Out of Tricks, very stuck flywheel

[Abomb27]

Hi Everyone,
I have a OMC 115 turbojet that I am going to rebuild. I thought i knew all the tricks for removing the flywheel but this one is really stubborn. I
removed it once before less than a year ago. This is everything I tried grade 8 bolts tightened the puller with an impact gun hit the center bolt, tightened hit bolt, repeated till a grade 8 bolt snapped. Next try. I removed the broken bolt from in the flywheel, put new bolts in the puller tightened them up put some tension on the center puller bolt, then i put ATF around the crank let it puddle up and sit, everyday for four days i went out there tightened the puller and hit it with a hammer. After four days i tightened it up till another grade 8 bolt broke. Final step today put all new bolts, tightened them up heated the flywheel (which I did not want to do worried about the stator and flywheel magnets) tightened the puller hit it with a hammer, also hit the outsides of the flywheel with a rubber mallet. Repeated the process till another grade 8 bolt broke. Now im out of tricks. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[dkonrai]

Re: Out of Tricks, very stuck flywheel

how hot did you get the fw? i had one that was seized/corroded to the crank. i used a milwaulkee heat gun with the puller mounted under some tension (maybe 50 pounds or so?) and then heated the fw, and rapped the puller with a 20 oz ball peen hammer. it took some heating but it finally popped. think i heated that fw for almost ten minutes. worth a shot. the trick is to heat the fw till it expands enough to let the crank loose.
dino

 

[Joe Reeves]

Re: Out of Tricks, very stuck flywheel

Not a good idea to apply heat (flame) to the flywheel.

Have the puller bolts even, OR if shoulder type bolts, tightened down to their collar.

Tighten the center puller spindle dow as much as possible.

Use a hefty pry of some kind to pry up under the flywheel so as to eliminate whatever play exists.

Now, with the flywheel pried up as far as it will raise and holding it there... belt that puller center spindle as hard as possible with your largest hammer.

 

[Abomb27]

Re: Out of Tricks, very stuck flywheel

Thanks I havent tried prying up on it. I will give that a try tommorrow. I have to remove the broken bolt. They always break just below the surface of the flywheel. I have gotten good at that though. I drill two holes in the bolt hammer a flat screwdriver into the holes, and just unscrew worked everytime so far. I do think a heat gun is better than the torch I used, much safer.

 

[boobie]

Re: Out of Tricks, very stuck flywheel

Agree with what Joe said. Stay away with the heat and the pry bar trick works good. Been there.

 

[dkonrai]

Re: Out of Tricks, very stuck flywheel

i dont like using heat, but sometimes there is no alternative. i had this salt water johnson that was seized, and it was worthless anyways. so i experimented on various ways to get the fw off. i too tried it all. never got the motor free, crank was frozen to the bearings and rods so i never would have gotten her unstuck.
point being, it was a sacrificial experiment.
dino

 

[Abomb27]

Re: Out of Tricks, very stuck flywheel

I am going into the garage and try again, this time while prying up on the flywheel. And a side note the engine ran pretty good, before I pulled it out. It didnt come to a sudden stop or anything.

 

[racerone]

Re: Out of Tricks, very stuck flywheel

Don't use heat.------If the flywheel key is sheared it can be difficult to pull the flywheel off.------Broke the special OMC puller bolts on one of those once.----------A good belt with a hammer usually pops them off.-----What torque was applied to this flywheel nut when last worked on ?

 

[Abomb27]

Re: Out of Tricks, very stuck flywheel

I think thats the problem, I didnt have a socket large enough for my torque wrench. And it is supposed to be torqued to 100-105 ft.lbs. So with out being able to use my torque wrench, I think I over torqued it. I also never planned on removing it again. But here I am. Pulling the broken bolts now. Will post what happens.

 

[Abomb27]

Re: Out of Tricks, very stuck flywheel

I was working on it for an hour. I stuck a 2x4 under one side of the flywheel, which held it 1/2" off the ground. Then I used some shims and a pry bar to put some pressure on the opposite side. Then I hit it with a 5lb lump hammer. I hit it so much I mushroomed the center bolt. And still nothing. Then I layed the engine on its side and hit the bottom of the fw up with a rubber mallet, and that didnt work. Very fustrated. Anything im doing wrong, or that I missed? Thanks

 

[oldboat1]

Re: Out of Tricks, very stuck flywheel

I broke off a couple of bolts using a flywheel puller (actually, meant for a steering wheel or harmonic balancer), got frustrated and went out and bought a jaw-type gear puller. The jawed pullers are frowned on (can break or chip flywheels), but it worked in my case. I would get a jawed puller (check Ebay or one of the discount tool vendors). I bought a used one years ago from a rental shop that was going out of business. I would do the jawed puller before heating the flywheel.

 

[Joe Reeves]

Re: Out of Tricks, very stuck flywheel

I've encountered that problem a few times BUT ONLY with the older 2 cylinder 40hp model that uses the 311356 crankshaft... never any other model. Sounds like you've tried everything.

My only thought is that you aren't able to apply enough pressure with a wrench to the center spindle of the puller which might be possible if you're using a automotive harmonic pulley puller. Do you have access to a factory flywheel puller? If not, my remaining suggestion is to take the engine to a qualified Evinrude/Johnson dealership and let them pull it.

 

[oldboat1]

Re: Out of Tricks, very stuck flywheel

don't think the flywheel nut was mentioned (had trouble with those too on one or two salt water motors.) In pulling the flywheel, I situate the loosened flywheel nut on the top of the shaft, screwed down slightly, to protect the shaft when whacking on the puller. BTW, it's possible that you haven't unscrewed the flywheel nut far enough up on the shaft to give the flywheel room to release -- unlikely, but possible.

second Joe's post.

 

[racerone]

Re: Out of Tricks, very stuck flywheel

If you are going to use the jawed puller you might as well look for a used flywheel on E-bay now.--There are lots of good used flywheels available.---Most repair shops have a few of them.

 

[oldboat1]

Re: Out of Tricks, very stuck flywheel

Racerone is new, but good for discussion (if a little oblique)....think he recommends against a jawed puller.

Don't heat the flywheel.

 

[daselbee]

Re: Out of Tricks, very stuck flywheel

Heat the crank end and center of the flywheel with a heat gun. I let one go for an hour one time. It had the puller installed, and I just directed the hot air down onto the top of the crank. It popped on it's own. I had worked on for a week.
The heat gun is hot enough, and not near as radical as the oxy torch.

 

[oldboat1]

Re: Out of Tricks, very stuck flywheel

like it. shy of torches.

 

[Joe Reeves]

Re: Out of Tricks, very stuck flywheel

Racerone is new, but good for discussion (if a little oblique)....think he recommends against a jawed puller. Don't heat the flywheel.

Racerone is not new, he has close to 9000 posts on another forum site. He just switched over to this site recently and has built up close to another 700 posts. (I like round numbers )

 

[Abomb27]

Re: Out of Tricks, very stuck flywheel

I just put another two hours into it. This time I built a wood stand that holds the engine up, by the bottom of the fw. So the motor is 1" off the ground, the fw is being supported, and the weight of the block is pulling down on the flywheel. I heated the entire fw to about 120 degrees, with a heat gun. Took my impact gun tightened the puller till it stopped turning, pryed up on the fw, then whacked it with the hammer. I kept repeating the process, including grinding the center bolt back into shape after I hit it for a while. After an hour, I just cranked on the puller with the impact gun, and broke another bolt. Can I make the three holes larger and re thread them for larger bolts? Any possible problems?

 

[oldboat1]

Re: Out of Tricks, very stuck flywheel

Racerone? Any ideas? The man needs some results!