Flywheel/Clutch Back In!!!!

[55 Fargo]

Hi all, reinstalled the flywheel, clutch and starter tonight. I used a discount tool store clutchaligning tool, and carefully aligned the disc as close to center as I could, hope it's right. i then reinstalled the starter motor, got the engine running and she was purring like a kitten again, ran it about 15 to 20 minutes as I had all the coolant out to repair the freeze plug, it was about 160 after warming up. When I had the flywheel machined , I had the ring gear flipped over, but my starter seems to be a little noisy, like it's not quite meshing al the way, is this indicative of a poor starter drive or a poor starter, the connections and wires are clean and tight. All in all happy:) about this job sofar, will install the trans and driveshaft next..........Fred

[Justin Slingsby]

Good to hear that it is coming back together for ya. The ring gear has beveled teeth on one side to ease the starter gears into place when you key the starter. Only one side of the ring gear has this, the other side is a straight cut tooth. Is your gear bad? If so you may wanna change it as I would think you are doing damage to your starter gear. At least flip it back over if you aren't missing too many teeth.

[55 Fargo]

You mean to say the ring gear has to be flipped over, that is a heck of a lot of work, or can the starter drive be changed. Can this be corrected with the starter, does anyone know. The reason I had the ring gear flipped was because it was worn in spots.........Fred

[Justin Slingsby]

Yeah I am not sure if it will work as well with the back side of the ring gear as it has straight cut teeth. It is the ring gear that is suspect not the starter. I am sorry I know that this is a PITA and maybe there is a way out of this situation but as far as I know you may wanna change the ring gear...

[55 Fargo]

Hi all, this one kept me awake last night, amy other thoughts on this one...........Fred

[Ed Griffin]

Sorry to hear about this Fred as I know your probably wishing you had known this "before" you did the flip and install. Unless anyone can help with a solution it looks like back to swapping around and/or finding a ring gear in good shape and installing on the beveled side. I've been following the thread but didnt know this myself or would have said something.

I know how you feel because I had to pull my engine back out only because I had installed a newer model bell housing and the linkage mounted in a different place than the model I was using.

Don C. had to pull his motor several times before he got the Desoto engine right and you see he's still pulling it out like replacing an air filter. I know this doesnt help the fact of the matter but at least it may help to know your not the only one. I'm sure several of us have had to do this more than once before learning. Good luck, Ed

[55 Fargo]

Not to discount what any of yall are saying, but I read in the archive threads that Greg G, had his ring gear flipped, or did I read this wrong...........Fred

[Chester Brzostowski]

Fred,

I know hindsight is always 20 /20 but just for future reference. When I am in areas like this that requires a lot of work to get there, I generally will not fool around with old parts. A new ring gear from Vintage Power Wagons is $25.00. Likewise if the flywheel comes off and the rear seal hasn’t been changed then that too gets done. Flywheel ground, new clutch, pressure plate, throw out bearing, and pilot bushing. This way if I am lucky I may never have to pull the transmission again. I think the work effort cost justifies the investment.

Sorry, Chet…

[55 Fargo]

Chet, everything is new, clutch, flywheel ground etc, the flipping of the ring gear has been done before without adverse results, as Greg G. has done just this. My problem is a sticky bendix spring possibly, the starter drive was a little roughed up also, will pull starter again and have it corrected.But thanx for your concern, BTW your progress looks great

[Merle Coggins]

Fred,

When you pull out your starter, have a look at the flywheel teeth. If they have sharp square edges, than you have the problem that Justin mentioned. If the teeth have chamfered edges, you're good to go. From my experience, some ring gears are flippable, others are not.

Another fix for a worn ring gear is to remove it and turn it several degrees. Engines have a tendency to stop in roughly the same place most of the time. Because of this, the ring gears tend to wear out in 1 or 2 areas. By turning the gear several degrees you will now be using a virtually unused portion of the gear. However at this point there's no way to tell where it was originally since it's been removed, flipped, and reinstalled once already. If you have to pull out the flywheel again I suggest a new ring gear for peace of mind.

Merle

[55 Fargo]

Just spoke with the shop that did the work, he said he would not or will not flip a ring gear that has a bevel on the one side. Don't know what to think, I have the ring gear exposed so will have a look this morning........Fred

[greg g]

Is it possible you put your flywheel on wroong side too??? Hope not!!!!

[55 Fargo]

No the machined flywheel is to the clutch, just checked starter, it's not engaging or disengaging very well. Once the starter engages it's all good and sounds normal. So if the starter and drive is not engaging as it should, would it not first make a little noise. Plan to pull starter, either egt another or have this one rebuilt, I did clean aup and paint the outside, but it is not working very well. Wonder is the solenoid swith would have anything to do with the problem also.........Fred

[Don Coatney]

Don C. had to pull his motor several times before he got the Desoto engine right and you see he's still pulling it out like replacing an air filter.

Ed;

I have not pulled my engine for a couple of years now. Once I got everything squared away I have not had to pull the engine again.

[Don Coatney]

ran it about 15 to 20 minutes as I had all the coolant out to repair the freeze plug, it was about 160 after warming up. Fred

Fred;

Did you run your engine without any coolant in the radiator? Not a good thing to do. Also if you ran your engine without coolant the temperature gauge will not read accurately. The temperature gauge bulb needs to be submerged in coolant in order to read correctly. If you have ever lost coolent in an engine you will notice that the temperature gauge reads a low temperature even though the engine is red hot.

[55 Fargo]

No the coolant was put back into the system, it appears normal........Fred

[Justin Slingsby]

So have you had a chance to check the flywheel? I am curious. Hopefully what I told you is wrong and the starter is your simple fix. I know that when I replaced my ring gear and everything related to it, I accidently put it on backwards. If I hadn't have inspected it closer I would have never know that there were two sides to the ring gear teeth. This is on a 1950 Plymouth so by then there could have been a difference. However I didn't have to pull a motor either. I just pulled my Flywheel/Clutch assembly through the bottom of the bellhousing. Is your transmission attached?

[55 Fargo]

Hi, just pulled the starter, it calfed out. When the starter did engage it was quite normal sound, but it has been spinning and dragging for a while, it's going into a shop today.

The ring gear, was removed by a very experienced shop/individual, he told me today, that he will not flip a chamfered/beveled ring gear, so I think I can rule this out for now.

The trans is out, the bellhousing pan is still off. The reason, I had to resurface flywheel, replace clutch and ebrake. I also had a leaking rear freeze plug I repaired/replaced, hence the mitigating factor.

I do know others have had the ring gears flipped, this engine in my car is from a 1951 Canadian Dodge 218 Long Block, with an 8 bolt crank, and a 9 and 1/4 inch clutch.............Fred

[Justin Slingsby]

Cool hopefully this starter is the culprit. Keep us posted.

[Chester Brzostowski]

Chet, everything is new, clutch, flywheel ground etc, the flipping of the ring gear has been done before without adverse results, as Greg G. has done just this. My problem is a sticky bendix spring possibly, the starter drive was a little roughed up also, will pull starter again and have it corrected.But thanx for your concern, BTW your progress looks great

Sorry Fred..., I probably need to tune in more often.

Chet...

[55 Fargo]

Here is the deal, just got backl from the auto electric shop, he tested the starter, 1 brush was out of place, the rest is in great shape. He said the wear on the drive gear was minimal, it can be cleaned up with a dremel.

Got home, installed, started engine sounds okay, a tad louder than before, but the clutch pan is still out, and so is the floor panel.

Here is my next problem, my fan belt keeps coming off now, it streched a bit and is turning itself inside out. I have small pulleys on the damper, the water pump pulley, but the genny pulley is for the large belt. Would the 3rd pulley being larger cause havoc with the fan belt.

Next question, would anyone have a small belt pulley for a stock genny, would like to fix this up.

The shop owner did not charge me for testing and re-installing the brush, thought that was a great of him, so I bought him a X-large Tim Hortons coffee(the canucks know this place).............Fred

[greg g]

Glad it as just the starter, the prospect of pulling eveything apart again would have put me off my feed for a while. I ran a narrow belt for a while n my wide pulleys as that was what was available when my wide on retired. If semmed to work fine. the narrow belt should ride fine in the wide pulley. I would use a straight edge and make sure everything is lined up so the belt isn't running at an angle some where along the way. Also be careful you aren't overtightening it, not good for the water pump and genny bearings.

[55 Fargo]

Hi everyone, picked up my starter from the shop today, he repaired the drive, installed a new overrunning clutch, and gave everything a good clean, and replaced what was necessary. Total price $65, installed it, turned the key and magic, it starts great, problem is gone, the ring gear was not a problem after all..............Fred