Home › Forum › Ask A Member › Johnson 1957 18hp Flywheel Problems › Re: Johnson 1957 18hp Flywheel Problems
I’ve had flywheels before where the flywheel nut is so tight, I had to use a wrench on the nut with a 4 foot cheater bar, and then use my flywheel holder with another 4 foot cheater bar attached, and two people (one on each cheater bar) pushing in opposite directions. You want to talk about the amount of force we applied? I have a degree in biomechanics…the amount of newton/lbs applied that sucker had to be up into the 1,000’s, perhaps 10,000’s just to break the nut loose. And this was a 3hp JW series…..
Cheater bars and good holders, along with a heavy sledge, have worked so far for me. Some are MUCH harder than others to get to pop. To the point of others…the amount of force applied when you strike it is what makes it pop. Crank that puller down as far as you can until you see if flex, then give it a hard knock with a heavy sledge. A simple hammer doesn’t have enough mass to really deliver a good blow, unless you are swinging for the fences like David Ortiz (New England Reference), and in that case, you have a better chance of missing the puller bolt and hitting something else by accident. Mass x Velocity = Force. Heavy mass x less velocity = roughly the same force as lighter mass with higher velocity (there’s a lot more to it than that, but in simple terms that the way it works).
On a side note, it was my understanding that prying up on a flywheel was a big no-no as it is a great way to distort or damage the flywheel/taper. What does the official panel say about this? I have always avoided it and been able to get all of the flywheels off (albeit, some with a few more curses than others).