Re: removing flywheel and electrical
I know I am "late" on this thread, but thought I would toss this into the mix...
If you don't have access to the proper flywheel puller, there is a fast and dirty way to get the flywheel off.
UNDERSTAND...this CAN damage things, so use this at your own risk...
I had a motor (115hp 1979 Johnson) and needed to get the flywheel off. I had been out fishing, and the motor just quit. I used the electric trolling motor to get to solid ground. I was, quite literally---really, I am NOT kidding---, on an island. The trolling motor would not get me back to the launch, and it was too far to try to paddle back. I did not wish to spend the night...or maybe longer...waiting for some one to come along to tow me in. (This was early October in Upstate NY, on Lake Ontario. It gets COLD at that time of year........ I had some tools with me, including a socket wrench and socket that would fit the flywheel nut. No one else on the island with me. No flywheel puller on the island..no cell phone with me (THAT will never happen again)..but, there was a cabin (well, a shack, anyway), a stack of wood, an axe, and some splitting wedges...OK, so I could build a fire, but that was not going to get me home...
So, how to get the flywheel off? I had to use what I had available......I inserted the splitting wedges under the flywheel, making sure that one was exactly lined up with the keyway on the shaft, and the other exactly opposite the first one. It took a bit of playing around (turning the flywheel by hand) to get everything oriented so the splitting wedges had some place to sit against on the top of the motor, where pressure would not cause any damage to the motor parts....but I found spots that would work. I used the axe to tap the splitting wedges under the flywheel, until I had enough friction to hold the flywheel still. I took the flywheel nut off (I had to apply "impact" with a hammer, to the socket wrench, while keeping torque on the wrench (a third hand sure would have been nice..but you can do it with two hands) to get the nut to break free. Of course, in the process, I destroyed the ratchet capability of the wrench, but at least it would still work like a non-ratchet. So, that was out of the way. Now, using the axe (the flat end of the blade, of course), I gently drove each wedge in..hit one wedge, hit other wedge, tap on flywheel with hammer...repeat sequence several times. After about the 5th sequence of this, the flywheel came off. NO DAMAGE to flywheel or motor. Fixed the broken wire (which is why I had to get under the flywheel) by twisting it together, and taping it (I did a proper fix when I got back to mainland, of course). Put flywheel back on, and torqued it down as much as I could with my (now) non-ratchet wrench (also re-torqued that properly when I got home). Motor started right up, and ran fine. Put the axe and wedges back, hopped in the boat, and went home.
As I said, this procedure has its' inherent risks (bent/broken flywheel, damage to motor parts from the wedges...oh, and smashed up fingers if you are not careful), but if you are stuck somewhere without the proper tools, you do what you have to.
I have since used the same type technique on a motor that had the bolt holes for the puller stripped out. But that time, I was working in my garage. And since the motor was non-functional, and I had gotten it for free, I had nothing to lose.
As I said, this is NOT the proper way to get the flywheel off....but if you have no choice, or absolutely cannot get the flywheel off any other way, it can be a life saver.
