Flywheel persuasion

[olcah]

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j66/c … xtugw1.jpg

I brought this RDE-18 (1956 Johnson 30 hp) home from Utah a couple of weeks ago and am having difficulty removing the flywheel. My puller has hardened bolts. Two of the three threaded puller holes have helicoils Using the long bar I have pulled hard enough to raise up flywheel material around the third puller bolt and crack flywheel material between the bolt thread and the center of the flywheel. I have lifted the flywheel with my left hand and hammered the center bolt with my right (hard lots of times).

Anyone have advice?

What should I try next? (I have a propane torch)
Have I destroyed the flywheel with the crack between the puller hole thread and the center?
Have I damaged the bearings even though I lifted the flywheel before hammering?

[frankr]

Well you have done everything right. Personally, I would have lifted harder (pry with a screwdriver), and used a slightly smaller hammer. Don’t feel like the Lone Ranger, you aren’t the first to break the flywheel. OMC had problems with that and redesigned the flywheel hub because of it. There was a service bulletin on it.

Nah, you didn’t damage any bearings by lifting with your hand.

What to do next is a good question. I suppose try heat. If the flywheel and bolts will withstand it, get meaner with the puller. Worst case is you might wind up cutting it off.

[outbdnut2]

I had trouble getting flywheels off a couple of 35 HP RDs until I got some good advice here and bought the OMC puller. Yes it was just a bolt puller, but the hardened bolts had a shoulder above the threads so they were screwed in the same distance, and diameter above the threads was a bit larger. Whatever all the differences were, this puller worked right way where my generic bolt puller did not. I dug around the web a bit to find a good price.

Yes the crack you have put inteh flywheel ruined it – that crack will only get larger as you run the motor.
Dave

[Mumbles]

Some people have had success by holding a piece of wax on the hot flywheel and letting it melt down into the taper to help loosen things up. Just hope the flywheel comes off in one piece and doesn’t leave the steel hub behind as happened on these Big Twins!

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[olcah]

Ouch! I did already have to grind the flywheel nut to remove it…

[olcah]

Got it loose! I had put PB blaster, other tapping fluid, thin oil etc onto the center of the flywheel below the nut. Then tried used a pry bar as shown in Doug Penn’s how to remove flywheel video on YouTube. Then I put some Tap Free (very thin oil) below the nut, tightened the puller some more, hit the puller center screw and that did it. The photo below shows that the taper is rusty and that must have held the flywheel.
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j66/c … wcwx2s.jpg

[frankr]

What you found below the flywheel is very encouraging. It indicates that motor has not been used since many moons ago. Should be a low hours motor and not worn out.

[olcah]

Frank, Thank you very much for you help with this. Mumbles and Outbdnut2 also. This could have been bad.

Here is a photo of the flywheel to show cracks around the puller hole (nearest the squashed penny). Material is raised up around that puller hole too.
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j66/c … bgdkvb.jpg

If that flywheel is toast can I use a similar flywheel from a 1954 Evinrude 25HP? They look nearly identical except that the flywheel from the 25HP has a square window to access the points while the window on the 30 HP is round and has a cover.

Thank you to Frank, Outbdnut2 and Mumbles for the help with this.

[david-bartlett]

Charlie,

Well done. Like Frank said, it looks as if those coils and points have never been touched since they left the factory. Not a mark on those screws.

I love cracked coils.

David

[frankr]

Maybe you can make sense out of this. I can’t. Too many years and too many tears.

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