overhauling freehubs?

[lph]

Dang, you ladies are good. Thank you for doing the searching I should have done myself, and for good tips Truth be told I was feeling a bit whiny that my expensive wheel was broken, but now I'm back to thinking I can fix it.

[DebW]

Looks like you can buy a replacement freehub body. I'm not familiar with Hope hubs, but typically the manufacturer doesn't recommend that you disassemble them. It may be possible to give it a try if you find instructions and the right tools. Or the manufacturer may be willing to replace the freehub body under warranty. I'd pull the freehub off, soak it in solvent for a few days, air dry it, see if the pawls operate, and then oil lightly.

[lph]

The hope site does have a video showing to overhaul the entire hub, according to it I can just pull the freehub body right off...? I'll give it a try. I'm hoping I can do this even though I have spokes and all attached, I'm not keen on rebuilding the wheel. I'll need a "special tool" (just looks like a piece of tubing to me) to pop it back on, but at the moment the wheel is useless so I've nothing to lose.

Thank goodness it's ski season here

[lph]

I did it! I'm queen of the universe! Woo-hoo!

Watched the Hope video about 3 times - with this cute British guy, he finishes by hefting the hub with a pleased grin and going "Now, that's a good 'ub" - couldn't pull the freehub off with a neat snap since I had an entire wheel attached but squiggled around with a screwdriver in the gap and suddenly it just was loose. The pawls and springs were a brown, corroded mess, but I pulled the springs out carefully and flushed with solvent. The pawls weren't going anywhere. Then some oil, wiggled around, cleaned a bit, finally some grease, reinstalled the springs and wiggled until they seemed to work as cleanly as they were going to. Watched the video another 3 times and was dismayed to see that I needed a special "seal tool" to get the freehub snapped back in place. Could find ONE store that had it - but out of stock right now. Searched some more, found s forum with at least two people who had just worked it on with their fingers. And it was a doddle - the "seal" is just a plastic ring that I carefully pushed on piecewise with a screwdriver. So much for the special Hope HTT175 Seal Tool

And my wheel now has a new cassette and spins sweetly! Hah!

[DebW]

Most excellent work, Queen of the Universe!

[OakLeaf]

Yay! Such a satisfying feeling.

[Becky]

Good job!