Does this flywheel need to be resurfaced?

It's from a 4-speed, 110hp Corvair. Before I pulled the engine the clutch didn't chatter or slip, but there was some oil on the walls of the bellhousing (bad seals which I just replaced).

I don't see any cracks. As I understood it, the spotting on the surface is from "enthusiastic"
driving but not really a problem. I'm not sure how much surface is left for resurfacing.

 

I would. There doesn't seem to be even a trace of cross hatch left on that.

 

if its out ,it might as well be done. even if you have to wait a week to find cash. Do it right the first time.

 

those look like heat marks to me...machine it...jeffrey

 

Surface it. Those heat spots tend to harder than the rest of the flywheel and can lead to chatter. A friend of mine owns a shop just had to eat the labor to R & R a clutch just for that reason. The flywheel looked OK, like yours, but chattered. He surfaced the flywheel and problem gone. Put it back like new, it acts like new.
Paul

 

resurface time cheap insurance!

 

Yes, it does need to be resurfaced to be right.

 

for sure!

 

Those flywheels are notorious for the rivets coming loose - check them closely.

 

If you have a local machine shop you TRUST to do it right, yes.
Make that a big IF though!

Another IF is if it has hard spots from heat, it's going to need quite a cut to get past them.
You probably don't want to get a call from some kid in the shop saying "Well, we got it cut past the hard stuff and the spiral that got in it somehow but now it's too thin to use."

If I was putting it together just to putt around town in I think I'd bolt it up to just the crank (no pistons or rods) in the engine so I could spin it by hand and hit it with a sanding block to feel for myself if it has hard and soft spots, and to take the glaze off. Then decide what the next step should be.
I do that with disc brake rotors too. After all, a clutch is just a big disc brake.

 

Yeah, I have a shop I trust. They've been around since '52. $35 + tax.

This flywheel had the rivets drilled out and replaced with bolts per performance specs.

Well, it seems like there's a consensus here! As usual, half the Corvair guys on the Corvair board say it's fine, and the other half say it needs to be resurfaced, or it's junk. I just didn't want to pay for something I don't need.

 

They charge tax on labor? And the 1/2 of the Corvair board that say it's fine don't know what they're talking about. Your 'wheels got a lot of hot spots and badly needs to be machined

 

Cheap insurance while you have it out...resurface.

 

Needs to be resurfaced. No doubt. I wouldn't put that back in a paying customers car, much less my own, without having it resurfaced.

But then again, I hate doing the same job twice for something that I "knew better".

Your results may vary.

 

Make sure they use a lot of coolant and go slow with the cut. Don't want to push any heat cracks deeper.

 

Do it!! (resurface)

 

I would get it resurfaced for no other reason than it's out and accessable as opposed to having to tear it down and do it because the clutch doesn't act right and you took a chance that turned around and bit you in the ass. I believe that's the longest sentence I've ever composed.

Frank

 

$35 bucks well spent if it means not having to turn a wrench on it and take it right back apart because the clutch chatters!

 

$230. Heh.

resurfaced flywheel, resurfaced pressure plate, rebuilt friction disk, and balanced flywheel.

Good thing I brought everything in. The friction disk had soaked up a lot of oil.

I set it on the counter and as they guy was walking up to me he said "Corvair, eh? We do a bunch of those." They've been in business since 1952. I'd say I'm in good hands.