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Flywheel holes and "Hail Mary" fix

Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 3:42 pm
by dgerwig
As you can see from the included pictures, the holes in my flywheel are no longer 5/16 - they are now ovals. My question is this: what would be wrong with welding some hardened steel (represented by the piece of wood in the 2nd picture - the steel would be thicker/stronger than the size of the piece of wood) onto both of the flywheel flats and drilling then out to 5/16? Seems like this would work. Of course I would need a longer bolt. Seems like I could still tighten the flywheel onto the input shaft securely. I eagerly await feedback!


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Re: Flywheel holes and "Hail Mary" fix

Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 4:01 pm
by ricky racer
Not quite sure what I am looking at in the pictures but I would not weld anything to the flywheel. Any additional weight will cause an out-of-balance situation. What you may be able to do is drill out the egg shaped hole and press in a steel bushing to repair the hole. That way you are replacing the drilled out material with the bushing minimizing the change in balance. Also, the hole looks like it's in cast iron which can be difficult to weld and sometimes or often times, cast iron will crack and break unless it is properly welded.

Re: Flywheel holes and "Hail Mary" fix

Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 5:17 pm
by twotone
You might try Hamiltonbobs for a good used one.


Tom

Re: Flywheel holes and "Hail Mary" fix

Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 6:26 pm
by gitractorman
Yea, I have to agree with Ricky. No way I would weld anything to the flywheel. If you get it out of balance it could literally come apart. I cannot tell exactly what we're looking at, but if it were me, I would consider just drilling out one size larger and going with the next larger bolt. The good thing about this is you're taking out material then filling in with a slightly larger bolt, which should be a net zero change and not really affect the balance.

Re: Flywheel holes and "Hail Mary" fix

Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 7:06 pm
by Eugene
Now for the problem, if you drill out the flywheel you will also need to drill the drive shaft. But I wouldn't weld on the flywheel.

Re: Flywheel holes and "Hail Mary" fix

Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 7:16 pm
by RaymondDurban
If I'm seeing the pic right, that's the flywheel on the front of the transmission, which would mean the transmission input shaft would need to be drilled out.
I'd see if I could drill the holes out and install steel bushings, and keep the original size bolt through the input shaft, or get a new flywheel from Hamilton Bob. Like the others, I don't believe I'd try to weld it.

Re: Flywheel holes and "Hail Mary" fix

Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 7:33 pm
by twotone
I believe it takes a special bolt also, mine did anyway. Maybe it was replaced with a standard bolt that caused the problem.


Tom

Re: Flywheel holes and "Hail Mary" fix

Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 8:06 pm
by dgerwig
Some more input on my problem and long shot solution:

Yes this is the side of the flywheel attached to the input shaft which has flat surfaces that the bolt goes through. It seems that if I were to weld pieces of exactly the same size and weight to each flat surface there would not be a balance problem. I am also wondering, as has been suggested if it would be possible to drill out the input shaft and flywheel (no welded plates) to say 11/16 or even 3/8 - I believe that would solve the problem.

I do have, among the extra parts that came with my Cub, another input shaft that is not oval shaped. Is it possible to install that shaft without splitting the tractor?

Re: Flywheel holes and "Hail Mary" fix

Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 8:56 pm
by ricky racer
I don't think you'll find anyone here that would recommend welding on the flywheel.Image

Re: Flywheel holes and "Hail Mary" fix

Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 9:12 pm
by twotone
There is no splitting a 154, it's built on a frame. I've replaced severel driveshafts on 154's and the biggest problem I had was not having hands the size of a 2 year old. That tunnel makes for some cramped working quarters. There should be manuals for the procedure on the driveshaft in the manuals section. Again, I recommend Hamiltonbobs for a used flywheel.


Tom

Re: Flywheel holes and "Hail Mary" fix

Posted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 10:46 am
by Landreo
The bolt is there to keep the clamp on the driven disc tight on the input shaft of the transmission. If the bolt is tight it does not matter if the holes are exact. The disc should not rotate at all on the input shaft. Since the holes are oval then something is loose. You can tighten the bolt and try to wiggle the driven disc. If it wiggles dispite a tight bolt then the shaft is worn or the hole in the disc is worn. Without a bolt, the disc should be a tight fit on the shaft. If it is a loose fit then it may never tighten enough. The oval holes are not the problem but a sign that something else is wrong.

I think your idea would work to fix the holes but it is cast iron and can be hard to weld carbon steel to cast iron.
The oval holes means something is loose, if it will tighten then don't worry about the oval hole. If it will not tighten then get with Hamilton Bobs or others for another disc and input shaft.

Re: Flywheel holes and "Hail Mary" fix

Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 8:12 pm
by BigBill
Originally it's a roll pin in that hole and when it wears oblong the previous owners will stick a bolt in the hole. If you weld it you should be ok because you will replace the material that's only missing and nothing more plus being that close to the centerline of the drive shaft it should be ok. I been thinking about using a collar around the outside diameter on the flywheel hub to clamp it tight on the drive shaft too besides the tight roll pin fit. This should hold up even better and longer. I thought about this on my front loader and backhoe project for more added strength.

Re: Flywheel holes and "Hail Mary" fix

Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 8:41 pm
by RaymondDurban
After SN 15071, a bolt was used by IH.

Re: Flywheel holes and "Hail Mary" fix

Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 9:42 am
by BigBill
I have a 1971 154 that has a noisy flywheel that has a bolt in it. It first appear to be it's original setup. I been using the tapered dowel pins in the worn out holes on the front spindles on the cadets. Of course once there reamed. We can slot the pin ends sticking out and wire it light they do on the aircraft parts so it won't back out. O r we can make the pin ends flush and install a split collar to clamp it all together. This is we're loctite would help too. The 620 loctite will work in places with up to .015 to .020 clearances I know it won't be that loose but it's good to use the best loctite. The 620 loctite is for using on cylindrical parts. Do not use thread locker it doesn't have the cylindrical holding power. I like to repair things once and forget about it.