SOB

99LRDblaster

New Member
Jan 25, 2011
2,481
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Delphos/Columbus, Ohio
So I got my woodruff key in(finally......only took about 2 weeks) and I go out and put the key on and MAKE SURE the flywheel is on the key and it was. I torqued it down to spec, kick over the engine, starts, sounds good, no knocking, let it warm up. So I decide to go ride it for a while at +5 timing and it's running pretty good and get to the other side of the house and it starts running like absolute sh*t, so I immediately cut the engine. I know it's not overheating because I haven't even moved a football field and I can touch the engine still, so I tried kicking it over and it FELT like there was no compression and I heard this squeaking sound and immediately went into :( mode.

So I get back and the first thing I suspect is the flywheel. Take the stator cover off and try turning the flywheel......turns fine with the crank, so I thought that wasn't the problem. I was pretty much in X( mode then. So I take the gas tank off, pull the plug, and the plug looks perfectly fine....nothing indicative of something failing or overheating. :-/ I shine a light down through the plug hole and look and see nothing wrong as far as I can tell....piston looked perfectly fine, so I begin to suspect the rings. I get the compression tester out and try it out and just to make my day even better, I discovered the 1 month old compression tester has taken a sh*t and is leaking itself. X( Even with it leaking I was kicking over 155psi, but I kept hearing squeaking, so it wasn't the engine......so WTF was it? :-/

The f**ckin flywheel key sheared again. I double checked the flywheel and spun it again and sure enough it went on a nice little trip while the crank stood still and was squeaking. X( Now I have another issue. Is there any way I can get the flywheel nut off without an impact gun? I might have to borrow one again. Obviously I can't hold the flywheel to loosen it since it's no longer connected. Hopefully it didn't tear the sh*t out of the flywheel and crank. These little f**ckers are pissing me off to no end. X(
 
sucks man. i know the feeling though. i had like 2 rides on my rebuild before i had to tear down again. now i cant ride and i am very frustrated cause all i want to is "i want to ride my quadcycle i want to ride my quad"
 
sucks man. i know the feeling though. i had like 2 rides on my rebuild before i had to tear down again. now i cant ride and i am very frustrated cause all i want to is "i want to ride my quadcycle i want to ride my quad"

I'm just pissed a tiny ass little midget clusterfuck of metal is what is keeping me from riding. X(
 
i just ordered my key today, hopefully i dont shear it lol, not playing with my timing though so i should be good, GOOD LUCK!

The timing itself won't change anything. It was perfectly fine when I went to +4 and put it on. The only thing I can think of is that maybe when I used threadlocker the first time it's still caught in the threads and it's causing me to torque it down but against the resistance of the little bit of threadlocker. Guess I will just have to clean the threads and try again.
 
You may want to try to lap your flywheel to your crank. I've never done this but if you put lapping compound on your flywheel and spin it on your crank till you have a even shiny look.
I'll see if I can find the post where I read that.
 
Did you lap the taper before you installed the flywheel key?

Obviously not if you installed it to torque spec and it sheared on you 1 minute later...

I'm going to write this again, 1 more time, just for giggles, and you better follow the advice or you'll be doing this over and over and over until you've destroyed the flywheel taper and the crankshaft and you have to replace both....

Remove the flywheel and key.

Remove the stator plate.

Put valve lapping compound on the crankshaft.

Slide flywheel on without the key in there and spin the flywheel until the crunching sound stops.

Pull the flywheel off and rub the lapping compound back into the taper.

Continue to spin the flywheel for several minutes stopping every so often and applying more lapping compound or rubbing the lapping compound in the key groove back onto the taper.

When you are done, the crankshaft will look like it was sand blasted and the flywheel will take to the taper perfectly.

You know you're getting close when the grit doesn't last as long each time you rub it back into the taper, it'll grind for a few seconds but because the tapers are matched the grit will "wear out" very quickly.

Once you've matched the tapers, clean all of the grit out of the flywheel and off of the crankshaft with carburetor cleaner (not only does it cut the grit and it's base but also and residual oils or greases which may be on the tapers) and reinstall everything with a new key.

You need a cylinder stop to hold the piston, rod, and crank still while you are trying to take the nut off. They sell professioanl cylinder stops which are 14mm threaded rods with a plastic end on them. Or you can shove a rag down the spark plug hole until it balls up inside the head.
 
If you're not having key trouble right now, there is no need to remove the flywheel just to lap.

Lapping is only needed if the flywheel has been pulled and you suspect damage (the crankshaft and flywheel are no longer tapered the same) or you get a new crank and suspect that the tapers don't match (which they SHOULD but you know how some things go).

If the key has ever been stripped (even just a little bit offset) you need to lap the taper to get the flywheel and crank back together again.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. That little dinky ass key is not what keeps the flywheel from spinning... the key is ONLY for alignment. The interference fit between the two tapers (with help from the pressure exerted by the flywheel nut) is what keeps the crank and flywheel spinning together.
 
If you're not having key trouble right now, there is no need to remove the flywheel just to lap.

Lapping is only needed if the flywheel has been pulled and you suspect damage (the crankshaft and flywheel are no longer tapered the same) or you get a new crank and suspect that the tapers don't match (which they SHOULD but you know how some things go).

If the key has ever been stripped (even just a little bit offset) you need to lap the taper to get the flywheel and crank back together again.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. That little dinky ass key is not what keeps the flywheel from spinning... the key is ONLY for alignment. The interference fit between the two tapers (with help from the pressure exerted by the flywheel nut) is what keeps the crank and flywheel spinning together.

Yea I know, but it wasn't an issue previously. The key actually does hold part of it in place along with the pressure from the flywheel nut pressing against the taper because once the key shears the engine will run like sh*t regardless of how well the taper is meshed. So far I haven't had any need or damage to either so it's been fine. That's why I think the nut has just been too loose because it's not flush with the taper. I'll probably lap it anyways this time around though since it's come loose twice now and it might have dinged it up a little.
 
Lap it.
At least now you know for sure what needs to be done.
Too bad it cost you so much time + $$$ to find out but saylavee.
Simple fix
 
sorry to hear that bro...............but this happened for a reason.if i was guessing your torque wrench is off have you had it verified?

also have you tried locktite?the key wont shear or atleast in most cases wont unless the nut starts backing off.
 
There's no need for loctite and the torque wrench isn't wrong. All it takes is a little moisture between the crank taper and the flywheel to let it slip just half key thickness and it raises a small bump of steel which won't let the whole taper seat the next time it comes apart. Then you are only relying on that little bump to try and hold the flywheel to the crank.

Lap it and you won't have another problem out of it...

And by the way, the key does not hold hardly any torque from the flywheel... you can actually run a clean flywheel without a key at all as long as you can line the two keyways up properly and tighten the nut without the flywheel spinning. As long as the tapers match, it will run off into the sunset with no key at all....
 
"I've said it before and I'll say it again. That little dinky ass key is not what keeps the flywheel from spinning... the key is ONLY for alignment. The interference fit between the two tapers (with help from the pressure exerted by the flywheel nut) is what keeps the crank and flywheel spinning together."

/\/\/\ word to my mother !!!!!!!!!!

and to remove the nut now that the flywheel is spinng, you may need to remove the clutch cover and use the clutch/flywheel holding tool to hold the clutch basket, if you don't have the tusk tool you may have to do the "in a pinch" way of riveting a fiber and steel plate together and install them, but that'll require pulling your plates