Flywheel....should I replace, reuse, or resurface?

[Ray Cecil]

Well, what do yall think?

[Ray Cecil]

Screw it. Im ordering a new flywheel. Rockauto will ship one to me for $62. Ill put it back together and not worry about it...

[Gary Lewis]

Probably a good idea as that one has what look to be hard spots on it where it has gotten hot from slippage.  To use it I think it would need to be ground, and that might cost as much as that new one.

[Rembrant]

Ray Cecil wrote

Screw it. Im ordering a new flywheel. Rockauto will ship one to me for $62. Ill put it back together and not worry about it...

I think that was a good idea.

[Ray Cecil]

Yes, I have daily driven the truck with the clutch slipping, no doubt it got hot and changed the surface hardness.

The throw out bearing was toast. It was rattling when I removed it. Surprisingly, I didnt hear much bad noise coming from it.

Rear main seal is replaced as well as the pilot bearing. All I have to do is clean up, receive the new flywheel, and reassemble.

I must say it wasnt too bad getting it all apart. I think from start to end of dissassembly, maybe 3 hours. And that was with a lot of beer in me. Kinda dumb to man handle a transmission and transfer case out of a truck while slightly intoxicated. But, thats how this redneck does it in this redneckin side of the redneck woods.

[grumpin]

You’ll have a spare! Or a boat anchor!

[Steve83]

Ray Cecil wrote

Well, what do yall think?

I think 33-year-old Ford assembly-line parts are better than new (mostly imported) replacements.  I'd get it resurfaced, if only to have as a spare if your new one gives you any trouble.

DON'T forget to seal the bolts' threads going into the crankshaft hub.  That's where most leaks attributed to the RMS actually come from.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Or a pedestal base for something like a bench grinder.

[Ray Cecil]

Steve83 wrote

I think 33-year-old Ford assembly-line parts are better than new (mostly imported) replacements.  I'd get it resurfaced, if only to have as a spare if your new one gives you any trouble.

DON'T forget to seal the bolts' threads going into the crankshaft hub.  That's where most leaks attributed to the RMS actually come from.

I'll throw it in the spare parts shed. I am ordering the LUK flywheel. From what others have said, and from what I have read they made the original Ford parts?

Anyway, I will post a few pictures on the Little Blue 82 thread.

[Gary Lewis]

Don't miss what Steve said about sealing the bolts!

[ArdWrknTrk]

Last time I had a flywheel Blanchard ground it cost me $100.

Screw that, when new is way less

[Ray Cecil]

Gary Lewis wrote

Don't miss what Steve said about sealing the bolts!

I saw that. Thanks for the reminder, and yes, I did not know that. So, saved me some trouble....thanks Steve!

[Steve83]

Ray Cecil wrote

I am ordering the LUK flywheel. ...they made the original Ford parts?

Yes, that's my understanding, too.  So that's a good price for a good part.

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Last time I had a flywheel Blanchard ground it cost me $100.

This cost me ~$30, but the machinist is a friend:



I've had it Blanchard-ground before, and I can't tell a difference in the way it drives or engages being surface-ground this way.

[Ray Cecil]

I saw a guy on youtube who "blanchard" grinds his cylinder heads with a thick piece of glass with sandpaper duct tapped to it. Just sits the cylinder head on the glass and moves it back and forth.....its a lot of work, and not perfect, but for something that isnt out of flatness very much, it works.

[ArdWrknTrk]

The 'guy on YouTube' is not ANYWHERE CLOSE to Blanchard grinding anything.
And if he suggests he is, then he needs someone to explain it to him.

[Ray Cecil]

Jim, I think he is just taking known good cylinder heads and redneck decking the head. Yes, its not decked right, but it is a similar approach as blanchard grinding....

[ArdWrknTrk]

Ray,
Lapping a head (or other flat surface) in with either compound or sheet abrasive and a known flat surface (like a surface plate, or an actual lapping plate) is a perfectly acceptable practice.
But it is NOT Blanchard grinding, or anything even close.

Blanchard grinding removes considerable metal in order to present a NEW and TRUE surface.
It's nothing like lapping, conventional surface grinding, scraping, milling, planing, shapering.or whatever process you choose to get to an acceptably flat surface.

Call it lapping (what it is) that's fine.
But whatever bozo goes around the interwebz claiming it's anything like what you would do to resurface a flywheel needs to stop being such an idiot.

[Ray Cecil]

Take a deep breath Jim. Its ok.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Steve83 wrote

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Last time I had a flywheel Blanchard ground it cost me $100.

This cost me ~$30, but the machinist is a friend:

This is what I was expecting.  😞

Unfortunately, M&B Machine changed hands. Mike is gone and Darryl is dead.

Those guys who did me right for decades for a six pack, doing donuts & burnouts on Halloween Blvd are no more.
The world keeps changing.