broke my flywheel

[my90hpdud]

Hi, I have a 90 hp bayliner with a force motor. I am replacing my stator which is under my flywheel. I was using the wrong pully system to remove the flywheel and broke a piece of the upper lip off. Is this going to affect how the flywheel operates (balance)?

 

[The Marine Doctor]

Re: broke my flywheel

When you speak of lip..what exactly do you mean. Is it where the starter engages?<br /><br />TMD

 

[my90hpdud]

Re: broke my flywheel

not the gears (where the starter engages). There is an upper lip that has notches in it for attaching a belt to bump start the engine (I believe). I think that the flywheel will work just fine, but what I am concerned with is the balance of the flywheel when the motor is on or reving. <br /><br />Thanks for the reply.

 

[scotiany]

Re: broke my flywheel

doctor, do you think something like JB weld would work on his problem?

 

[The Marine Doctor]

Re: broke my flywheel

I do not think that patching is the real problem here.<br /><br />IF we start putting JBweld on to this flywheel..and it comes off at 5k RPM...do you want to catch it? <br /><br />I also do not know how much of the flywheel has been broken off...a picture would be helpful.<br /><br />TMD

 

[my90hpdud]

Re: broke my flywheel

Yeah, I don't think that a weld or a patch is a good idea. I will get you a picture later today. But, in the meantime, maybe I can describe it to you: The piece that broke off is about 1.5" long by .5" wide by .25" high. It is a pretty small piece that probably weighs no more than an ounce or two, but, I don't know if that will affect the balance (or if balance is even a real issue). But, I don't want to start it up and have the flywheel fly off at me if balance is an issue.

 

[SlowlySinking]

Re: broke my flywheel

Hi my90hpdud, the Marine Doctor is right, if you try to reattach it and it comes off at 5k RPM's from a one foot diameter flywheel a quick seat of the pants no calculator calculation shows that it will be traveling at about 31000 feet per second, or about 6 miles per second, the kinetic energy of the piece is tremendous, it would make a 12 ga. shot gun slug in the chest seem like fun. That's a serious piece of shrapnel and would easily kill someone. With a one ounce piece missing from the outer edge I would expect a significant engine destroying out of balance situation at high RPM's, remember car tires use very small balancing weights down to about a quarter ounce, and car tires don't spin at 5k RPM's. I would strongly suggest for your continued safety and longevity to replace the flywheel. There is a possible cheap solution (excluding what your life is worth) that isn't worth exploring, seriously, just replace the flywheel.

 

[my90hpdud]

Re: broke my flywheel

Thanks, that's what I was afraid of. So, does anyone know where I can get a used/new flywheel and about how much do they cost?<br /><br />Thanks for your replys.

 

[scotiany]

Re: broke my flywheel

There's a 87 125hp flywheel on ebay.

 

[my90hpdud]

Re: broke my flywheel

thanks, I'll check it out... will that flywheel work with a 90' bayliner 3 cylinder 90 horse force engine: 90LD90C

 

[Squeakit]

Re: broke my flywheel

Slowly sinking: Just curious; is the "possible cheap solution not worth exploring" that you mentioned removing a piece on the opposing side equal to the size of the missing one to counterbalance the flywheel? This would be similar to removing a cooling fin opposite a broken fin on an air-cooled flywheel and it's always worked well for me. PLEASE NOTE: I am NOT advising that this be done. Another solution which I would probably be more in favor of would be carefully grinding that entire upper "lip" off (I just went out and looked at the flywheel on my 50 Force and I see what he is talking about) This would lighten the flywheel by a few ounces, but otherwise would probably work. AGAIN PLEASE NOTE; these theoretical suggestions do not constitute advice on my part. I would just be too darn cheap to run out and buy a new flywheel. I've done quite a few engine fixes that definitely did not have the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. But to be completely safe, replace it!

 

[The Marine Doctor]

Re: broke my flywheel

my90hp<br /><br />I will do some checking around at work for a flywheel.<br /><br />What year and what style ignition do you have?<br /><br />Forward your details to marine.ron@shaw.ca<br /><br />TMD

 

[SlowlySinking]

Re: broke my flywheel

Squeakit, you got it, balance the broken piece by removing an equal piece from the opposite side, however, given the potential of instant death I also again advise a new flywheel. What if the puller not only broke off a piece but created a stress point or cracks that come back to haunt or kill you. We all take chances but at what cost or risk, in my younger and more foolish days I replaced a transmission on the side of the Long Island Expressway using a bumper jack. As I got older I also got a bit smarter.

 

[jpbaker]

Re: broke my flywheel

I think there's a country song here somewhere..<br />"I broke a big chunk off the top of my flywheel"<br />"And...I'am cryin' my heart out offer-r-r you".<br />Got to go with the Doc on this one Bud, you can jerry-rig alot of stuff on these things and get them to work. But this is one of those items that could come back to haunt you. If you already have it off just bite the bullet and get a replacement. Can't put a price on piece-of-mind. "That's my opinion but,I could be wrong."

 

[my90hpdud]

Re: broke my flywheel

I agree with replacing it... I am looking into prices right now, pretty expensive so far. I am also going to look into bringing it to a machine shop to see if they can just remove the entire top lip and balance it for me... we'll see.<br /><br />thanks for everyones advice.<br /><br />PS if anyone knows where to purchase one (maybe online), please let me know. (except for TMD)

 

[my90hpdud]

Re: broke my flywheel

took the flywheel to a boat machine shop and they said that the top part of the flywheel is aluminum and that with the size of the missing piece, there really should not be any problems... going to give it a try... let you know.

 

[scotiany]

Re: broke my flywheel

Good luck with your flywheel and let us know how it works out.

 

[force01]

Re: broke my flywheel

my90,<br />let me know if you need to replace the flywheel i can help you out with new or used. thanks, bret forceparts@yahoo.com

 

[my90hpdud]

Re: broke my flywheel

hooked it back up, fired her up and no wobble or misbalance. Reved her up and everything seems fine. Going to take her to the lake today and we'll see...

 

[The Marine Doctor]

Re: broke my flywheel

Its the sustained loads that will cause a problem with the flywheel.<br /><br />Hoping for the best <br /><br />TMD