(drilling machine noises)
- Hey guys, welcome back.
Today, I'm here again with another video,
answering one really good question from one of my viewers.
That question is,
would it be a good idea to put some anti-seize,
on the crankshaft of my small engine,
before I re-install the flywheel?
And again, that's a super good question guys,
because we all know when you go to remove a flywheel,
from a small engine,
it always seems to be stuck on there quite tight.
So it seems to only make sense doesn't it,
to add some anti-seize so that when you go to remove it,
it just comes off easily.
Well I'm going to get right into it
and answer that question.
So what I've got here is a snowblower engine,
I've got the flywheel off,
just to show you how the shaft is made.
Here's a chainsaw as well.
Now, whatever I'm going to say in this video,
will apply to all equipment,
doesn't matter if it's a snowmobile, a snowblower,
a lawnmower, a chainsaw, a weed wacker, it does not matter.
Everything I will tell you today,
will apply to all that equipment.
So I'm going to answer the question right now
and then I'll tell you why.
So basically the answer to this,
as to whether you should add anti-seize on the crankshaft,
before you put the flywheel,
it's a big no, don't do it.
Do not put anti-seize on the crank shaft,
before you re-install your flywheel.
And for that matter,
don't even put some oil on there either,
you don't want any slippery lubrication on the crankshaft,
before the flywheel goes back on.
Now I've talked in depth about this with my mentor,
he's an older mechanic he's been doing this kind of work,
for like almost 50 years.
So I consulted with him before making the video here, guys.
So I did learn a little bit myself,
by talking to him this week.
And he adamantly said, do not do it.
And the reason you don't want to do that,
is because the flywheel crank shaft is tapered.
So basically when you install the flywheel,
on the tapered shaft
and you torque the flywheel nut properly,
this is all meant to create a lock.
So basically locks the flywheel, to the crank shaft
and your flywheel key,
is basically just meant to align the flywheel,
so that your ignition is not off.
But the rest of the whole thing is just to create a lock,
once you have the flywheel on and the nut tension properly.
So what's going to happen is,
if you go and put anti-seize on the crank shaft
or even for that matter oil or grease,
is you're preventing the flywheel from making a proper lock,
on the crank shaft.
So even though,
you may have torqued the flywheel nut properly,
if ever your engine gets a slight kickback,
what's going to happen is the flywheel will,
kind of move a bit or everything won't be locked,
your flywheel may fly to pieces
and you probably will end up shearing the flywheel key
and maybe cause some other damage.
And it's the same on chainsaws,
we know chainsaws like the backfire sometimes,
so you have to be extra cautious and on most chainsaws,
the flywheel key is built right into the flywheel.
These flywheels can be quite expensive,
over a 100 dollars here and possibly more.
And again, it doesn't matter if you use grease, oil,
anti-seize, copper anti-seize, anything that is lube,
do not put it on this crankshaft.
So that's about it for the video guys.
And I want to re-emphasize,
you have to get a good lock when you put on the flywheel,
that's the whole purpose of having the tapered shaft
and putting your flywheel back on.
Also you'll notice on generators,
when you take off the armature, you'll notice,
that it goes onto the engine of the generator,
on a tapered shaft like this.
So it would be the same thing on a generator,
don't put anti-seize back,
when you put the electrical armature back on as well.
And again real important,
is to make sure that your flywheel nut is torqued properly
because I have had equipment come in the shop,
the nut wasn't tight as it should have been
and the flywheel key sheared,
even though the nut was still sitting there,
the engine wouldn't run,
obviously because it was out of time.
So again, check those two things,
do not put any lube on the shaft
and make sure your flywheel nut is torqued properly.
So thanks again for watching guys
and let me know your thoughts on this.
Have you ever had a piece of equipment come in your shop
or you found anti-seize between the flywheel
and the crankshaft and what was the outcome of that?
Also make sure you're following me on social media,
all the links are below and you guys have a great day.
(drilling machine noises)