Help! Stray bolt has siezed flywheel

[Decimate]

A few weeks ago when I had all the intercooler piping etc off my car and was swapping the turbo I lost a bolt. I heard it clatter down into the bowels of the engine bay somewhere but had a strange feeling that it could have fallen into the flywheel/clutch area (via the big exposed hole in the top). I forgot all about it, and last night when I went to start my car after finally getting it ready to go, as soon as I turned the key there was the most hideous metal on metal screeching. I thought for a second maybe I'd forgotten to fill the oil back up but nope wasn't that, I tried a few more tentative starts but same hting each time. By then it all started coming back to me.....eventually it just refused to crank over, like it had siezed the flywheel or the bolt had become so mangled it had stopped the flywheel from spinning.

Interestingly, the car could be rolled backward and forward in neutral and with the clutch in, but when it was in gear with the clutch in it wouldn't budge?

So...is there an easy way to crack the bottom of the case without taking the whole gearbox out and hope that the bolt falls out? Or even try a magnetic pickup tool through the hole in the top? Or am I going to have to pull the damn thing out?

Any suggestions welcome. Chur

[Stoffa]

I like the part where you kept cranking it ;D

I think you've dianosed it correctly, there is an inspection plate at the bottom of the bell housing, not sure how easily you can remove it, might be tucked behind the cross member.

not sure if a magnet will fix the problem as its probably wedged now.

can you use a screw driver to spin the flywheel the other direction? or maybe a crank pulley tool, just do it very slowly in reverse, you dont want to skip a tooth on the cam belt

[turborunner]

well if it mangled jamming the flywheel it probably won't come out with a magnet wand since its stuck probably will have to drop gearbox to retreive it plus you will see if it has caused any damage.

i'm wondering if you put a powerbar on crank and try and turn motor backwards you might free it so a magnet might work or some grabber tool,

maybe get someone to watch through the hole to see if he can see the bolt as you turn motor backwards and maybe remove that inspection plate at bottom as soffa suggested as it might fall down when freed

i'm not a mechanic so i don't know if turning motor backwards is bad for the engine

[Guest]

get it up in the air...take off the starter motor,

use either a pinch bar or big screw driver and ease the flywheel in the opposite direction, only need to move it a little....

you will need to undo the lower bolts on the bellhousing and pull the backing plate cover away from the bellhousing to find the bolt....

there isnt much room for the bolt to fit between the ring gear of the flywheel and the bellhousing, but if you can get the bolt unjammed, get something super sticky (grease,superglue etc) and get the bolt to stick to the flywheel somewhere, then rotate the flywheel until the bolt makes its way to the starter motor hole, and take it out...

if it doesnt work like that then youll have to take the box out...

and hopefully the ring gear isnt munted

[QBALLZ]

For all the effort its going to take to get the magnets, inspection plates off I would rather seperate the box and motor. That way youll be able to inspect propery for any damage to the ring gear. But maybe start with pulling the starter, rotating the motor, then if nothing, crack it open. Better to be safe, then sorry. Good luck champ.

[Decimate]

Thanks for the replies, haha I only cranked it maybe 3 times, but yeah that was prob 3 times too many. Thing is if I had not cranked it again after the first time I would have walked away thinking my bottom end was gone and never realised where the sound was coming from....lol.

So I think I'm gonna find out how easy/hard this inspection plate it to get to. If easyish I'll try that, if hard, I'll take the starter off, slip her back a few notches and jam a magnetic wand down, and failing that, I'll crack the bottom of the case or take the whole thing off. Sounds like a good excuse for a new clutch and/or 4.44 box though. And maybe a flywheel if I've mangled that one

[titian]

best way ...Remove the gearbox..and the flywheel...there is likely to be other damage..That you can sort out when gearbox is removed. Takes about 3-4 hours to remove and reinstall. Assuming you know what you are doing.

Me an two mates can do this task in 1h 15 min. (single turbo car) twin turbos are more awkward!

Like you said..Do the clutch too...Ideal time for that needed maintenance!

the lower dust cover is almost impossible to remove with engine and gearbox installed. And will not give you the access required to get the bolt out.

[Decimate]

Well.......I'm screwed then. Thanks mate I'll wheel her into the garage.

PS I did try and move the flywheel with a screwdriver but it wont budge a mm

[Guest]

well if the flywheel isnt moving at all,getting the box off will be an absolute prick if the bolt is jamming it up...

good luck

[titian]

 shizzl said:

well if the flywheel isnt moving at all,getting the box off will be an absolute prick if the bolt is jamming it up...

good luck

Dont know why you reckon it will be hard to get the box out?

Tis a manual

Easy as to remove even if you cannot turn engine...You don't need too!

[Swindog]

Boxes are easy to take out plus itll teach you abit more

And always cover your holes...

[madmike]

 shizzl said:

well if the flywheel isnt moving at all,getting the box off will be an absolute prick if the bolt is jamming it up...

good luck

Dunno what your smoking Bertha.

The fact the flywheel is jammed means sweet fuk all when it comes to removing the gearbox

[log1call]

It sounds to me like the clutch plate has stuck itself to the flywheel anyway, probably just from a long spell of no use, and a completely separate issue to the bolt.. but it would be best to take the clutch off while you are in there anyway.. Box out time.

[Decimate]

Hmm yes box out time indeed. I'm already pricing up 4.44 box, diff and HD clutch....sigh

4WD boxes freak me out, I've only done a couple of FWDs before but hey nothing like a baptism of fire right

[soopersubaru]

 Decimate said:

Hmm yes box out time indeed. I'm already pricing up 4.44 box, diff and HD clutch....sigh

4WD boxes freak me out, I've only done a couple of FWDs before but hey nothing like a baptism of fire right

damn sight easier to do a subaru box than most if not all those poxy FWD drive thingys.

[soopersubaru]

 madmike']

[quote name='shizzl said:

well if the flywheel isnt moving at all,getting the box off will be an absolute prick if the bolt is jamming it up...

good luck

/quote]

Dunno what your smoking Bertha.

The fact the flywheel is jammed means sweet fuk all when it comes to removing the gearbox

True for this situation..Manual

Unless its an Auto!...Then a seized flywheel/motor means engine and box out.... Then some careful cutting of the flexi plate to save the torque converter...Plus usually a hole bashed through the seized motor to get the last of the four F****n bolts out!!

Usually ok to damage the motor coz ya have another one ready to go in!

[Guest]

the reason i said that was that the bolt may be jammed between the ring gear and bellhousing..your gonna have to get some pry bars to pull it away from the motor if it is.

[soopersubaru]

 shizzl said:

the reason i said that was that the bolt may be jammed between the ring gear and bellhousing..your gonna have to get some pry bars to pull it away from the motor if it is.

Rubbish!...undo the crank bolts! flywheel sits on the engine side of bellhousing not gearbox

[Guest]

undo the crank bolts? are you serious? how are you gonna do that without taking the box out???

the ring gear sits inside the mouth of the bellhousing,there aiant bugger all clearance between the teeth of the ring gear and the bellhousing,so if a bolt is stuck between the 2,itll make sliding the box back a bit more difficult...

ive seen it before where a clutch has flown to bits and jammed the ring gear up to the bellhousing...

[mr.fix.it]

* popcorn ready *

[dilly]

I did the EXACT same thing doing a manual conversion on the weekend : EXCEPT my mate saw it in there (before we tried starting it I might add) luckily after some fishing with wire/screwdriver and blu-tac we got it out.

It should come right once you pull the gearbox off. Good luck

[funkytown]

 shizzl said:

undo the crank bolts? are you serious? how are you gonna do that without taking the box out???

the ring gear sits inside the mouth of the bellhousing,there aiant bugger all clearance between the teeth of the ring gear and the bellhousing,so if a bolt is stuck between the 2,itll make sliding the box back a bit more difficult...

ive seen it before where a clutch has flown to bits and jammed the ring gear up to the bellhousing...

im sorry i still dont get it.. the ring gear sits on the engine side bellhousing, not the gearbox side? the clutch and pressure plate sits back in the gearbox side but as you've said the bolt is jammed up in the ring gear.. then the box should still slide off?

thus you remove the clutch/pressure plate and access the flywheel bolts and waalah!

slap me - but i'd have to agree with soopersubaru on this one

oh and as already said - please remove the flywheel and clutch assembly in full and inspect it for damage - you dont want it flying apart on you and removing your foot.

[Guest]

 funkytown said:

slap me - but i'd have to agree with soopersubaru on this one

[soopersubaru]

I have to LOL on this...Good one Funky!+ Evowrx! :-*

[Decimate]

Haha umm ... so anyway, I've done some reading and actually it doesn't look too bad to remove, I'll hopefully get it done weekend after this one. And yup - will take flywheel/clutch etc off to check too.