seized freehub...

[oliglynn]

My freehub seems to have seized up. There's a tiny bit of play trying to turn it backwards, but then it just locks pretty solid. I don't have the tools to take the cassette off and I was wondering if spraying WD40 into it to try and free it up would be the right thing to do?

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

It is possible that it is clogged with some grit/muck inside and/or the pawls are stuck/damaged. You might want to take a look at this especially if the wheel is valuable.

 

[snailracer]

Freehubs usually slip when they get dirty or the lube dries on the pawls. A locked freehub sounds more like it's broken - out of place ball bearings or broken pawl.

I don't think you've got much to lose by blasting it with WD40. If it starts working again, be sure to relube with proper oil.

 

[mickle]

WD40 shouldn't be used anywhere on your bike.

Unless you want to remove remnants of sticker glue from the paintwork for which it is brilliant.

 

[Davidc]

WD40 shouldn't be used anywhere on your bike.

Nonesense. It's brilliant for any number of jobs.

Getting tar and other road grot off the frame
Sprayed on a cloth to help clean the spokes
Cleaning oil off the D bit of locks if they touch the chain
Cleaning up chain breakers after use to stop your hands sliding around too much next time you use them
Cleaning up wheel rims when they get covered in black grot - makes my brakes work better and squeak less.

In fact anything where you want to get nasty dirty oily stuff off the bike (provided you can keep it well clear of bearings, the chain, or anything else that you want to stay lubricated).

 

[mickle]

It's not good for metal.

 

[oliglynn]

Ok - contrasting advice there - Mickle - what's the reasons against using WD40? Could it cause damage?

It's less than a year old, and has done around 1200 miles - just standard components that came on my allez elite - not particularly valuable.

 

[Davidc]

It's not good for metal.

Isn't that just because it leaves it with no oil on to protect from corrosion?

I generally keep a can of it because it's such a good cleaner and low level degreaser!The stuff's no good as a lubricant though

 

[potsy]

Ok - contrasting advice there - Mickle - what's the reasons against using WD40? Could it cause damage?

It's less than a year old, and has done around 1200 miles - just standard components that came on my allez elite - not particularly valuable.

I use it (or a cheap copy anyway) for a lot of different applications on my bike, most people who advise against it are doing so because it strips away any decent lubricant that is already there, hubs, bottom bracket, chain etc.

 

[Zoiders]

It's not good for metal.

Of course it's good for metal, it's what it was designed for, it makes a perfectly good cleaner and anti-oxidant becauae that is what it's designed to do, it's not multi purpose lube because thats not it's job but thats true of most similar products on the market of the same weight and viscosity.

Just what is going on with the great WD40 Jihad on here at the moment?

It's just snobbery because of the DIY connection with WD40 - it started life as a professional engineering product, it's possible to wreck a bike with plusgas or GT85 in exactly the same way as it is with WD40, that doesn't make them a bad product though.

 

[mickle]

Ok - contrasting advice there - Mickle - what's the reasons against using WD40? Could it cause damage?

It's less than a year old, and has done around 1200 miles - just standard components that came on my allez elite - not particularly valuable.

There's no contrasting advice as far as your OP is concerned - I think we would all agree that you shouldn't spray that sh!t anywhere near your hubs.

Less than a year? Wheel it back in to the shop asap.

My brother (spit) who works for one of Britain's oldest and most highly esteemed (German owned) automotive carriage manufacturers reckons that WD40 should not be allowed anywhere near any surface you value. He reckons that a shed hinge is about the level at which it might be usefully applied and even then there is likely to be something else better for the job.

 

[Zoiders]

OFFS WD40 is not corrosive although being oil based it may perish some materials.

If you took a blind test between WD40 and some other product in the same market you wouldn't tell the difference.

Just where do these stories come from? as it's not because of experience.

 

[mickle]

OFFS WD40 is not corrosive although being oil based it may perish some materials.

If you took a blind test between WD40 and some other product in the same market you wouldn't tell the difference.

Just where do these stories come from? as it's not because of experience.

But I wouldn't take a blind test since I don't feel the need to use any aersoles - similar to WD40 or not. I don't use any of them and I don't feel that I'm missing anything. If you want a solvent use a solvent, if you want a lube use a lube.

My particular story comes from my brother - who knows a thing or two about metal things and that.

There is no fatwa. WD40 is superfluous.

 

[Zoiders]

I know a thing about metal as well and spookily 2 brothers work for major car companies and my father is a sales engineer, I myself sell tools and engineering products as well as being a bike mechanic and I don't rely on second hand stories online to tell me what oils or solvents to use.

Right product for the right job, that doesn't make WD40 useless, it's an excellent frame saver, it cleans and protects paint work as well, the latest variant has a teflon content in that makes it good for flushing out cable outer and lubing STI shifers.

There is no one product that damages bikes because it's a bad product, just cack handedness in application.

I'm not interested in playing top trumps with who does what but I am interested in stupid myths not being spread through the knowledge section.

 

[numbnuts]

It's not good for metal.

I have used WD40 for years on my chain and I get 6500 miles out of a chain Ok I have to spray it on every other trip, but it works, so when you come out with a statement like "not good for metal" your talking a lot of crap sorry