Pinto Flywheel Has Come Loose!

[Guest Deano 777]

after running in my 2.0l pinto, i gave it some stick and now my flywheel has become loose on the crank, it gave the same symptoms as a knock from the bottom end, after removing the sump, and replacing the big end bearings, i turned the engine over by hand, and it made a clunking noise, put my fingers into the bell housing and found that i can move the flywheel by hand, now im taking engine out to investigate the flywheel bolts, has anyone else had this problem and how was it cured? many thanks Dean.

[Guest combatsapph]

has anyone else had this problem and how was it cured?

 

If you can move it it's simply likely you didn't torque the flywheel bolts up enough or use threadlock.

 

Get some new flywheel bolts, buy some threadlock, get your torque wrench re-calibrated, drop the box, remove the clutch, remove the old flywheel bolts, put new bolts in with thread lock, torque them up to the correct settings, put the clutch back on, refit the box and jobs a good 'un :-)

 

I doubt you've sheared any bolts as the engine wouldn't run right at all (it'd sound a darn sight worse than bearings!).

Edited May 13, 2009 by combatsapph

[Guest zoomzoom]

Also make sure the dowel is in place and in good condition as this holds and locates the flywheel

[Longboarder]

Not very rare on tuned pintos. The bolts can be sheared off as they take a big load and fatigue. Common to dowel the flywheel and crank with two dowels if big power is intended. Always fit new bolts or uprate to ARP.

 

Nigel

[Bob Tucker]

Make sure theres no paint or rust on the flywheel under the bolt heads

[Guest chris brown]

If as you say you can move it then it and/or the crank will need work so as to fit oversized dowel at least but you may find the bolt holes elongated in which case it will be easier to get another flywheel

[Guest combatsapph]

Also make sure the dowel is in place and in good condition as this holds and locates the flywheel

 

There is no dowell on a standard Pinto.

[Guest Deano 777]

Thank you all for your advise, i removed the engine fri eve, lucky for me the bolts had only slightly become loose, no damage done to the crank or flywheel, All parts ordered from ford dealer, i have a few other little engine jobs to do, i' m going to remove the head for a little porting and polishing also going to up the size of my carbs, re wrap my exhaust headers, also got the gearbox output seal to replace, Thanks again Dean.

[Guest combatsapph]

Excellent (I like it when I'm right :-) ).

 

Get your torque wrench re-calibrated and check every other bolt you've ever used the "old" torque wrench on.

[Snapperpaul]

ARP flywheel bolts are only £14 on ebay,

If your bolts have come loose and you have had a knocking noise then you have clearly had the flywheel smashing into the side of the bolts putting an unwanted sideways shear force on them. ready to shear next time.

As stated by combattsapph there is no dowel fitted to the standard flywheel, so, new ARP bolts at least one dowel (there is a dowel hole in the crank already but not one in the flywheel) and thread lock.

While you have the flywheel off you could have the rear machined to make it lighter, just machining the rear weight of at the outer edge level with the rest of the flywheel will make a big difference, don't bother with the other areas.

[Guest Deano 777]

ARP flywheel bolts are only £14 on ebay,

If your bolts have come loose and you have had a knocking noise then you have clearly had the flywheel smashing into the side of the bolts putting an unwanted sideways shear force on them. ready to shear next time.

As stated by combattsapph there is no dowel fitted to the standard flywheel, so, new ARP bolts at least one dowel (there is a dowel hole in the crank already but not one in the flywheel) and thread lock.

While you have the flywheel off you could have the rear machined to make it lighter, just machining the rear weight of at the outer edge level with the rest of the flywheel will make a big difference, don't bother with the other areas.

Thanks guys, the flywheel has already been lightend, i had that done about 6 years ago when i 1st built the engine, new bolts from ford dealer, bolts fitted with extra amount of lock and seal. will re fitt engine to the car over the weekend, Dean.

[Snapperpaul]

ARP flywheel bolts are only £14 on ebay,

If your bolts have come loose and you have had a knocking noise then you have clearly had the flywheel smashing into the side of the bolts putting an unwanted sideways shear force on them. ready to shear next time.

As stated by combattsapph there is no dowel fitted to the standard flywheel, so, new ARP bolts at least one dowel (there is a dowel hole in the crank already but not one in the flywheel) and thread lock.

While you have the flywheel off you could have the rear machined to make it lighter, just machining the rear weight of at the outer edge level with the rest of the flywheel will make a big difference, don't bother with the other areas.

[Snapperpaul]

Sorry for the double post but i am in a hotel near the Clyde that has intermittent WiFi so i hit send and went to dinner

[Guest combatsapph]

bolts fitted with extra amount of lock and seal

 

That's a BAD thing to do - you only need a smear to make it "lock". Excess will prevent the threads of the bolts contacting the threads of the crank, making your torque figure inaccurate and preventing the compound from drying resulting in it not "locking".

 

Take the bolts out, clean them up with a wire brush and clean the crank the holes with a pipe cleaner or something similar. Refit with the recommended amount of thread lock - i.e. just enough to lightly coat the first 7 or so threads.

 

And when you say you refitted them, did you torque them up with a known good torque wrench?

Edited May 21, 2009 by combatsapph