Discussion
I've never had a flywheel stuck so firmly onto the end of the crank as the one I am working on. It's a 1997 MPI.
So far I have sheared the head off off the centre bolt of a flywheel puller and had to use my other puller in its place.
I have tightened it, heated it with a butane torch, used a long breaker bar, used a 10" T-bar and large hammer, used an air gun and socket, levered with two crow-bars against the clutch front plate (Verto)whilst heating with the torch and hitting the centre of the bolt head whilst hitting a ring spanner on the bolt at the same time. All to no avail.
I've left it overnight for two nights with the load on it, then re-heated it and tried again.
Before I grind the thing off and destroy a flywheel with the built-in sensor (MPI), has anyone any more ideas?
All suggestions gratefully received,
Peter
So far I have sheared the head off off the centre bolt of a flywheel puller and had to use my other puller in its place.
I have tightened it, heated it with a butane torch, used a long breaker bar, used a 10" T-bar and large hammer, used an air gun and socket, levered with two crow-bars against the clutch front plate (Verto)whilst heating with the torch and hitting the centre of the bolt head whilst hitting a ring spanner on the bolt at the same time. All to no avail.
I've left it overnight for two nights with the load on it, then re-heated it and tried again.
Before I grind the thing off and destroy a flywheel with the built-in sensor (MPI), has anyone any more ideas?
All suggestions gratefully received,
Peter
Edited by Cooperman on Saturday 24th July 20:51
ah ha so you have cold welded it on!!! Keith Calivier had similar problem couple of months ago.
personally i would super heat with a torch then douse with oil and lump it with a 5lb hammer with the puller on full..... and repeat. Cutting it might not be the best idea... will cost 100 in discs.... MED do an ULTIMATE puller.... google that and try again. If it s a 500lb pull required, all day youy can be banging in 450's in different methods.... but a cold weld........
best of luck, but dont cut the crank!!!!
personally i would super heat with a torch then douse with oil and lump it with a 5lb hammer with the puller on full..... and repeat. Cutting it might not be the best idea... will cost 100 in discs.... MED do an ULTIMATE puller.... google that and try again. If it s a 500lb pull required, all day youy can be banging in 450's in different methods.... but a cold weld........
best of luck, but dont cut the crank!!!!
I'm not too worried about the crank as I have a couple of good ones 'on the shelf'. It's more the MPI flywheel I am concerned about.
Yes, I guess it has cold-welded itself on.
In 47 years with Mini engines I've never had one this stuck.
I guess I'll persevere and try to get it hotter, then fast-cool it as GW has suggested. Thanks for the fast-cooling suggestion.
I'll let you know if/how it finally comes off.
Yes, I guess it has cold-welded itself on.
In 47 years with Mini engines I've never had one this stuck.
I guess I'll persevere and try to get it hotter, then fast-cool it as GW has suggested. Thanks for the fast-cooling suggestion.
I'll let you know if/how it finally comes off.
Some years ago I had to remove the flywheel of a turbo engine. It has also coldvelded it on firmly. I have broken my "heavyduty" puller. Made one of 1/2"steel plate - dented that one. Made another 1" thick steel - streched/broke the 3 bolts fixing it to the flywheel.
Finaly I have ended up with a 1" thick plate with 12.9 grade bolts. Fixed the engine firmly down, used a 2ms long handle, loaded the puller as hard as I could, and hit the puller's central bolt with a BIG hammer very sharp a few times. I had to reload the puller twice before it gave up. It jumped about 1m!
The crank was useless after it, as the flywheel pulled rather big parts of the cone off...
If using heat, be carefull, the clutch springs can loose their tension.
Finaly I have ended up with a 1" thick plate with 12.9 grade bolts. Fixed the engine firmly down, used a 2ms long handle, loaded the puller as hard as I could, and hit the puller's central bolt with a BIG hammer very sharp a few times. I had to reload the puller twice before it gave up. It jumped about 1m!
The crank was useless after it, as the flywheel pulled rather big parts of the cone off...
If using heat, be carefull, the clutch springs can loose their tension.
If you are not using a hydraulic flywheel puller then now is the time to invest in one. It pulled my fret welded steel flywheel off the crank but the mating surfaces may well be in a terrible state when you do. I think KAD do a hydraulic version but just make sure the flywheel stud threads are sound.
rww said:
If you are not using a hydraulic flywheel puller then now is the time to invest in one. It pulled my fret welded steel flywheel off the crank but the mating surfaces may well be in a terrible state when you do. I think KAD do a hydraulic version but just make sure the flywheel stud threads are sound.
Yes, it's the flywheel stud threads I am most concerned about. To be honest, I don't really care about the flywheel and clutch as they will be changed anyway, so long as the MPI reluctor ring is OK. I also have several cranks which are OK, cranks all being the same for A+. I even have a couple of spare EN40B 'S' cranks and sets of 'S' rods which would make for a super engine (maybe). It's just that I can't get the engine to pieces to rebuild it, nor the gearbox, so it's more than frustrating.I've just heated it right up again, then re-fitted the puller and used a breaker bar, plus the 'lump' hammer. Now I'll leave it until tomorrow and repeat the process, so we shall see.
If it's not off by about Wednesday I'll just grind the damn thing and have done with it.
I was always happier pulling the Mk 1 flywheels with the 3/8" UNF puller bolt holes rather than the 3/8" UNC of the Verto ones. Why they changed who can tell.
Going to tighten it a bit more shortly and give it another few clouts. Effing thing!!
Then I'm going out in my Innocenti 1300 to advise a guy in a village near here who, purely by coinidence, has my Wife's 1991 Cooper which she sold back in 1999. I was so surprised when I saw the reg no. It's been painted in an Alfa-Romeo red with a metallic silver roof and looks great. Then I'm going to put a bit of neg amber onto the rear wheels of the Inno as one looks very slightly positive, so I'll file out the rad arm shaft brackets to give 0.5 deg neg on each side. At least that's an easy job.
Going to tighten it a bit more shortly and give it another few clouts. Effing thing!!
Then I'm going out in my Innocenti 1300 to advise a guy in a village near here who, purely by coinidence, has my Wife's 1991 Cooper which she sold back in 1999. I was so surprised when I saw the reg no. It's been painted in an Alfa-Romeo red with a metallic silver roof and looks great. Then I'm going to put a bit of neg amber onto the rear wheels of the Inno as one looks very slightly positive, so I'll file out the rad arm shaft brackets to give 0.5 deg neg on each side. At least that's an easy job.
FWDRacer said:
Peter - Avoid being in the flight path too 
I've put the flywheel bolt in to prevent the fly from 'blasting-off' as I remember an 850 one years ago whih went into 'free-flight'.In all my Mini-ing I can't remember one as hard to remove as this one, although a friend of mine who is in the Mini-resto business (and who owns two genuine ex-works cars) did have to grind one off a while back as even a Porta-power suitably modified wouldn't shift it.
Wonder what the crank will be like if/when it does come off.
Cooperman said:
FWDRacer said:
Peter - Avoid being in the flight path too
I've put the flywheel bolt in to prevent the fly from 'blasting-off' as I remember an 850 one years ago whih went into 'free-flight'.In all my Mini-ing I can't remember one as hard to remove as this one, although a friend of mine who is in the Mini-resto business (and who owns two genuine ex-works cars) did have to grind one off a while back as even a Porta-power suitably modified wouldn't shift it.
Wonder what the crank will be like if/when it does come off.
i was just watching mystories solved or something and they interlaced two phone books , so 800 pages overlapped, it took 8000lbs of pressure to seperate them using two tanks.......
Cooperman said:
FWDRacer said:
Hydraulic Puller Required.
I know you are right, but I am nervous about pulling the 3/8" UNC threads on the flywheel/bolts. If they were 3/8" UNF I would feel more comfortable about it.Been a long time since I worked at a Mini, but verto's sticking to the crank is very common.
I usually wound the puller up very tight, and beat the crap out of the flywheel through the starter hole. Often left overnight too.
Usually ended up smashing end casings when hammering.
stevieturbo said:
beat the crap out of the flywheel through the starter hole.
great,do this to a verto and all your doing is hitting the spring - you will just scrap the spring - cost - 80 quid for a new three piece clutch kit........
do this to the early set up and your just bashing the flywheel out of balance - this will just fall off or weld its self to the flywheel next time its used.
this sort of advice is what gives mini clutches a bad reputation!!
Edited by guru_1071 on Tuesday 23 November 10:40
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