Drive Damper ProblemUPDATE

"Finally got the engine out to

"Finally got the engine out today after heading to the marina on 1 engine and docking was nuts with the wind. Here is what had happened:

The drive damper is mounted to the flywheel on its outer edge with 1" bolts and lockwashers. ONE of the bolts had worked its way out and was easily turned by hand this had allowed the disc , which is split into sections, to flex. That had allowed the flexing disc to bow out by centrifigual force and at one point it hit the bell housing and was torn away and bent up badly. SO MUCH so it literally stopped the 2200 rpm big block in its tracks.

There was NO thread locker on any bolt I removed today from the engine or trans and v-drive. The job is as DAVE said, a 30 minute repair once everything is on hand. It's the 3 hours it takes to disconnect and un-bolt everything that takes the back breaking work.

The explosive effect of the part caused reasonable damage to the bell housing and it will need to be replaced. In looking at the ring gear in the flywheel, it too will be changed as there is a missing tooth and compared to a new one, well....its well used rounded tooth time has come.. We washed down everything and got the parts ready for painting but the bell house will take a day to get here. HAD WE HAD IT AVAILABLE, the engine would be back in the boat already and set to launch befor the weekend . It's those other SMALL jobs that you can only do with the engine out that will take the rest of the week to get finished. I have a few pictures and will post them once I get them resized for display.

THANKS to everyone involved for their great information here at MARINEENGINE.COM....without it, I could see this job costing enough to bring this years season to a close...However, NOW, we will be out there fishing with the best of them !"

"Ah, I hate like hell to say t

"Ah, I hate like hell to say this, but.... The same careless mechanic probably assembled your other engine's damper plate. Can you remove and Lock Tite its mounting bolts without a major hassle? Hope so.

Jeff"

"If anyone is interested...tak

"If anyone is interested...take a look.

eng1""> eng2""> eng3""> eng4

"Hey Jeff,

AGREE!~ Actuall

"Hey Jeff,

AGREE!~ Actually, IF I remove the heat exchanger I have access thru the timing hole. AND THAT is exactly what my brother and I discussed today before we left. We just need to be REAL careful not to drop a bolt down inside the bell housing. I will likely just back them out one at a time and lay some juice on it...then set it back in. ESPECIALLY, that they BARELY had 20lbs torque, ....like sparkplugs"

Al:

Glad it wasn't too

Al:

Glad it wasn't too much worse than expected. I trust you are using thread locking compound on the reassemble effort.

I think you'll be ok with the replacement stringer angles.

"Al:

Contrary to popular op

"Al:

Contrary to popular opinion, you do not have to remove a bolt completely to Lock Tite it. All you need is a few exposed threads (and a good aim!)

Jeff"

"I am trying to find a machine

"I am trying to find a machine shop to press on the new ring gear. They are slowly fading away and doing other types of machining.

Loc-tite Probably RED?

Jeff, I have these cool cheap plastic pipettes for getting "crazy glue" into small spaces...They have a small bulb on them to suck up some liquid and then a 6" firm but small tip to drip out onto those tight spots"

ring gear; I think they use a

ring gear; I think they use a cold chisel to cut the old one off. They then heat the new ring gear and push it on the flywheel.
I believe that blue locktite is a good idea; the bolts have so little stretch length that both new split washers and locktite will prevent loosening.

"Al:

I used locktite 271 -

"Al:

I used locktite 271 - red.

My manuals show the damper plate torque to 35 Ft #, not the 20 you mentioned in an earlier post."

"I looked for the torque spec

"I looked for the torque spec and did not see it but my book is WELL used and a few pages are folded together at the top.

I no longer have that kind of heat availble here so I need to find a place that would do it. 15 years ago I had oxy/acetyl in the garage to cut and braze. Tanks lasted 10 years filled twice...I had lent it all to a guy I knew and when he moved, he took it al with him ! (SOB)

Mark, When I removed the bolts I tried to insure th right torque range so my torque wrench broke them loose at about 20. I know it is too loose and I am going to do the other side no matter how long it takes... As you saw...my generator is tucked away nicely in the direct space opposite the port engine and it would require removeing both for this same job !"

You removed the bolts with you

You removed the bolts with your torque wrench?

"Since I had NO idea of what t

"Since I had NO idea of what the settings were going to be...I figured I would try to see where they were at JUST in case...They popped around 20... I have done this before on FACTORY bolts and nuts on newer Harleys as I KNOW they do not let anything just slip thru anymore. So it gave me a starting point. I still knew they were the wrong numbers even if I had used that bolt diameter / head size formula , But I have no idea what it is...But here is the true explanation of why I used a torque wrench to remove those bolts

Back in the 1980's there was a joke about all these guys that were HARLEY guys and ONLY Harley guys.... it was: IF Harley Davidson made airplanes, would YOU fly in one? During the AMF ownership days...things were SO screwed up they would ship bikes to dealers that had NO PISTONS in the engines...The dealers had to get the bikes roadworthy. Nuts could be finger tight or over torqued, you never knew. ( I never worked for Harley Davidson but I know their product inside and out)

Of course things have changed over the years but my last tour of the York,PA final assembly plant revealed LOADS of imported stuff used to make those ALL AMERICAN Motorcycles. However, assembly control is very impressive today.

That explains my relation ship with the torque wrench...I used to be VERY involved with those engines.

Glad you asked?"

and that is for a yes/no answe

and that is for a yes/no answer... he he.

"Thanks Dave....<[img]"http://

"Thanks Dave....

I guess I figure it would be wierd to use a torque wrench to remove bolts...SO I thought the explanation might be a better way to go ! "

"i asked as that is a 'fro

"i asked as that is a 'frowned upon' practice...at least for the ones I have. The largest one has a fixed, uni-directional racheting drive so you can't use it as a breaker bar.

I know exactly what you mean about the AMF-era. My intro was a '77 model produced at the peak of their cost cutting importing trend. I kept asking myself why I sold my Honda to get this POS...Anyway, a few dollars and lots of bartered labor later, the 'junk' was replaced with quality components and the bike was wonderful."

"A good friend of mine who has

"A good friend of mine who has since sold his partnership in the dealership told me stories that were just un-imaginable. It would appear to be as remarkable as the AIG guys getting their bonuses today...

Ooops...politics, what next religion?"

"The guy I bartered labor with

"The guy I bartered labor with was factory trained and worked for the local police department...he can probably vouch for a lot of those stories. (he went out on his own, set up shop, and was 'nationally known' in several areas of motorcycling.

You need to slam Ms. Pelosi, at least once, before you can switch off the Politics topic."

"Al,
When I replaced the ring

"Al,
When I replaced the ring gear on my 350 10 years ago, we carefully heated it up till it litaraly fell off. And did the reverse on the instilation of the new ring. Don't know if that is the recomended way to do it but it worked for us."

"Thats the way we do it also P

"Thats the way we do it also Paul ...BUT, I don't have that kind of heat anymore, just a propane sweat flame. When I lived in Northern Vermont, we had to take the lug nuts of the truck one day at -40F degrees...Used a torch to heat those things up just to loosen them !"