years of tarnish and oxidation from an old bike I've been working on. It worked, but still required TONNES of elbow grease. But nothing else, all the steel wools, degreasers, white spirit, even Brasso, would work. The good thing about it too is it's not water based, so you're not getting watery based stuff into bearings etc. It's only a paste, and probably covalent/oil based paste at that. Try that.
Matej: what this guy posted below is worth a try. I've seen mechanics use carb cleaners in vehicle workshops on similar oily/stained gearing parts with very good results.
"tv1canada1 year ago
Hi there , I recommend my favorite lubricant mix of atf automatic transmission fluid can be Dextron and acetone ,
You can play with mix ratio .
Aceton is major ingredient of carb and break clearing spray and atf lubricates transmission but has many cleaning agents.
This mix works great on older bikes and winter rides.
It will help with removal of freewheels as well
This type of lube is inexpensive but very effective.
Show less"
Thanks for the video!I have question.My bike's freewheel got totally stuck it's kinda fixie.When i pedaling it's ok bt whenever I stop pedaling the freewheel don't stop it keeps on moving forward.Any help will be appreciated.thank you
Remove the rim and spray some WD-40 into the freewheel hub. It should free up in short order. Then lube it as RJ demonstrates in this video.
i think a good chainsaw bar oil would work great as a lube
Royal Purple for car engines!
I don't think bar oil would be great, I feel like it would be too tacky? I think it would have a tendency to accumulate foreign material.
If you leave it on the wheel you can scrub and spin, scrub and spin. Then remove it from the wheel.
I spin my freewheel up on a motorized wire buffing wheel after lube.
Could you use chain lube for inside the freewheel?
I use and recommend Phil Tenacious. You are on your own with anything else.
OK I'm confused about lubes.. If you mix a lighter oil (wd40/gt85) with a grease, the former degreases the latter does it not? I say this because I spray that stuff for cleaning/degreasing!
Your freewheel was noisy before and after but I'm talking about the quiet ones where u can barely hear the ticks when riding.
As a freewheel uses grease for quiet running, if you replace this with a "medium oil" won't that make it noisier especially if the WD40 residue is left which acts as a thinner or degreaser to the heavier oil?
Grease can cause the pawls to stick. Especially in cold weather. Most of the WD-40 is gone, and what remains is insignificant with the Phil Tenacious.
Is the "3 in one machine oil bad for my bike? how about lithium grease? I've been hearing about that as well?
petey75nyc I don't recommend 3 in 1 oil for bikes. There are better lubicants for various stuff on bikes and I mention them in my videos.
RJ The Bike Guy thanks!
Can I use break cleaner instead of WD-40?
*shrug* Never tried it. WD-40 works fine.
Hold the wheel vertically with the freewheel away from you and the wrench horizontal and push down; you can't exert enough force pulling toward you as in the video, and it's not general practice; if it's stuck put the wheel with remover in a vice and rotate the wheel, you can generate sufficient torque that way.
Exactly! I saw an old bike mechanic do that the other day. Simple out. Put it into a good solid bench-mounted vice, and rotate the wheel. The right job.
after you use a the wd40 can you use water to rinse it out?
No. You don't not want water in your freewheel.
Thanks
After much deliberation among the various choice of oil on the shelf in my garage, I selected air compressor oil. It's a non detergent 30W oil. Seems about right.
Wouldn't the left over WD40 just dissolve the new oil?
Try to get as much of the WD40 out as you can. There shouldn't be enough to dissolve the new oil.
I have been searching but when I ride nothing happens my petals don't engage they just spin. What should I do sir?
It depends on the bike. Do you have a freewheel? A cassette? Of some other kind of hub system? If you have a freewheel, the easiest thing is to replace it. If you have a cassette, replace the freehub (I have a video for that). If you have some other kind of bike, it will likely be more involved.
What kind of cassette do I have if it makes no sound? It looks like a normal cassette with 7 speeds.
It's a freewheel. th-cam.com/video/qcgz3-XyNkI/w-d-xo.html
@@RJTheBikeGuy Hey RJ, I've found that it is actually a cassette www.specialized.com/us/en/hardrock/p/22836?color=&searchText=8101-7713
Was it raining when you filmed this?
I believe it was.
What causes the lock on the freewheel to become loose?
I don't understand your question?
shyflirt1, if I upload a video of the sound my 1995 bmx bike is producing from the rear sprocket (I think it's called a freewheel) will you help me diagnose the problem? it's making a clicking sound and it's just a single chain one gear.
Hey rj! I went to my local bike shop for them to clean my drive train and lube my freehub but after they do it my hub became quieter can u give me solutions or can u tell me what happened to my hubs?
Yeah, they lubed your freehub. So now it is quieter. That is not a bad thing!
@@RJTheBikeGuy THANKS ! will it comeback to its old sound when sooner or later?
@@jethroclaro4005 When the lubrication wears out. QUIET IS NOT A BAD THING!!!
@@RJTheBikeGuy THANKS!
would chain lube work?
No. Chain lube is would probably not make a good lube for this.
great job :) +like
Thank you! Cheers!
WD 40 is for water dispersion.
Great to use on your chain and gearing after you been riding in rain, water or after washing your bike.
Yes, I know what WD40 is. But it is largely made of solvent which will dissolve the old grease.
@@RJTheBikeGuy :::: I'm sure you do just another thing to mention about it's usefulness.
I'm in the middle of rebuilding an 83 Fuji Espree 25", getting a small clicking noise from the cluster when the wheel turns.
Noticed the cluster wobbling just a little as well. No doubt it needs grease.
@@bigstick5278 I also have a small clicking noice from my 70s road bike. Did you manage to fix yours?
Heead wacking part seems so familiar ;-)
Good video, just one comment, you are working with a lot of chemicals on your hands, probably a good idea to use some rubber gloves
was thinking the same thing
@Viktor M Nitrile is a good go-to. Can be bought by the box at Harbor Freight in different thicknesses. All but the heaviest weights are pretty much garbage.
Then it will be rusty in two weeks but nice and clean today, i do like WD40, may be do the WD40 before cleaning. How about using chain Saw bar oil very sticky oil, bob a bit of 3 in one in to thin it, a great job
Why would it be rusty in two weeks? Never had that.
#RJ THE BIKE GUY.i something to ask.i use a motorcycle motorex chain lube in my mtb chain .its that okay.tnx
*shrug*
I find it hard to believe you got all the WD-40 out of there. What happens when it mixes with the oil you're putting in?
There is not enough to be significant.
I'm religious about getting any kind of degreaser out with compressed air. It can make a mess and get in your eyes, though. However, it is really not that big of a deal. At a certain point, whatever is left is going to flow out with some of the lubricant, so just lube it a little again if you're concerned. I kind of tend to the ShelBroCo OCD level of cleaning, though, so don't necessarily take your advice from me, lol.
would soaking it work?
You need to flush the old stuff out by working it. And you need to work the new lube in. So soaking it alone won't do much.
I just pop mine in the ultrasonic cleaner with warm simple green. Comes out like new! No work!!
I hope you relube it!
Well in my case it's not stiff, but rather stuck open so I can't pedal. And it only happens when it's cold so there's no surefire way to test aside from just trying to flush all the stuff out.
th-cam.com/video/XUSBr7Q0HmU/w-d-xo.html
How about 3in1 oil? Should I stop using it on everything in my bike?
+Eddie Valladao There are much better lubricants you can use.
Today I got some Polylube 1000 Polyurea grease PPL-I the brand is Parktool. Is that better for everything?
A single lubricant is not going to work for everything.
For internal components such as ball bearings, and for threads of screws, use a grease.
use a chain-specific lube for the chain.
Other bare metal can take a solvent like WD40 or Ballistol
You'll find that 3-in-1 gets really gummy really quickly.
Good to see it rains cats and dogs there too.
Sometimes.
This is the original fidget spinner video.
I do have a lot come in very rusty, i now oil spray them
Can I soak a free wheel in a rust remover soak? Thanks
Yes. th-cam.com/video/1zXzFFXbuMw/w-d-xo.html
I do not understand, is this the same process for removing only the cassette? Appears you're using the same tools.
Removing a cassette is different. Also, there are a couple kinds of cassettes.
Here is for a Hyperglide cassette: th-cam.com/video/W4tQcAc9Lo0/w-d-xo.html
and this is for a Uniglide cassette: th-cam.com/video/1zWYLb2RMPA/w-d-xo.html
I’m a skateboard guy who also bikes is there anyway redds speed cream lubricant will work in place of Phil’s?
*shrug* never used it.
Think I would have cut a 2 litre plastic coke bottle maybe about 3 inches higher than the cassette. poured the degreaser and let it soak for 15 min, and went an had a beer.
You should have used the hook to clean first then use the stiff brush
No wrench or cheater bar gets used for this here. I just clamp the tool in the bench vise, and rotate the rim by hand.
If you have a bench vise.
where is the video?
''I will show you how to cleeeeeean and luuube'' you say it singing
it's like a fidget spinner
Much easier and safer to put the tool (Park FR-2) upside-down in a vice and crank the rim.... :) My investment in an ultrasonic cleaner has paid for itself 100 times!
My favorite method and more leverage than using a vise: th-cam.com/video/KVCOjZ4wCgA/w-d-xo.html
They make a tool to grease a freewheel properly
I’m pretty sure all cassettes have bearings in it so cleaning this way won’t be good!
I just threw my cassette cogs in a pie pan of gasoline and let them clean themselves in 45 seconds lol
My friend and best buy another k7
Using a shifting spanner on a job like that is a no-no. To then suggest to actually use a "cheater bar" is even worse!
@@BIKEMAN21 You might still be alive, but your wrench won't be for much longer.
What are you talking about?