Okay, maybe I'm misunderstanding something. I have a gold colored bolt in the center of the flywheel right now. If I try to turn it, the whole engine turns. I'm not sure of the kind of care the bike had before me.

Where I'm stuck is trying to get the good colored bolt out, because that's where the flywheel puller goes, right?

Sent from Motorcycle.com Free App

 

You will need to have some way to keep the flywheel from turning. I would recommend a strap wrench because it seems to give folks less problems than other ways. Some folks get an assistant to sit on the bike, put it in gear and hold the brakes. The higher the gear the better if you do it that way. Be warned that it is possible to over stress transmission components if you chose to do it this way.

 

Thanks for the help, folks.

@ShenValleyFlyFish -- There's no way that I'd put this much torque on my transmission. I already risked that business with my clutch, and that wasn't nearly as bad as this. I'm not 100% confident that my transmission is in tip-top shape, so that wasn't an option.

So I went back to the drawing board with this one. I found this CM250C thread, which has a good shot of taking the flywheel off from where I was starting. It gave me some inspiration.

I went to Harbor Freight to get some tools I didn't mind breaking. That was a good thing, because as soon as I tried the strap wrench, I broke it. When I was there, though, I also got a locking chain clamp. That's what did it for me.

Anyways, after pulling that bolt, I can see that it's covered in old, most likely red thread locker. That'd be why I was having so many problems with it. I thought all yall had a fightclub-type secret about flywheels that I couldn't get the answers to, lol.

Now to finish the job and find/replace that oil seal!

 

our fightclub-type secret, that you've now published to the entire internet, was "don't tell anyone about the existence of locktite, or the possibility that some was applied by a previous owner"

 

lol though I put it everywhere else. I can't even begin to count the number of engine side cover bolts I lost before I found the stuff.

I'm not sure how much tighter I can get this thing. I keep tightening down the flywheel puller (not some bolt, btw, I gave some money to the local bike shop). I keep tightening, striking with a hammer, and tightening some more, but it's still only a shade below 3/4" in there. I'm not sure if there's anything happening. I pulled it out, it came out easier than it went in, definitely. And I think the oil helped.

...is it possible to overtighten and strip this thing out? Because that's not a repair I want to think about at this point, lol....

 

There should be no loc-tite on the flywheel bolt. At least my '04 had none from the factory. Torque it to spec and forget about it. I have learned to hate the stuff on my BMW. the replacement rear disk bolts ( Had to drill out the originals since the socket heads stripped out) came with some blue stuff on them. They were so tight that they couldn't be screwed all the way in without stripping the socket heads. For my second set of bolts I laboriously removed the stuff and bolted things up just dandy. The irony is that when the wheel is on , it has 5 lug bolts holding the disk in place.

 

My exerience has been different than Duckster's. After having several fasteners come loose, I use blue threadlocker on external fasteners. Haven't had any come loose since doing so. Don't use red threadlocker as it requires heat to break the bond.

 

I've found red threadlocker elsewhere on this bike. I really hate some of the "repairs" that were done with it. It took me nearly a month to clean up the mess the previous owner had made with the electricals.

I took out the flywheel puller and put some penetrating oil on it. Hopefully letting it sit like that will help for a bit.

If not, I'll be cleaning it up and getting the torch out.

 

I wonder if the PO actually did put red threadlocker on the end of the crankshaft to stick the taper... It should really come off quite easily if you put some good pressure on it and give it a crisp whack or 2 with a hammer.

 

I've been playing whack a mole with the dang thing all night. I wouldn't doubt it.

Sent from Motorcycle.com Free App

 

Do you think an air impact would work or would it do more damage than good.

 

That's the next step. I think an air impact would, if it did any (not saying that it would), but if it did any damage, it'll probably do less damage than me missing the flywheel puller a few times over the next 25 or so that I hit it (I've hit it at least that many times).

air impact Should not be necessary....It really should slip off easy if you have the puller bolt tightened up a bit and apply shock. and heat on the permanent magnet alternator rotor would tend to demagnetize it. You might try a heat gun on the hub of the rotor and try not to overheat the magnets too much. A little heat can't hurt and may loosen the taper if done while the puller is under some tension.

Yeah, it shouldn't need it, but "should" isn't happening here. Juggernaut just likes to go above and beyond . I'll give it another go, since it's had a beer-run's worth of time to sit with the penetrating oil. I'll record it on video, just in case it helps anyone else. Who knows, maybe it'll come off this time!

I didn't know that the heat could demagnetize it. I'm already missing a magnet (probably should replace it, but it's been running just fine since I got it, which it's been missing that long or longer). I'll hold off on the heat, since I've got an air impact at my disposal. If that doesn't work then heat it is.

 

air impact Should not be necessary....It really should slip off easy if you have the puller bolt tightened up a bit and apply shock. and heat on the permanent magnet alternator rotor would tend to demagnetize it. You might try a heat gun on the hub of the rotor and try not to overheat the magnets too much. A little heat can't hurt and may loosen the taper if done while the puller is under some tension.

 

High heat will demagnetize a magnet.. OF course rotors get reasonably hot when the engine runs so if you concentrated the heat on the hub where you need it the magnets may not get very hot.

 

Alright, we just ruined the flywheel puller, ate the threads right outta it. But the first vid I did is here, where it took 70 ft lbs just fine: Honda Rebel 250 Flywheel is Stuck - YouTube

 

I've never heard of a taper stuck that hard. 35 ft pounds should have cracked it easily with a hammer blow or 2. There's something going on here, and you may be into destroying the rotor to find out what.

 

I think we're going to be taking it to a shop. Don't know how much it is for them to turn a bolt for me, but I'll find out. The threads still look fine on the inside, thankfully.

Here's what happened afterwards: Honda Rebel Flywheel is Coming Off? We broke the flywheel puller.... - YouTube The flywheel puller's destruction.

 

I think we're going to be taking it to a shop. Don't know how much it is for them to turn a bolt for me, but I'll find out. The threads still look fine on the inside, thankfully.

Here's what happened afterwards: Honda Rebel Flywheel is Coming Off? We broke the flywheel puller.... - YouTube The flywheel puller's destruction.

I doubt you will find a FLBS shop that is more competent to deal with this than you, as this is totally off the wall and unless they have an old timer who has seen every thing or some genius who thinks outside the box you can "try everything and then some" with the aid of this forum for less per hr than they can.

I'm ready to wager your problem is red thread locker.

Get your hands on the hottest torch you can. Get a new jack bolt and slather it down with never seize. The trick here is to work quickly. If you wish you can pack wet rags around your magnets. Take the torch and blow heat into the center hole against the end of the crank shaft till the tips of the threads just start to glow a bit. Spin in that jack bolt till tight as fast as you can. If you have an air impact now is the time to use it. If the air impact keeps spinning do it like the vid and keep jacking till it pops free. If you are using a simple ratchet run it as tight as you can as quickly as you can. Give it a good pop with a heaver hammer like a 2# hand sledge or drill hammer, throw the ratchet back on and twist it tight grab your cheater and turn as fast as you can. If you feel like it pour some H2o on the flywheel when it comes off. If you work quickly enough you will not likely have enough heat transfer from the center to damage the magnets. If you do I bet the cost of a replacement flywheel will be less than what you will run up in shop fees.

 

I wouldn't "burn the crap out" of the flywheel. You just have to get the right amount of heat to the right place to get the thread locker to soften. Concentrate on getting heat to the end of the crankshaft as well as the flywheel.

From your previous experience it appears to me that the jack bolt is deliberately made of a softer steel so that it's threads strip before the flywheel's. Given that, I expect that it will mushroom or fail in some manner before it does irreparable damage.

 

Did I miss the part in the video where you hit the snugged up puller with a hammer? It seems she was just trying to brute force the flywheel off.
Anyway, there's something strange going on there. It should take minimal torque on the puller to break the taper loose.
I have an extra flywheel you can have for cheap if you end up destroying yours.

 

Right before I started the camera again she gave it a few good whacks. It was "wait, I think I've got something," so I started it again. Then she tightened it and it got easier... It's supposed to have came off a long time before this, so we were in the "give it some extra elbow grease" zone.

Will adding a heavier hammer into the mix do anything? I'm not sure. I pounded on it a ton all through yesterday, harder, softer, really banging on it.

Not gonna be able to do much until I go get another flywheel puller.

Duckster, I'll PM you about the flywheel -- mine's crappy anyways. And then I won't have to worry about destroying it.

 

He was tapping it with a lighweight claw hammer. Here's another vote for a two pound hammer. Bigger face and less likely to miss the puller, plus a little more heft.

 

All i've ever used is a normal claw hammer... 16 oz head I think. You have to give it a good sharp hit though. Just torquing the heck out of the puller will just break something.

 

ve got a ball-pein hammer in my kit that I think I inherited from my DDD (dear departed dad) that would run around 24 oz that is my go to for this sort of application. When that fails I go to the 2# . . . Yes, the heaver hammer may make a difference as the goal is to create a shock wave that runs along the mating surface just like the wave from a quake would run along a fault line. I'll give high odds that you have got a bunch of red thread locker in there. Thats why you need the heat. If not someone tried to fill in some galling with some metal epoxy like J & B Weld@ and didn't know to coat one of the mating surfaces with never seize so you can disassemble it later if needed. If that's the case you are up the creek. Only recourse is an old timer (or young guy you can't afford) with hands like the rock of Gibraltar, eyes like an eagle and the cleanest tipped cutting torch in the land. There would have been a day I'd have said "Piece of cake" but that was in "A time long ago and a place far away."

 

Ain't that the truth?:winking0071:

 

Alright, so I'll be giving it a few hits with the mini-sledge I borrowed from a friend after getting a NEW flywheel puller on it, and then if that doesn't work then we'll try getting it all hot n stuff.

 

Remember you are hammering those crank bearings too.. A pile driver is not what you need. just sayin'

 

Yeah I didn't hit it too hard. No luck.

Gonna put in a bit of time at work (woo, internet job) and come back with the torch in a bit.

 

You are going to have to heat it if it's glued on. The idea is to shock it not drive it, a good solid thump without much follow through.

 

If I don't care about saving the flywheel, would a sideways hit, or hits from the back be any good? I'm gonna heat it up, yeah, but I won't be able to get to it for a while.