Tag Archives: flywheel
Tips and Tricks for Clutch Repair Jobs
The clutch is that part of your vehicle that controls the slippage between the engine and the transmission. The vehicle’s wheels don’t spin when the engine does, so the function of the clutch is to let the wheel disconnect from the engine. This will allow the driver to change gears and the car to stop without killing the engine. Here are a few tips, tricks and some timesavers that you need to know about the clutch.
- It you overheat the clutch, it can critically weaken the flywheel. If you observe a cooked clutch, you must remove the flywheel and have it Magnafluxed in order to ensure that there would not be any radial or any other cracks leading away from the bolt holes.
- The input shaft splines should be able to freely slide back and forth when you test the new disc. If this does not happen, a rust or a small nick may be hanging it up. You can use a fine hand file or emery cloth to get rid of an of those small nicks or burrs in the input shaft splines or clutch hub.
- You must test fit the pressure plate of the flywheel prior to the final assembly to recognize any interference problems or binding on the locating dowels.
- Remember that a curved face throw-out bearing must always be used with straight pressure plate levers; and conversely, a flat-faced throw-out bearing must always be used with curved pressure plate levers.
- The flywheel must be smooth and flat for the clutch disc to have the appropriate grip. If there are visible signs of scoring, uneven wear or burn marks, you should have the flywheel resurfaced. A light cut can be taken off the face and result in a much better performance.
- Keep in mind to mark the location of the flywheel at all times before unbolting. This helps you to reinstall it in the exact same position, and it is very important to maintain engine balance on some applications.
- Each time you have a flywheel resurfaced, you must check the mounting hole counterbore depths. Removing too much material leads to the pressure plate mounting bolts to run out of thread. Then, the pressure plate cover won’t be pulled down solidly against the flywheel. Double checking is key.
- If the flywheel has not been removed, it is always a good idea to re-torque the mounting bolts in a crisscross pattern according to your vehicle manufacturer’s specifications.
- Before reassembling the clutch, the flywheel and pressure plate must be carefully cleaned with a non-petroleum based solvent, and then dried with compressed air. Do not use wiping cloth or rags in drying the parts.
- Use a high-temperature grease to lightly coat the input shaft splines, clutch hub, and throw-out bearing hub and face. This will help you make sure that everything is working smoothly.
- It is necessary to use proper alignment tools, and if you do not have one yet, avoid blind-guessing to line up the clutch with the pilot bearing. Otherwise, you will spend a long time trying to force the transaxle into a misaligned clutch.
- Make sure to install the disc in the correct direction with the hub assembly away from the flywheel.
- Upon installation, the pressure plate mounting bolts finger must be locked-in tight. Then, torque them gradually in a crisscross pattern to keep the pressure even around the circumference of the pressure plate.
- Use new high-strength fasteners and lock washers at all times in changing a clutch assemble and a thread lock in order to help the bolts avoid working loose.
- Check the release lever for any wear or misalignment. Then, remember to lubricate the clutch release lever contact points and pivot before the final assembly.
- Don’t allow the weight of the transmission to hang from the disc. Make sure that the engine and transmission are fully mated together before you relieve the transmission support.
- If you have any doubt about any component, it is wise to consider replacement. If you keep using or re-using a damaged part like a pilot bearing or a throw-out bearing, it will only cost you more in the future.
Finally, always test drive a new clutch job before delivery to make sure that everything is operating properly.
If you would like to purchase high quality car components with great discounts, check out our website at autopartsway.com.
Troubleshooting the Starter and Vehicle Starting Circuit
Before performing the tips in this article, it would be best if you conduct a starter performance test using an alternator or starter test bench. In doing this, if the starter is not performing well, it is necessary to resolve any additional vehicle side problem in the starting circuit that may have affected the starter. On the other hand, if the starter meets your vehicle manufacturer’s specifications, you should also look up the service manual in order to inspect the car’s starting circuit and to be able to identify the problem and possible solutions. Then, in order to identify the true starting circuit problem, you can use the following troubleshooting questions.
- Does the starter turn the engine too slowly? If so, verify the battery charge, battery cables, ignition timing, engine oil and engine modifications. You should check if the battery is fully charged, and if the battery cables and terminals are in good condition. If the engine has been modified and has increased compression ratio, these could influence the starter’s inability to turn the engine. Note that improper engine timing, if it is more advanced, or if the engine oil is excessively viscous, these are also factors affecting the starter’s performance.
- Does the starter fail to crank the engine? If the answer is yes, you must check the battery, the battery cables and the terminals. Make sure that both the ends of the battery cables are inspected for proper connection and are kept clean.
- Does the starter try to turn the engine, but then just spins free? When this happens, check the flywheel ring gear or the flex plate, and inspect if there is excessive wear and missing or damaged teeth. Similar symptoms would be found in failed starter drives. Then, the flywheel teeth can be inspected through the starter access or mounting opening. In order to find excessive wear, check areas such as the four cylinder engines, two positions, 180 degrees apart, six cylinder engines, two positions, 120 degrees apart and eight cylinder engines four positions, 90 degrees apart.
- Does the starter click when trying to start the engine? Supporting questions to this are, has the ground circuit between the battery and the engine been checked for high resistance? Or have the battery cables and terminals been inspected for damage, wear, corrosion and loose connections? If the solenoid or relay clicks and your starter fail to turn, your problem could be a loose connection, or some damage in the wires. Then, you should check the battery cables’ voltage drop to ensure that the resistance is high enough to meet the vehicle manufacturer’s recommendation.
- Is there a clattering sound when trying to start the engine? If you hear such noise, one possible cause is a bad flywheel or ring gear. Another possibility could be an inoperable starter solenoid or low battery voltage. Make sure that your battery is fully charged, and all the battery cables and terminals remain in good condition.
Finally, keep in mind that these tips are mainly general information for troubleshooting your starter and vehicle starting circuit. While these tips might be helpful, they are best used along with the service manual that contains the proper specifications.
If you would like to purchase high quality car components to help your home troubleshooting, check out autopartsway.com. We offer a wide variety of parts with the best discounts online.
Things to Know About the Flywheel
In its simplest sense, a flywheel is any rotating disk that is installed to collect and supply energy to any system by storing this energy in the form of rotational kinetic energy. A rotating flywheel responds to any momentum that tends to change the direction of its rotation axis by a resulting processing rotation.
If you are no physics guru, just think of the ancient time’s common example: the potter’s wheel! This has inspired the technology that came to be the use of flywheels in cars. As another example, think of the good old “Smash-up Derby Cars” which were famous children’s toys in the 1970’s and 80’s. These toy cars would race towards one another with great speed, only to hit each other, and then the pieces would fly off. The children would then collect the pieces, reattach them to the cars, and then prepare them for another collision. The players would have tons of fun, without fully understanding how the toy cars moved without pushing them. The answer: the humble flywheel design.
How does it work?
Flywheels are small motors that rotate through the help of magnets. The flywheel, rotor or sprocket is held still by a flywheel holder while you remove or tighten the nut keeping each of them in place. The holder often looks like a bar with clamps at either end. These holders are also useful for other equipment or vehicles with small engines like lawnmowers, scooters, motorcycles, etc.
In the center of the car, you can find a single wheel that is free to rotate with the axle perpendicular to the direction that the car is facing. If you give this a push, it would roll. For best results, you must place a specially-designed cord in the hole and pull it out quickly. This cord is attached to a gear on the side of the flywheel. When this cord is pulled, the gear will rotate and the flywheel will power up. When the flywheel is spinning, you have the simple flywheel engine. It simply refers to the locomotion for the vehicle.
Choosing and replacing flywheels
Step 1. Before purchasing a new part, make sure you know the correct make and model of your vehicle. This will help you determine which size and style of flywheel to buy. Holders come in various sizes, so as small as your flywheel motor is, you should know the specific size you need.
Step 2. Check and remember the size of your flywheel, to know and buy the flywheel holder with the correct edge that best fits it.
Step 3. For flywheels that are bigger than 6 3/8” in diameter, it is recommended to use a block of wood as support. It is rather difficult to find a flywheel holder that adjusts to a size that is larger than that.
Step 4. Using a socket wrench, turn the nut, but make sure you keep the flywheel steady using the holder. While you are turning it, you may feel some resistance, and this is normal. This force is due to the flywheel’s magnetic pull.
Step 5. If you are loosening left-handed nuts, you must do so in the opposite direction of standard nuts. When the nut is loosened, you may remove the flywheel holder.
Step 6. Then, place back the flywheel and reposition the holder to keep the flywheel stable during the nut replacement, when you are finished making your repairs.
Note that you must be careful in performing any of these steps. Also, make sure that you purchase only the best quality parts. To find such parts, plus great discounts, check out Autopartsway.com.
