new BBSHD: need advice, can't get the gear cover back on

[BicycleJoe]

I bought a new BBSHD, successfully installed and tested it on my bike. Then I opted to pull off the gear cover to check/ add grease. The big gear came up off the the free-wheel ratchet pawls. Now I can't get it to settle back down over the pawls so that the cover will go all the way on. It's not hung up on the alignment-pegs of the case. The pawls are preventing the big gear from dropping in to place.

I've read some posts and watched some videos on the subject. Some people have more difficulty than others getting the big gear over the pawls. People advise patiently jiggling and sometimes turning the shaft backwards to allow the pawls to fold in, out of the way. I still can't get it to go on.

The bike is complete, springtime is here. I'm open to any suggestions.

 

[amberwolf]

Are the pawls sticking out of a core and the gear a ring going over that? Or are the pawls sticking out of the inside of a ring and the gear a core going into that?

If the former, you could wrap something (wire, string, etc) around the pawls to hold them in that can be pulled back out once the gear is in.

If the latter, you could use a cylinder of thin plastic to hold them in, as long as there is access to the pawls with the gear in place.

 

[BicycleJoe]

Thank you for your well-reasoned reply amberwolf. My problem freewheel is the former, pawls radiating out from the center. I've tried rapped electrical tape around the pawls and was able to get the thing all the way on. The problem is that a large roller bearing engages with the casing/casting before the pawls reach the inside of the toothed area. That bearing prevents the use of tape, string or wire because they can not be pulled out.

My next course of action is to order a new freewheel body (central casting w/ spring and pawls). There must be something irregular about mine, as this issue is not common.

 

[amberwolf]

There is almost certainly a way they do this at the factory to make it take only seconds to install, if we can figure it out. Keep in mind I have never held one of these in my hands, so I don't have direct experience with disassembly or reassembly of it, just seen a lot of images of various parts over the years here.

I poked around for a minute but didn't find anything I"m certain of for the parts you're referring to and the casing, etc, to see what I could figure out. Is this the gear in question, and the pawls?


If so, wouldn't it be best to remove the pawl unit, insert it into the gear, then install the whole thing onto the shaft?

 

[BicycleJoe]

Yes! That is the solution amberwolf. I don't know how I didn't see it sooner. Thanks again...