mini flywheel - HELP
 

am trying to take apart a mini S-works as its stripped the 'box and i cant get the flywheel off.

been through 2 flywheel pullers, but manage to shear the center bolt each time.
have tried wacking it - harder than i'd like to really. Heat - just the outside ring. hitting it from the back of the flywheel through the starter hole...

short of angle grinding it in half, im stuck :cry:

anyone got any ideas ? or maybe i just need a heavyer duty puller ? (not that i can put any more force on the bolt)

Steve

How old is the Mini
 

Is it the old shaped original Mini with the gearbox underneath the engine?


Big-G

yep. last of the classics , with a verto type clutch.

Try this
 

Not familiar with the verto clutch, but I used to work on the originals in my youth.
If the flywheel set-up is the same, make sure the engine is at top dead centre, because the horse-shoe shaped locking ring on the primary gear (the gear that the clutch sits on) could drop down and prevent removal.
I take it that you are using a puller with 3 screw-in legs. If so make sure that they are tight and you have the protecting piece located on the end of the crank to protect the end.

Tighten up the centre bolt as much as you can, then with the help of a friend, try this - you hit the end of the puller centre bolt with a hammer and at the same time get your friend to hit the flywheel through the starter hole at the same time.
Keep checking the centre puller bolt for tightness.
This method used to work for me so give it a try.

Good luck

Big-G

Big-G, thanks...

have basicly tried all methods known to man :cry: it just wont budge. :(

have done exactly what you say, even with a rarther larger hammer than i would like, and still no joy. The locking, they say just needs to be aligned so that the slot in the end of the crank is horizontal. have tried it at all piston positions that this is the case.

only course of action is to get a bigger puller (hydraulic) and a bigger hammer :freak3: and maybe a 'proper' bit of heat :norty:

cheers!
Steve

Sign up here- http://www.theminiforum.co.uk/forums/ and post in the 'Technical and Problems' section. Some very knowledgeable people on there. :)

Show it your.......
 

I knew a mechanic once that had this problem, he turned round, dropped his strides and showed it his *rse, he tried again and it came off.

Up to you, to try this method, totally unconventional but you never know.....:freak3:

Big-G

Last resort....
 

Seriously though... have you tried hitting the tapered part of the flywheel near the crankshaft when the puller is on?

Get a suitable metal bar, an old metal chisel with the end ground flat is favourite, hit it and try at the same time as my previous method (2 mates required this time.)

Big-G

Done shed loads of these and earlier and never been beat
Agree with the others hit the flywheel around the taper with a drift then turn it and hit it again make sure you have the puller bolts and the collar on the crank and when you tighten the center puller nut stick a socket in the ring gear to jam it in the hole where the starter was and when i say tighten the center puller nut thats an understatement
I use a knuckle bar and a scaff tube and if its a bitch tighten it some more lol

I can't believe that no-ones suggested checking that the big washer on the end of the flywheel been removed, I'm sure it has been,. but you never know, what I used to do was get the puller as tight as possible, and then pour several kettles of boiling water over the flywheel, I had some seriously stuck flywheels in my mini-ing years, and none of them beat me, if that fails, whilst it's still hot, whack the centre bolt of the puller!!
If that fails, sell the car and buy another!!

Good thinking ron i have seen that done by a few apprentices lol
But hopefully reading the posts hes removed it,As for hitting the center puller nut you may have to cut hole out of the flitch panel to get on square NOT as ive done that kind of thing lol

Sounds as though the motors right out of the car if it's stripped the box, doesn't sound like he's just doing the clutch.....

throw the feker of the bench that should shift it :D

1380cc engine, so not standard & its definatly NOT getting thrown anywhere!

its done the box..need to take it off to look see, but a tooth on the sump plug was kinda a give-a-way! :( (along with the crunching and locking of drive!:o)

flywheel is still on :cry:

thanks for all your advise guys. Yes RON, the wash has been removed. the end of the crank does look like a washer too, but am ashured its just the crank by a mini specialist.

morpheous - have broken 2 decent-ish quality pullers trying this, so adding extra tightness to this kind of puller isnt the way. I physically couldnt turn it any more...

looks like its gona have to be a hydraulic job & maybe a kango hammer ??? :p

Steve

well - its off ! :)
garage managed it in about 15 minutes. its amazing when you have a puller thats made for the job ! it was only about 3 times the thickness of the 2 that broke!

thanks for all the advise tho guys...

will post piccies of what was found when the box / block were split ...

Steve

Was it the pinion or laygear i broke both :cry:

camera is flat ..so piccies are not gona be tongiht ;)
but yes, BOTH , in a BIG BIG way.. woops! :D

Any joy yet mate??

Ron,

yep, flywheel is off - see earlier post...
havent managed piccies yet :(
will try in the next couple of days, but really need to get it back together now that all the madnes is mostly over.

Steve

Sorry mate, just saw the thread and though i'd ask, you didn't have to cut it off afterall then !!

oops..lets try that again..

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