Flywheel

[USAFitz]

'71 Mercury 650

anyone ever had their flywheel come loose? my engine started to clank, so of corse i got very worried. so i let a friend look at it and we discovered that the welds on top of the flywheel were all gone. he said he didn't think that there were suppsed to be any welds on there, but they've been there since i bought it. they look old so i assume they've been there for a while. anyway, has anyone ever run into this before? can i just weld them back or is there something under the fluwheel that i should check as well? Thanks again for all your help as always! i look forward to getting back on the water soon.

 

[jebeebe]

Re: Flywheel

Are the welds holding the starter ring on? I don't think I would weld them because of the magnets and their coating under the flywheel. Is there a circle of bolts around the center hub? I have had the flywheel off my 60hp but I don't recall exactly how it looked. I know there is a circle of bolts around the hub. If you can weld the flywheel after taking it off and gutting it first it would be good because they are expensive. 700.00 plus I think. So treat it nice or look for a used one................Jerry

 

[USAFitz]

Re: Flywheel

Thanks Jerry. Yep, the welds were holding the ring that had the bolts to the starter wheel. At first, I thought the starter was grinding against it, but when I looked closer, I saw that it wasn't even close. I'm going to take it off before I weld it though. I have a feeling that the welding solution will work because it's been that way for so long. I'm going to take it to a boat shot tomorrow to get a marine mechanic's opinion on it before I do anything because you're absolutely right, they're expensive, if you can find one. Thanks again for the reply.