Flywheel Damage: How Much is Too Much

S

sellerby

Member
I'll post below a photo of my flywheel showing several damaged teeth. The damage is limited to about 1/8th of the flywheel and is limited to the back side of the teeth. My bendix drive had a bolt break off which I suspect is what damaged the teeth. I was able to fish the broken bolt out of the housing by using magnets that I attached to the flywheel and turned the engine with a crank to rotate the magnets on the flywheel (done per helpful advice on this site).

The car seems to run fine and I don't hear anything unusual when using the starter motor. Is this something that will likely require attention in the future?
 

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Looks to me like typical starter drive wear. There's probably another area of similar wear 180 degrees around the gear.

Eventually the starter drive will hang up on the worn teeth. It may be a long time. I'd be inclined to use it until then or until you have to take it apart for some other reason.

Joe
 
Its kinda hard to see all the damage, but, can you clean things up with a file and small grinder[ like a dremel] ?? Changing a ring gear is fairly easy once you get at it,, getting the flywheel on a bench is a lot of work though..
 
Patrick:
I'll give the file a spin to see how well it works on squaring up the teeth. Might also try a Dremel bit.

Joe:
It's reassuring to hear that I'm not risking a big problem by continuing to operate the car with this issue. BTW, I took a peek at your website and appreciated your suggestion that everyone over 50 get a colonoscopy. That is excellent advice, and I'm glad to hear that you have a clean bill of health!

Best regards,
 
Patrick L. said:
Its kinda hard to see all the damage, but, can you clean things up with a file and small grinder[ like a dremel] ?? Changing a ring gear is fairly easy once you get at it,, getting the flywheel on a bench is a lot of work though..
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After years on Jaguar repair, with a similar starter bendix design, I observed flywheel tooth rounding and chipping in 6 of the normal flywheel stopping positions, to a point where the bendix gear would not engage the flywheel teeth. Grinding or filing the sharp edges on the damaged flywheel teeth and brushing all the teeth with a mixture of white lead and chassis grease and with a new bendix gear, I experienced many years of trouble free service. When I assemble a car with new ring gear and bendix, I still coat the flywheel teeth with the lead & grease mixture. Works for me!
 
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I had one go one my 8N tractor. I started at 12:00 noon and by 6:00 PM I was done with it. I hung thefront half of the tractor and put the back half on a dolly so it would move. The flywheel came off easily and the Ford 8N engine seems to stop in the same place each time. That's where the wear was. I ground as deep a notch as I dared with a dremel in two places on the ring gear. Then I forced itapart with a cold chisel. I then cleaned the surface with a file and put the FW in the refrigerator. then put the Ring Gear into the oven at 400 degrees for twenty minutes. I then took the FW out of the refrigerator and oiled the surface. Then moving quickly, I took the ring gear from the oven and placed it on the FW. A few taps with a brass hammer and it was home. It was just rassembly from there on out. The tractor was running again by 6:00. I expected a nightmare. The car is a little more complicated, but not that much.
Terry
 
James Rogers said:
Listen to Joe. The teeth are supposed to be beveled in the rear so the starter can engage correctly.
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For whatever reason, my ring gear has no bevel at all. I have not experienced any starter engagement issues in the short running periods, as my chassis is still body-less. Any possibility I will be sorry in the long run leaving it that way? I'd hate to pull the motor just for that. I don't ever intend to do much touring, as it's a RPU.
 
I'm facing the same issue. I'm pulling my motor. While I'm in there I'll replace the flywheel with a lightened/V8 pressure plate unit (thanks James). Murphy's Law suggests that if I don't correct the problem I'll regret it. I know it's a pain but after it's done I'll be glad I did it correctly.

You're 'body-less'? Now is the perfect time to pull the engine! You already know what you have to do......
 
Russ/40 said:
For whatever reason, my ring gear has no bevel at all. I have not experienced any starter engagement issues in the short running periods, as my chassis is still body-less. Any possibility I will be sorry in the long run leaving it that way? I'd hate to pull the motor just for that. I don't ever intend to do much touring, as it's a RPU.
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That's strange. I've seen a lot of ring gears--not as many as James, but more than most people--and never seen a Model A gear without the beveled teeth.

I'm reluctant to take a chance on insulting you by asking if you're aware the bevel is on the back side, the far side as you're looking through the starter mount hole, so I won't.

I think I'd be inclined to take Wello's advice and install one that is correctly beveled while it's fairly easy.

Joe
 
Joe, I am aware that the bevel is to the rear. I got a good look at mine when I put my motor together. I had two flywheels, and one had the beveled ring gear and the other was not beveled. Since the better of the two was the one without the bevel I used that one. I wondered about it, and before I put it on I knocked off the sharp edges with a file. It has worked fine. I have seen ring gears without the bevel on a lot of V8's, so I was not overly concerned about it. Now, I'm wondering about the long term implications.
 
I have probably 50 rings I am going to take to the scrap yard next week and about 30 flywheels and I have never seen one without the bevel. Now, I have seen rings on the flywheel backwards and the ring looks like it has no bevel and will work but, it will wear quickly and begin to lock up or make a noise.
 
JoeWay said:
That's strange. I've seen a lot of ring gears--not as many as James, but more than most people--and never seen a Model A gear without the beveled teeth.

I'm reluctant to take a chance on insulting you by asking if you're aware the bevel is on the back side, the far side as you're looking through the starter mount hole, so I won't.

I think I'd be inclined to take Wello's advice and install one that is correctly beveled while it's fairly easy.

Joe
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I acidentally put a ring gear on backwards and didn't know it until several years later when I replaced the clutch!!
 
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