Which replacement freehub for old hub?

I’m hoping there’s someone on here who might be able to dredge something out the back of their mind from about 20 years ago on compatibility of parts. If not I may have to try my lbs and see what they can come up with.

I’ve got an old Sachs hub – I think from 1997 based on some old catalogues I found on retrobike. Definitely pre-Sram purchase from what I can make out.

The freehub body has play in the end of it – after hours of head scratching I managed to get it off the hub and the freehub mechanism still works fine but it’s the play I want to solve. I’m not sure if it’s in the end bearing or in something else in the freehub body.

I can’t workout how to take it apart – I suspect it’s all pressed together and it’s not possible so looking for a replacement.

My question is – does anyone know what compatible freehub might fit my hub other than Sachs?

Pictures below:

So, by the looks of it, the freehub slides onto the axle, keying onto a support (on the axle) via the square faces (in the freehub) and the square ‘teeth’ on the hub and hub end of the freehub.

The freehub itself, looks like it’s similar to a shimano freehub in operation. so the outer part spins independently of the unner, which is fixed to the hub shell.

the bearing at the frame end of the freehub sits directly on the axle.

The outer flange bit on the freehub, where you see the bearing, should be removable. one this is off, you drift the bearing out from the back.

There should be numbers on the rubber bearing seal telling you what type it is. I’d guess it’s fairly standard and something like a 6001 2RS.

replace the bearing, then hope it’s not the freehub bearings that are goosed.

the freeub can in theory be serviced, but in practice will likely be an absolute pain. you’ll likely only get it apart when the end bearing is out too.

if you try it, be aware the bearings in there are very small, and whatever ratchet system is in place, removing the spring will stretch it a little, so you’ll need to be very careful otherwise it’ll not engage properly.

good luck.

Thanks for the reply! So far I’m struggling to see how I can remove the part of the freehub that is stopping the bearing come out of that end. There don’t appear to be any screw / bolts / lockrings / circlips holding it all together. I’ll have a look next time I’m in the garage and see if it just prises off or something.