I'm new to this rotary biz so excuse my ignorance. My car is a 82 12a with about 80K miles. I'm replacing a clutch and noticed my flywheel could use a turning. The guy that I got the car from said he's replaced the clutch twice. He gave me a Mazda service manual that is real helpful. It says you need a 'ring gear brake' to mount to the engine case to lock the flywheel from turning because the 54mm nut holding the flywheel is tourqued to 300ft lbs. I've looked for these tools and can't find them. The book even has a part # for the 'brake' 49 1881 060 and the Box wrench 49 0820 035. How can I obtain these. My local mazda dealer service centers don't have a clue. They say call Snap On or Matco. I did, they are no help either.
Can this job be done any other way? Even if I had a 54mm socket and an impact gun I think the engine would want to spin over.

 

I have takened plenty of flywheels off with just a very strong 1 inch impact though. It zips them right off with just a little turning of the motor. Nothing to worry about. Then I took a 5lbs hammer and tap the flywheel and it popped off the eccentric shaft with ease.

 

brace the flywheel to stop it from spinning.

 

I used a vice grip, the alternator bracket ( I didn't care if I bent it or not), and a leather strap to hold the flywheel in place. I have a RB flywheel nut remover (you can get them at www.racingbeat.com) and had my brother stand on the engine. Comes right off.

 

We used a short piece of chain. One end attached to the top rear of the motor, the other to a bolt through the flywheel. Nice and simple. Mazda makes me laugh with their "flywheel brake". lol. To hell with by the book, in some cases at least...

 

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-gen-archive-71/engine-flywheel-stopper-554738/

 

Mazdatrix has both the nut remover and a flywheel stopper available.

 

I bought the flywheel stopper from Mazdatrix, and used my 1/2" impact gun with a 54mm socket on it.

 

54mm is the same size as a 2-1/8" socket. Sears usually has them in stock. If one has a good 1/2-3/4" impact gun with plenty of air, there's no need for a flywheel stopper. Personally, I've never needed one to break the nut loose when using an impact. If you can't locate an alternator bracket or short piece of chain, install one of the engine to tranny bolts, one of the pressure plate bolts, then tightly wrap a piece of coat hanger wire around the 2 bolts to fix the flywheel in place.

Since you're new, keep in mind that one of the starter bolts has a different thread pitch than all of the others. While it's the same diameter, installing it in the wrong hole will result in stripped threads.

If you need more than the FSM, there are other manuals/info online in the link in my sig line. Have fun.
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Be sure to have the nut threaded a few turns onto the shaft, before attempting to pop the flywheel off. It only weighs around 20LBS, but it can sure do some damage if it falls off onto your body........

 

I've had way more trouble with the front 19mm bolt.

 

Yeah, that's because the bolt shoulder has more surface area in contact. I impact them both off with a 1/2 gun.

 

I've only had trouble with three front bolts but never with a rear nut. The three super-tight bolts were on engines built by local rotary shops, which have either gotten shut down by the IRS or changed ownership in the last few years.

 

i allways have to use a breaker bar on the front 19mm bolt 1/2 impact couldnt get them off on 8 engines i have torn down.

for a flywheel stoper iv just used a alternator bracket tranny bolt and a pressure plate bolt was cost free and works damn well..

 

Ditto. *I've never had trouble removing the flywheel nut, but the E-shaft bolt is a pita. *That's why I always recommend breaking the E-shaft nut loose first. *Adding a bit of heat to it to soften the thread lock that Mazda uses is the best course of action.

One*tinme*as*an*experiment,*when I had 3 enginges to tear down, I held the E-shaft bolt with a breaker bar and used an impact on the flywheel nut. *On all 3 engines, the flywheel nut nut broke loose before the E-shaft bolt did.

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Ha ha, I tried that once and the same thing happened to me. The pic is just a mock up of what I did. The front bolt is no match to a 3 foot pipe.

 

I applied 700 to 800 foot pounds to one and it didn't move. It bent my angle iron I was using as a counterweight stop.

The 1" hole saw came to the rescue.

 

About the flywheel, I made an anti-rotation device for the flywheel (2' flat bar with hole drilled to match the pressure plate holes) and let it jam up against the frame. Meanwhile a mechanic friend of mine had the 2 1/8" socket and a impact.
Came off quickly. I did leave the nut on a few threads for when I used a pry bar on three different places.

Thanks for all the input.

 

Fellas - I'm ******* deep into a clutch replacement, and I can't find anywhere that has the big socket. I have a huge aluminum pipe wrench that I know I can get the nut off with - here's my question - if I beat it up, can I get another nut either at my Mazda dealership or somewhere online in a week or so?

Thanks in advance.

Oh, I do plan on getting the socket and torqueing the flywheel nut once it's resurfaced. Everyone is on vacation now, so all the local shops can't touch the flywheel until after the 1st of the year. I just want to get it off, and get it in line for an early job.

 

If you feel like doing a half-assed job, you could leave the flywheel on and scuff it up. Then install the disc and pressure plate. I've done it that way before without problems. It's your call.

 

Some people forget that those cheap 1/2" impacts can't put out more than 200ft lbs. Trust me, I know. They tend to blow apart as well when used hard... Anyway, a GOOD 1/2" impact rated at more than 400ft lbs should be able to do it no problem.

 

I got a couple spares lying around here if you want one.

 

Thanks! I'll PM you later today with my details, on how to pay out, etc.

I've got a friend that may have a socket (he builds street rods, but he has the flu), so I'm gonna give it until noon today to wait on him.

I also saw at the Sears site that the Toyota 4WD front axle end locknut is the same size, so I'll hit the NAPAs, etc. today and see if they have that socket.

I hate risking chewing it up if I don't have to.

I'm also scared of heating my flywheel with a torch, since the motor is in the car, so I'm gonna heat the flywheel with my electric paint stripper - it gets the air to about 500 - 600 degrees, and is a lot more controllable.

Later.

 

All these guys are suggesting complicated methods - keep it simple:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=12698

 

Sears has the cheapest socket I've found. The parts store is a rip, charging around double what Sears does for the 2-1/8"socket, (around 23-25 bucks). You'll need a 3/4 to 1/2" adapter too since sockets that size are 3/4" drive.