The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Flywheel flew the coup

Today I cleaned the contacts and cables, put the battery in, and hit the switch.

Nothing.

So after some diagnosis, I pull the starter, give it the WD40 and wire brush treatment to clean off 50+ years of goo, and remove the "switch" on the top of the starter and clean the contacts.

After putting the starter back together, I connect it direct to a 6V battery with some jumper cables and she worked perfectly (and looked just about like new, too!)

So I anxiously re-install the starter to the motor, hop in the cab and the engine cranks for a solid 10 seconds and then "clang clang clang".

I let off the starter pedal, wait a second or two then hit it again.

clang clang clang

So I climb under the truck, and have my brother hit the starter pedal so I can see whats going on.

The teeth are spinning, but the flywheel isnt.

Apparently the teeth are a seperate deal, and pressed on to the flywheel. My "teeth ring" seems to have rusted thru at one spot, and now more closely resembles a lock washer than it does a ring.

So now I suppose it's time to find a new flywheel, since finding just the "teeth ring" may prove difficult, not to mention i'm probably not equiped to press such a thing together.

Anybody know if the flywheels in a 2 ton are interchangable with the 1/2 tons or passenger cars?

I'll check the classified section out to see if anybody has one for sale, but until I hear some quasi-official "word", i'll be hesitant to buy anything unless it came out of a 2 ton.

I think that is a thread about changing the ring gear. I believe that it is heated and then dropped onto the flange. It seems to me that you can by new ones if I remember correctly.

Ring gears are easy to change if you have an oxy-acetylene torch, but...the flywheel has to be out of the truck. Just heat it evenly and they are easily pushed off. Heat the new one and it will push on. I think the flywheels are the same in these trucks up to 1955 but if you can count the number of teeth on your flywheel (if they are not rusted away) just make sure you buy one with the same number of teeth. I think they have 139 teeth but a little research should help you determine what you need. It sounds like you are making a lot of progress on your truck.
Good luck.

Getting the old "flywheel ring gear" (as i've discovered they're called thanks to the kind folks here!) is going to be cake, since it's split.. when the starter hits it, it just spins around loose.

I went out in the dark with a flashlight in my mouth and thought I counted 141 teeth.. but all information i've found in previous posts as well as your current post suggests it's probably 139 teeth for my model year.

Since my current ring is split (more of a C than an O) it'll be difficult to determine the exact ID of my ring, so if one of you die hard stovebolters could tell me what I should be looking for as far as diameter, i'd appreciate it greatly!

I've located a NOS flywheel ring gear that says it fits 37-50 Chevrolets, and has 139 teeth. It's 13.060" ID X 14.015 OD X 1/2" Wide.

I guess I just wanted to be sure that thats the right size, and to make sure that there wasn't some oddball size used on the 2 ton trucks.

Alot of good advice in the past threads about putting the gear back on. From heating it with a torch, to cooking it in the oven at 500 degrees for 20 minutes. I don't think the wife would approve of that.. i'll probably go with the torch method instead and continue to sleep indoors!

All in all the truck is comming along nicely, but slowly. I've been working on it in the yard, but the weather has been pretty cooperative here for the last week. I've got a bunch of pictures on disc, so i'll probably put together a little website that cronicles the progress sometime when i've got the spare time, and it's too cold or wet to work outside.

Thanks again to everyone who has helped this shade tree hack get a little closer to putting his '46 back on the road!

Okay... I have the motor from my '46 2 ton sitting in the barn. I'll check the flywheel and let you know what the dimensions and teeth count are.

I still gotta have my first cup of coffee... :o

Andy

If the flywheel is in good condition, you can go for replacing the ring gear.

As pointed out, it is not hard to do.

Safety Alert
Never, ever, use the oven in the kitchen to heat anything having to do with mechanical things (auto parts, truck parts, engines, motors, transmissions, paint baking, etc.). Parts, paint, residual oils and lubricants, etc. are very fickle and possess characteristics like 'flash points' and 'melting points' that can lead to fires which can lead to smoldering houses.

My wife is very forgiving--up to a point. But using the oven for anything in connection with my truck, would have the unintended result of causing me to leap so far beyond that point that I would not be able to see it in my rear view mirror.

Fumblin46, I took a look and I have an extra flywheel with ring gear from my '46 2-ton. I'll drop you a personal message...

Andy