1950-1966 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
 | [Main Vintage Models Bulletin Board | BBFAQ |
Prev by Date | Next by Date | Post Followup ]
Member Login / Signup - Members see fewer ads. - Latest Member Gallery Photos
Re: Freewheel Lockout Sleeve Posted by eric in vermont [Email]  (#2058) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from eric in vermont) on Fri, 2 Dec 2022 18:11:47
In Reply to: Re: Freewheel Lockout Sleeve, donald kool, Fri, 2 Dec 2022 16:26:19 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Hi Donald,
When you move the freewheel lever in the car, it moves a fork which slides the freewheel clutch gear along the main drive shaft into the freewheel hub. The teeth of the gear then constantly engage with teeth in the hub so you no longer have the freewheeling capability. Friction of this mechanism is the only thing that keeps the gear in place and the teeth engaged. And that's the problem really, that the sleeve solves.
There's a couple of issues that arise.
First, the freewheel was designed for the lower HP 2 stroke. It was carried into the V-4 which doubled the HP. Unless used gently, the freewheel can be a weak link and break. So people want to eliminate it. Funny, I just took apart a gearbox yesterday and the freewheel was welded solid with gobs of metal! No going back with that gearbox. Oh well. So the sleeve allows the freewheel to be safely disabled, but you can always go back.
Which brings up the real issue and why just moving the lever doesn't work that well. Higher HP cars. My '74 Sonett has big valve heads, big pistons, a cam, 2 barrel, balanced, etc. It was designed to go up to 8500 RPM. And it will. That car has the sleeve. Think of the torque on that freewheel mechanism if I drive the car hard. You can imagine that it would be very easy for the friction to be overcome and the mechanism to move as I go through the gears. The sleeve locks the gear all the way into the deep part of the hub and it can't back out, no matter how I hammer it.
All that said, I LOVE the freewheel! I use it on all my normal HP VSaabs and I use it gently. I have modified them all with the earlier, stronger, 6 roller freewheel. The newer ones have 12 smaller rollers and are weaker. Tom Donney now has an improved roller mechanism that I've yet to try. So I encourage people to keep the freewheel unless they have a high HP engine.
I hope that helps explain the issue.
eric in vermont
, Fri, 2 Dec 2022 18:15:34, Fri, 2 Dec 2022 18:11:47 <-- Viewing This Message, Tue, 29 Nov 2022 04:21:04, Tue, 29 Nov 2022 14:10:31
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
