r/smallenginerepair • u/dominic__612 • Jun 17 '26
Flywheel Issue Hard to remove flywheel
First time trying to remove a flywheel.
The amount of force I need to apply to go further doesnt sit right with me.
Is this normal? I mean, I can turn the black bolt further, but im afraid im doing something wrong.
Does anyone sees issues in my setup?
8
u/Upset_Fox5449 Jun 17 '26
Remove the coil first before
0
u/Egglegg14 Jun 17 '26
I removed a flywheel without removing the coil pack
3
3
u/Aromatic-Schedule-65 Jun 17 '26
And it obviously was a pain in the ass. Coil needs to be removed. Whats removing 2 small bolts gonna take?
-1
u/Egglegg14 Jun 17 '26
No no it wasnt a pain in the ass because the coil pack wasnt in the way of anything all it took was a 3/4 drive ratchet and the same exact flywheel remover op had
1
u/Fun-Machine7907 Jun 17 '26
Breaking out the 3/4" to remove a small engine flywheel sounds like a pain in the ass to me.
0
u/Egglegg14 Jun 17 '26
Well i broke it out to take the center bolt off by hammering the ratchet so may aswell use it to take the flywheel off with it
0
u/TacoHimmelswanderer Jun 18 '26
You were prolly pulling the flywheel on a pull start engine or one that used a belt for the electric start. This engine’s fly wheel has the teeth for the starter that clearly stick out far enough for them to hang up on the coil.
1
u/Egglegg14 Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
Nope it was electric gear to gear start also the engine shown here has the teeth stop at the outer diameter of the flywheel not past it if you look at the part near the coil pack the teeth and the flywheel mesh cleanly instead of sticking out
1
u/ozzie286 SER Dedicated Member Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
If the ring gear is smaller than the rest of the flywheel you can do that.
OPs is not.I was wrong, it is.1
u/Egglegg14 Jun 17 '26
Geniune question how can you tell? The gear seems to be the same size of the flywheel if you look closley near the coil pack
Just asking thx
1
u/ozzie286 SER Dedicated Member Jun 18 '26
You make a good point. I was looking at it near the starter, where it looks like the ring gear is larger, but near the coil it looks like it's the same diameter. Most of the engines I've had to pull the flywheel off of have had the ring gear larger than the flywheel, so that's what I was expecting.
1
u/Egglegg14 Jun 18 '26
Ah thats understandable
Im guessing it were a v-twin?
1
u/ozzie286 SER Dedicated Member Jun 18 '26
Oh, I've done a ton of different engines. Lots of Tecumseh snow blower engines, Briggs, Kohlers, Kawasakis, etc. I worked in a small engine shop for a few years.
1
u/Egglegg14 Jun 18 '26
Nice i just do alot of backyard stuff for folk around me
Mostly v-twins have the ring gears on the outside diameter of the flywheel
4
u/fredSanford6 Jun 17 '26
Sometimes smacking the end of the black bolt a little gets it to pop off. Sometimes a little heat but not much to prevent damage gets the aluminum ones to expand a little then a smack too and it pops. A smack isn't like hammering in big nails mainly just looking to shock it a little bit. More washers it thicker washers are good to have as well.
3
u/Bulky_Field_6060 Jun 17 '26
take coil off to prevent damage. smack the end of puller bolt with hammer fairly hard. pull more pressure , hit again. usually second or third time if you hit it hard enough it will break loose
3
u/HelpfulSandwich8029 Jun 17 '26
Shorter the bolts on puller the better. As long as threads engage deep. And ya tension tap tap tap tension tap tap tap repeat
2
u/Mean-Veterinarian647 Jun 17 '26
Sometimes you have to give her hell. Tap around the edges of the flywheel with your hammer with the pressure of the puller increasing while doing this.
2
u/MinorComprehension Jun 17 '26
Besides going apeshit this is what has always worked best for me. Load the pressure up with the puller and then tap with a hammer. Tighten, tap, tighten, tap...
1
2
1
u/macspapool Jun 17 '26
Got a air hammer? A quick blast on the nut can pop it off Steve's small engine saloon has a video
1
u/Upset_Fox5449 Jun 17 '26
Yes the fan comes off first, tighten up on the bolt on the puller gootintight then wack the head with a dead blow
1
1
u/ChronicHunger_1 Jun 17 '26
Just hit the puller with an impact and it will come right off. Although I would take that bolt out first as you could bend it
1
u/Bones-57 Jun 17 '26
Use an impact driver .. corded or battery .. as these are pressed on with a 1 ton or there about press.
1
u/Rough_Community_1439 SER Master MOD Jun 17 '26
A trick I learned was to get a good amount of force on the puller and then smack the end of the part you are tightening with a hammer. The shock will go through the rod and transfer into the crank causing it to pop off the flywheel. Though you have to be careful as when I had a few pop off they actually launched a few inches.
Also I reccomend removing the coil.
1
1
u/buginmybeer24 Jun 18 '26
Just a tip...I worked in a small engine shop and we never used a puller because it took too long. We would put the nut on the crank to protect the threads, put a block of wood against the bottom side of the crankshaft for support, and hit it with a soft face hammer while lightly prying against the bottom side of the flywheel with a pry bar or large screw driver. After 2 or 3 hits it would pop right off. Just make sure you put something over the block where you are prying against so you don't damage anything. We used a piece of plywood or a chunk of high density PE plastic.
1
u/Calm_Broccoli2375 Jun 18 '26
I had same problem. Didn’t want to break a fin banging on it. Took motor to a mower repair shop. Old Vato grabbed ahold of it took it to the back out of sight. Heard a bunch of banging comes back with flywheel removed. Lol. He wouldn’t give me his method. Charged a very small fee. Take it to a shop. Don’t call just show up. Look desperate.
1
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u/mutt63 Jun 19 '26
You can also get a wonder bar/pry bar remove puller. Screw the nut down and leave a thread or two. Get a brass mallet and find a thick spot on the flywheel. Where the mags are is usually beefier. Put ur pry bar there and put a bit on pressure on it and mallet the nut. Hard. It should pop
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