CATransplant
Admiral
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2005
- Messages
- 6,319
Re: Super Seahorse 35 Help?
Because the woodruff key is only a positioning device. The flywheel is held in position by simple friction between the tapered crankshaft and the tapered hole. At the proper torque, it would hold its position even without the key. The key makes it easy to align the flywheel properly, and that's critical to engine timing.
Any roughness or unevenness in either crankshaft or flywheel disturbs that friction connection, and the flywheel may slip, shearing the key and putting the engine out of time.
It's easy. Just use some fine emery cloth and remove any rust, roughness or other unevenness. There's normally very little of such nonsense to deal with. If it gets too bad, there's nothing you can do, other than replace the flywheel or crankshaft, or both. In most cases, with such older engines, that means the junkyard.
Because the woodruff key is only a positioning device. The flywheel is held in position by simple friction between the tapered crankshaft and the tapered hole. At the proper torque, it would hold its position even without the key. The key makes it easy to align the flywheel properly, and that's critical to engine timing.
Any roughness or unevenness in either crankshaft or flywheel disturbs that friction connection, and the flywheel may slip, shearing the key and putting the engine out of time.
It's easy. Just use some fine emery cloth and remove any rust, roughness or other unevenness. There's normally very little of such nonsense to deal with. If it gets too bad, there's nothing you can do, other than replace the flywheel or crankshaft, or both. In most cases, with such older engines, that means the junkyard.