Flywheel not aligned

[BLOHS7844]

My starter grinds and when I look the inside of the teeth (maybe for 2mm or so) on the starter (both the old one and the starter I only used to crank it a couple times) and the teeth on the flywheel are a little rounded on the edges. That tells me that the starter gear only goes so far because its not meshing right and makes it grind. I'm guessing that the flywheel isn't aligned right for whatever reason. Starter used to work just fine. Bolts on the starter are good.

I did just have the car down for a couple weeks for head work but I didn't remove the starter or touch the flywheel.

If the flywheel bolts are loose I'm guessing that could make the flywheel not be centered right. What could cause them to become loose. The noise got progressively worse so they could have loosened more than they were before.

It might be worth noting that the starter shim plate separates from the trans just a little with the starter off because its slightly warped. I don't think this is the issue because the starter would push it tight to the trans.

 

[luv2rallye]

I see all the bolt heads from all the bolts and they were secure when I tried moving them. (only tried with my hands, not a wrench or rachet)

One thing, If the engine wasn't supported with the driver side bracket, and there wasn't anything under the oil pan, could that cause something to bend?

You must have all tranny mounting bolts socket tight (not hand tight). Large bolts 35 ft.lbs, starter 22 ft.lbs.

Yes driver side must have support with upper mount or jack under oil pan (same with passenger side). Otherwise bad things may happen like bending the tranny input shaft or clutch disk, etc (especially if tranny bolts are not tight).

 

[BLOHS7844]

I left it for a couple days and noticed that the jack wasn't putting any pressure on the oil pan when I came back....

Is this causing all my problems? Do I need a new trans? Professional rebuild? DIY rebuild? fml

 

[luv2rallye]

Well don't go jumping off a bridge yet. You may get lucky especially if you didn't crank it and still have the other 3 mounts in place.

 

[NHerron]

luv2rallye, if the ring turns turns out bad would he be able to heat it up, remove it, flip it around to the good side and be good to go? That's why I was wondering about the ring gear being beveled or not.

 

[BLOHS7844]

I already got a lightweight flywheel in mind. Might as wheel upgrade if I'm gonna do all this work

 

[luv2rallye]

luv2rallye, if the ring turns turns out bad would he be able to heat it up, remove it, flip it around to the good side and be good to go? That's why I was wondering about the ring gear being beveled or not.

Good question and I don't know. Call a machine shop that resurfaces flywheels and ask.

As far as beveling you can see some in my picture in post 19 but I don't remember if it's symetric on both sides - another question to ask them.

Below is a couple pics you can see the teeth a little better at least from the clutch side.

 

[NHerron]

Gotcha. Thanks

 

[2slow4now]

I already got a lightweight flywheel in mind. Might as wheel upgrade if I'm gonna do all this work

Sounds like a plan to me. You probably need to be very picky with inspection because of the unknowns. Check the bell housing for possible cracks/warpage, alignment dowels, tranny input shaft not bent, clutch components for damage, all mounting bolts ok and secured, starter plate, and anything else you may even suspect could cause or effect the alignment of engine to tranny and flywheel to starter.
I'd like to see pics of whatever you can showing the damage. From the way it sounds it ended up being a multiple little things problem?

 

[BLOHS7844]

I haven't figured it out yet. Still gotta rip it apart. Will get pics of anything I'm not 100% sure of. Couple of questions though..

How would I tell if the input shaft is bent? Will it be obvious? Do I have to bring it to a machine shop for a measurement?

And this flywheel I have in mind has been sitting for 4 years in a garage. It has 3000 miles on it and is $80. Is it a bad idea to use? I would think structurally it should be sound but what about the 3 outer bolts (or rivets?)? Do you think it needs a new frictions surface?

 

[2slow4now]

You can run a dial indicator on a smooth part of the shaft and rotate it. Put it just were the splines won't catch the indicator head. No dial indicator.
Take a long stiff wire and smooth the end so there isn't any burrs from cutting it with side cuts. A coat hanger works good. The smooth end will be your measurement point. Smooth with a die grinder or dremel. What you want is a uniform bead like end on the wire. Use a C clamp or vise grips and clamp the wire on the bellhousing and just bend the wire were it almost touches the input shaft and leave it there. Measure the distance between wire end and shaft with a feeler gauge. Rotate the shaft and check at 12,3,6,9 and compare your gauge readings. Keep in mind this isn't the accurate way to do it but no tools way this will get you within .010 of knowing. If its tighter one way than another then the tight side is the direction its bent. Like 12-.025, 6-.017, 3 & 9 approx .023 then it is bent towards 6.

The flywheel... were's the smilies with shrugging shoulders? Sitting it should be fine. friction surface? How's it look? Hot spots? Does it measure in range of step height? around .608 - .611? Ring gear bolts? Should be fine unless they are loose or rusted up. Might loctite them for insurance. good luck

 

[BLOHS7844]

Awesome answer I'll have to ask around for a dial indicator. Otherwise I'll be using the your wire method.

I'll have to take the flywheel in for a measurement. Should be a relatively quick and shouldn't cost very much at all.

 

[BLOHS7844]

Just a quick question, if my input shaft is bent, would I need a new transmission? Or could I fix it myself?