Flywheel disassembly

Have successfully split my 8N, (thanks to Zane's help), and have removed clutch cover, pressure plate and clutch disc in order to get at and remove flywheel in an attempt to replace the ring gear which has bad teeth. Before I start and because this is my first rodeo at this type of surgery, what is the easiest way to remove flywheel from end of crank. I have removed the (4) 7/16-20 cap screws that bolt flywheel to end of crank, and now need to know how to get flywheel off. It seems very tight. Once I get flywheel off then how do I remove ring gear from flywheel. I think I might need to heat ring gear to get it to grow and then slip off, but not sure.

Thanks
 
Put 2 bolts back in loose and bump it with a big block of wood and it won't fall on your toes.
Heat ring gear with torch and hammer it off. Heat new gear and drop it on with a little bumping.
Richard
 
bump the flywheel as suggested.what i personally do to remove the ring gear is simply cut them with a torch.then i lay the flywheel down . prop the ring gear up on a brick, block,or three or four sockets so its not touching the ground,and slowly heat it with the torch ,going around it to heat it evenly.as it heats it expands.after it gets evenly hot enough it will fall right on the flywheel. then i tap it with a hammer and punch to make sure it is seated.as it cools it will shrink tightly to the flywheel.
 
You don't have to be artistic in getting the old ring gear off. If you have an oxy/fuel torch, just hit one spot with the fire and make a few sparks with the oxy. If your cut is not not completely down to the side of the flywheel (I prefer to get close, but not completely through so I don't scar the flywheel) then take a cold chisel and a few dozen raps with the BFH to split the ring gear. It doesn't take too much effort.

As to putting the new ring gear on, it needs to be preheated on its full circumference. I have not had any luck with the BBQ grill and a measured 500 F temp. The flywheels I have replaced RGs on have a larger diameter the RG has to go over and then a smaller diameter that the RG fits into, so I have had to make the RG excessively hot to get it big enough. The last one I did, I put the FW in the frezer overnight and then submerged it dry ice in a styro cooler for a few hours to get it to shrink somewhat. I still had a tough time getting the hot RG on. Fortunately I had a few extra hands from a couple of friends who stopped over to witness the RG installation.

If you get the RG fully red hot, it loses its hardness and is quickly (1 or 2 years) destroyed by the starter bendix.

Other guys on this board have described the installation process as "heat and drop". Possibly I had a few RGs made in the land of Never Right, as I quickly discovered they were not truely round, but somewhat egg shaped or elliptical, and took a lot more effort to install.

Paul in MN
 
ditto what the others said.

you can torch or drill the ring gear then split with a cold chissle. die grinder can do it too.. just stay outta the flywheel.

freeze the fw and heat the ring gear and drop on and tap into place. .. that usually works if you are lucky. might take you a few tries if you aren't lucky.. like me.. :)

a weed burner on a hot dog tank can help a bit. so can a thick pair of welding gloves and welding or blacksmithing tongs.. i usually keep a soft maul like brass or copper for pounding things on i don't want to really deform if things go sideways.

last thing I had to heat and install was a crank pulley for my farmall C... it fought me off ( had to split the hub after braking the pulley flange and then the new one fought me on...

good luck!
 
Last ring gear I removed I just whacked the heck out of it with a chisel and hammer working around it till it fell off. Then to install the new ring gear I set the flywheel in the freezer over night and the next day layed the ring gear in the oven set it for 500 and when the over said it was up to temp I took the flywheel out layed it on a board and grabbed the ring gear with pliers and dropped it on. Be 100% sure you get it bevel to the right direction
 
Have a good idea of how to replace ring gear now but first I have to get flywheel off of tractor. It seems to be very tight and the only way I can beat in the off direction is through the starter mounting hole. Is that how the flywheel comes off after it"s been unbolted is to beat on it?

Thanks
 
if you have to.. get a small block of wood and a maul.. hit it a lil, rotate.. hit it again.. rotate.. hit it again..e tc.. etc. it should walk off.

air hammer with a full blunt end may help.. but I'd try wood first..
 
The flywheel such that the crank shaft is in a sort of flange and over years it rust on pretty tight. Take the flywheel bolts and put them back on but so they are threaded about half way. Then use a block of wood are a pry bar and work it side to side til it moves out. Reason for putting the bolts back in part way is so it doesn't just fall off and if your in the wrong place at the right time and it fell you could end up with a very very sore foot or even a broken foot
 
(quoted from post at 01:31:37 01/04/13) Last ring gear I removed I just whacked the heck out of it with a chisel and hammer working around it till it fell off. Then to install the new ring gear I set the flywheel in the freezer over night and the next day layed the ring gear in the oven set it for 500 and when the over said it was up to temp I took the flywheel out layed it on a board and grabbed the ring gear with pliers and dropped it on. Be 100% sure you get it bevel to the right direction

That is exactly how I did mine.
 

If the flywheel is off of the tractor, a hammer and punch is all you need to remove the old ring gear. If you don't have a O/A torch to heat the new ring gear, you're wifes oven will accomplish the same thing. 400° for about one hour should expand it enough that it will just drop on.
 
The flwheel has a lip so the ring gear does not work itself off the flywheel.

It takes about 800 degree F differential temperature to slide the new ring gear over the flywheel. Some place the ring on barbuque grill with charcoals.

To remove the ring ,drill a hole on the open side of the ring gear, then use a flat end milling tool, chasing the hole to flaten the bottom of the hole, so as not to chew up the flywheel with the point end drill bit.

The residual tension stress in the ring will then fracture the ring. If it fails to fracture on its own ,can use a cold chisel to split the out edge.
 

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