1948 John Deere Flywheel Installation

[wlmccabe]

Replacing the flywheel on a 1948 A, part no. A3264R. My shop manual shows end play of .005-.010 moving flywheel in and out on the shaft. I assume that
the play is controlled by the lock nut on the shaft. I am not sure what the torque is for the flywheel bolts. Pulling down tight with a 1/2 pull handle
and socket leaves a slight amount of movement in the flywheel to shaft joint. Is this joint supposed to be tight, and what is the torque for the bolts?
Splines on flywheel and shaft look good. Thanks for any help/advice in this matter.
Thanks,
WL McCabe

 

[Rodney51Cub]

I torqued mine to 225 ft lbs. I have a 1950 A. Can not find the reference I found for that number. Will continue looking.

Found Field Service Bulletin #218 reference for the model 60 tractor with 258 ft lbs, which uses the same flywheel as the A above serial number 584000. Guess I will be retorquing mine.

This post was edited by Rodney51Cub on 06/19/2022 at 06:19 pm.

 

[greenmech]

There should be no play in the flywheel any where. You may need more torque maybe 250 ft pounds. If it doesn't get tight you have worn splines. Ron MN

 

[Pete in MD]

''There should be no play in the flywheel any where.''

There should be 0.005 to 0.010 end play on the crankshaft.

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

The splines should be snug yet slide before torquing the bolts. You's risk cracking the flywheel if the splines are too loose.

 

[PJH]

Just to clarify - the flywheel must be tight on the crankshaft when you are done adjusting the endplay. The endplay mentioned is movement of the flywheel AND crankshaft. You can see this endplay movement by locking in the clutch and then carefully rocking the clutch lever forward and back without disengaging the clutch.

A loose flywheel/crankshaft connection will eventually cause expensive damage. I apologize if this is info that you already knew.

 

[JIM MN]

Service manual shows flywheel bolts torque for late styled A is 275 foot pounds.. With torqued
flywheel should have crankshaft end play of .005-.010...

 

[wlmccabe]

Thanks to everyone for the info on flywheel installation. My largest torque wrench is good for 150ft/lb, so I used my impact which is 235 ft/lb max. The
flywheel is no longer loose on the shaft. I now have to find what is causing rough running and very loud popping from the exhaust. It was running good
at an earlier date but became hard to start and will not run like it should. I appreciate any help/advice on this problem now.
Thanks,
WL McCabe

 

[Rich'sToys]

You should probably start a new thread on that problem. That way more people might see it.

 

[wlmccabe]

Thanks, I will.
WL

 

[DCFarmer]

Just to clarify - the flywheel must be tight on the crankshaft when you are done adjusting the endplay. The endplay mentioned is movement of the flywheel AND crankshaft. You can see this endplay movement by locking in the clutch and then carefully rocking the clutch lever forward and back without disengaging the clutch.

A loose flywheel/crankshaft connection will eventually cause expensive damage. I apologize if this is info that you already knew.

My JD H flywheel has end play of .021. Do you think this is excessive enough to require adjustment?

 

[dan_41jdh]

My JD H flywheel has end play of .021. Do you think this is excessive enough to require adjustment?

Well, 0.021" is out of spec (0.005 to 0.100) but it's not terrible. But it's fairly easy to adjust. Here's a sketch showing how I do it - first. loosen the flywheel clamping bolts. Then I use a 0.007" feeler gauge poised between the inside of the flywheel hub and the exposed end of the H229R spacer. Then a small pry bar or a large screwdriver is used to pry the flywheel tight against the feeler gauge and while doing so, tighten the flywheel clamp bolts. When finished, this will result in a 0.007" end play which is right in the middle of the tolerance range.

 

[DCFarmer]

Well, 0.021" is out of spec (0.005 to 0.100) but it's not terrible. But it's fairly easy to adjust. Here's a sketch showing how I do it - first. loosen the flywheel clamping bolts. Then I use a 0.007" feeler gauge poised between the inside of the flywheel hub and the exposed end of the H229R spacer. Then a small pry bar or a large screwdriver is used to pry the flywheel tight against the feeler gauge and while doing so, tighten the flywheel clamp bolts. When finished, this will result in a 0.007" end play which is right in the middle of the tolerance range.

Thank you so much. This is very helpful.

 

[dan_41jdh]

Thank you so much. This is very helpful.

Typo in my earlier post - end play tolerance is 0.005" to 0.010", not 0.100". Sorry about the mistake.