So I've discovered my flywheel has a flat spot and is a real hassle to get to start if it stops on that spot. I'm thinking an easy fix would be to weld that area and cut new teeth in it . Has anyone tried this ? Any other ideas ? I really don't want to have to change it but if I have to I will.
If this is a standard transmission flywheel you can remove the ring gear (cold) and either flip it over or turn it slightly and and put it back on. I have welded and re-ground teeth before.. on the bench not in the car...
Yup, not all Powerglides are created equal. Think Iron 'Glide, with at torque tube, v.s. a later aluminum 'glide.
Can you lift the engine and move it forward? It only takes a few inches to replace the flywheel. If it's a welded ring gear on a flex plate, you could try cutting out a section and welding a different section in from a scrap flywheel if you have enough room to do that.
A friend had a flywheel come apart and blow through the roof of his 56 Chev grazing his skull on the way. Don Gartlets lost half a foot when his clutch exploded cutting the car in half. Granted these were standard shift flywheels, but how lucky do you feel when revving yours up?? safety first even if it means more work initially.
If he has a motor that will rev high enough to blow up a flywheel, the torque converter would be more likely to come apart in a cast iron powerglide.
Get some long bolts and replace a few of the bell housing bolts with them, that way you don't have to realign the trans and engine back together. Just slide the transmission back or the engine forward along the bolts. Makes replacing a flex plate a lot faster and easier.
along with the long bolts , a 2x4 fit inside the frame rails to support the tail shaft when you slide it back
Simplest way to repair the problem is to build up the tooth/teeth with a gas MIG welder, good wire, no HF stuff and trim the tooth/teeth back to spec with a hand held abrasive cut off wheel. I have done dozens on the car with no returns or problems.. Even my Blazer beater has it done..
I've used that trick many times. You only need enough room to get a ratchet and socket or torque wrench and socket between the crank shaft flange and the torque converter.
This really works, I went as far as to grind a socket down so I didn't have to move everything so far away from each other...
Are you sure the flywheel is the complete problem? Chevy starters will deflect away from the flywheel to the point that Chevy installed an additional support bracket on the nose of the starter motor. You should consider installing one of these if you don't currently have one installed. Also, if you have never shimmed the starter, the clearance between starter pinion and flywheel may be just enough that the starter is barely engaging the teeth of the flywheel when you try to start the engine. This will cause pre-mature wear on the flywheel teeth. I have been able to salvage "bad flywheels" by shimming the starter (to the flywheel) and installing the bracket on the nose of the starter. There may already be a thread here that talks about properly shimming Chevy starters............
Regardless, once he has his current problem repaired, he should still consider setting proper clearance and the brace...........just my 2-cents
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