How do you know if a flywheel needs replacing?

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asked Sep 1, 2022 in Repairs/Maintenance by Justinfartty (1,650 points)
How do you know if a flywheel needs replacing?

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answered Sep 21, 2022 by Salmorejo (40,200 points)
The signs and symptoms that can tell you when your flywheel needs replacing include.

Starting problems.

Shifting problems.
Rough Idle, Engine Stalling.
Dragging Clutch.
Difficulty shifting into gears.
Slipping Gears.
Burning Smells.
Vibrating Clutch Pedal and Clutch Chatter.

Flywheels typically need to be replaced every 80,000 to 90,000 miles.

A flywheel is considered a wear item like the clutch is and the flywheel should also be replaced whenever the clutch is also replaced.

Flywheel damage can be caused by improper maintenance, excessive heat, metal on metal wear, worn clutches, overheating of the flywheel and driving too long on a bad clutch.

A starter may also damage the teeth on the flywheel if the starters teeth or bendix is bad or damaged.

If your flywheel is loose it will cause a rattling or knocking sound which changes with engine speed.

A loose flywheel may even eventually come loose and cause you to not be able to drive the vehicle or start the vehicle.

The difference between a flywheel and a flexplate is a flywheel is thicker than a flexplate and a flywheel is used in manual transmission engines while a flexplate is thinner and used in automatic transmissions.

The flexplate is a type of flywheel with teeth for the starter like a regular flywheel but it's also thinner and can flex hence the name flex plate.

Flexplates are generally much thinner and lighter than flywheels due to the smooth coupling action of the torque converter and the elimination of the clutch surface.

Like flywheels, flexplates normally handle coupling to the starter motor, via teeth cut along the outer edge of the plate.

The flywheel is found primarily in vehicles that have a manual transmission, whereas the flexplate is found in automatic transmission vehicles.

Both of these components are typically heavy, but the flexplate is much thinner and therefore lighter than the flywheel.

While there are some exceptions, if your vehicle has a manual transmission, you want a flywheel, and if your vehicle has an automatic transmission, you want a flexplate.

A flywheel from the engine is connected to the casing of the torque converter.

This makes the entire casing rotate at the same RPM as the engine.

The pump is connected to the casing and thus rotate with the same rpm and direction.

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