So after 17 years and 100k+ miles, combined with a tad of starter misalignment, the ring gear on my flywheel is no longer usable. This is an SFI flywheel that TA Performance supplied when they rebuilt the motor in 1998. Can I have a shop replace the ring gear with one from another 455 I have lying around? Does the flywheel have to get shipped back to the manufacturer? Do I just need to suck it up and buy a whole new flywheel? Thanks, -Bob Cunningham disclaimers: Yes, the starter gear will be replaced to. And yes, the alignment will be correct this time.
Yes you can replace it if you are skilled and equipped, but isn't the SFI rating dated? I would suck it up and buy one. I do know that FLEXPLATES cannot take 100k+ miles of daily abuse with high powered applications. I would treat that part like any other highly stressed component and occasionally replace it. Flea Bay here we go!
Bob, if I recall correctly, you have an auto trans. If that is the case, I would replace the flexplate. If I am remembering wrong, then yes, you can replace the ring gear on a stick flywheel.. call TA for a replacement ring gear, they will havce the same one that was originally on it. JW
Whoops! Sorry, yes - it's a flex plate. I am inferring from this discussion that it won't affect engine balance - I can just buy a flex plate and bolt it on... (right?) Thanks! -Bob C.
Which is really difficult to do, without a crankshaft to use an an arhbor.. usually this process is done during a balance job. And is the exact reason that we balance every assembly we do here to a master stock flexplate.. then if something like this happen, all you have to do is call me, and we can correct a flexplate for you, which will maintain your balance. As far as "the wheel" SFI flexplate that you have, I once used one assembly to correct two of those brand new flexplates, and was surprised that the correction was not the same in each.. but it wasn't a ton off either.. 8-10 grams, which will probably not result in a vibration issue. I would live with this, before trying to weld a new ring gear on, which most likely is going to change your balance anyway, from the welding material and position. Just set the new flexplate on the old one, and insure that the offset weight is in the same spot as the old one, and that it is not a mile off. They have varied the weight postion on the flexplate over the years, but typically that has been more of putting it on the engine side, vs the traditional converter side deal.. and that should not affect the balance greatly.. JW
For my last engine I picked up cheap an older unused "NEW" JW "Wheel". It was out of certification by a bit plus it was one that had the ring gear located in the wrong place. The ring gear was offset to the rear(I believe) and the starter was only partially engaging it. I called JW about getting it recertified and getting the ring gear moved to the correct position. The guy on the phone said that to recertify it they had to replace the ring gear anyway so repositioning it was no problem. The recertification wasn't priced bad and when it all added up I still spent less than a new one and the starter engages nicely. It has been working fine for a couple of years now. It seems to me if they replace the ring gear on all re-certifications then they would almost have to guarantee that the balance of the flexplate wouldn't change. If the balance would change it would be way out of line for everybody that gets their flexplate re-certified. It would be cheaper to just buy a new one.
If they screwed it up that badly to begin with, do you really trust them to get it right later? Seems to me that if their quality assurance department is so lame that they mis-locate the ring gear, and can't get closer than 8 grams on the balance, they aren't my first choice for repairing the flywheel. If they are given the job of repairing their mistake, fixing that should be free, as a warranty item. Pretty clear that the consumer isn't to blame for the mis-welded ring gear.
Yes, I have done this. Back in the day, you could still buy replacement ring gears at auto parrts stores. What I have done is use a stock flexplate, carefully break the welds with a hammer and anvil, separating the gear from the flexplate innards. Smooth whats left over from the welds with a file, heat it with a propane torch, use a punch or drift to drive it onto the flywheel (after driving the old gear off of course)
I found my bill from JW to recertify and correct the ring gear position. $137 including return shipping in 2012. Probably a bit higher now.
So I replaced the drive gear on the starter, and I'm going to use a temporary flexplate from another motor. This is the same car bobc455 was discussing in the original post. (I know it's not balanced properly - no high RPM pulls, this is just a temporary measure so the car is mobile while we wait for the correct balanced flexplate to come back) I was trying to figure out how to make sure the shims are correct so we don't have this issue again. The general consensus seems to be to put a 1/8 drill bit or allen key in between the armerture and teeth for clearance. But this is a high torque/tilton style starter that doesn't have an armature/nose sticking out the front. I found this Eric the car guy (he's great) video on youtube describing checking clearance with paint markings. It seems to be okay - does anyone see a problem with this or have any advice to add? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cYqrKmVECY Thanks! -Derek edit to add pics of the starter gear: before <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/65093156@N08/23809101744/in/album-72157629085965528/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1508/23809101744_9e1a690304_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> after <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/65093156@N08/24437305815/in/album-72157629085965528/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1588/24437305815_a1e1e8b720_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> and the insides of a tilton starter gear reduction if anyone wants to see... <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/65093156@N08/24411089766/in/album-72157629085965528/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1664/24411089766_349dee1e61_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/65093156@N08/24069509889/in/album-72157629085965528/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1481/24069509889_8d1c2ea1e3_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
