Flywheel replacement?

How hard of a job is this?
mine seems to be missing a few teeth, as the starter spins freely on occasion. This is a recent problem.

physically check the flywheel first,..

spinning freely is an indication the bendix is not working,.

when you hit the key the starter spins which through centrifugal force fires the drive into the flywheel on a spiral type groove,. if this gets worn out,. it cocks in the bore so to speak and just spins real fast but doesn't engage,..

Hilly billy fix is to pull converter cover, use wd 40 with the little red tube, insert the tube up into the starter where the teeth are and drown it,..it'll lube up the bendix for a while and usually fixes the problem,.

proper fix is to rebuild the starter.

Nick

x2 on the starter. I thought for sure I lost some teeth of my flex plate (flywheel is for manual cars) as it would spin freely after a couple cranks. New starter fixed it  

They're probably right in diagnosing that as the starter but to answer your original question, replacing the flex plate requires removal of the transmission and torque converter. From there, it's just five bolts.

Starter is only 3 month old, had to replace it since it died...
Sounds like this is not a job I want to tackle myself?

I'd still check it, reman starters can be hit or miss. Just because it's new doesn't mean it's good!

Starter:  11lbs, 2 bolts, two wires, can be done on ramps.

Flywheel:  130+ lbs, 41 bolts, two electrical harnesses, 11 quarts of fluid, driveshaft, exhaust, crossmember, dipstick, two cooler lines, requires floor jacks, tranny jacks, etc.  

I'd swap the starter a few times before even THINKING about touching the flywheel.

95BRMW wrote:

I'd still check it, reman starters can be hit or miss.  Just because it's new doesn't mean it's good!

ding ding ding

X3! The first reman starter I put on my OCC about two years ago lasted a matter of months before it had a stroke. I turned the key, the pinion didn't engage the flexplate and the solenoid stuck on when I turned the key back off. Sounded like it was spinning 15,000 rpm and started smoking by the time I could disconnect the battery cable.  Luckily, the car was sitting right in the garage when that happened.

Thanks for the help guys, will check the starter first - is there any way to check the flywheel without pulling things apart?

Take off the inspection cover and use a pry bar or flywheel tool to rotate the flex plate by hand to see for missing teeth. Just mark the tooth you started on so you know when you've been all the way around

About 25 years ago, right after I got out of the service, I thought I'd be penny smart and buy the cheaper, one year warranty parts from Manny, Moe, & Hack. After all, all the parts are made with the same materials, right? WRONG! Bought several items from them that way. I always saved my receipts even though it did no good but to teach me to spend the few extra dollars to buy the lifetime warranty parts. After parts, including the starter for my '78 Coupe deVille, died 13 months after they were installed, I began to notice a pattern. The few dollars more at the initial purchase are worth not having to do it again at full price in a year.

Just some hard learned experience to pass on.

I got the lifetime part from autozone... lol

I had to do my flywheel. I pulled the tranny back. I had to pull the cats to get enough room. The tranny lines had just enough slack at the radiator. The drive shaft had to come out along with the darn tranny dip stick. I think the dip stick was the worst. 

Sven,listen to the guys and save yourself a lot of work and frustration.Found some more 850/840beemers for sale,will send them to you shortly!