Flywheel teeth repair on tiller possible?

Find the local dealer of the engine brand and buy a new flywheel.
D> My dad has an older Troy Bilt tiller with electric start. It just sits

"Mike Behnke" wrote: Find the local dealer of the engine brand and buy a new flywheel. ^^^^^^^^^^^ Obviously, that will work. In the meantime, I will mention that I once repaired some broken teeth on a cast-iron gear of a printing press (Multi) by brazing, and then shaping the buildup with a file.
Since you are able to gain some advantage by rope starting, it suggests another solution. The engine is coming to rest in a couple of spots when you shut it down, and these are the places where the teeth are gone. If you loosen the spark plug , rotate the engine about 1/4 turn with the rope, and then retighten the plug, the starter may engage well enough to get the engine spinning.

Er, no.
First off, the engine could easily be rotated 1/4 turn with the spark plug in place by means of the pull-rope. There is no need to loosen and retighten the plug. Secondly, doing as you suggest will only worsen the damage to the flywheel and will very likely chew up the starter drive pinion as well.
The correct solution is the one that was already mentioned -- purchase a new flywheel/ring gear assembly. They are not expensive or difficult to replace.

The teeth are more than likely broken at the compression area, I have seen many flywheels from outboards that have worn teeth in the same place. What engine is it? I have many just sitting in the shed.

- GWE
D> My dad has an older Troy Bilt tiller with electric start. It just sits

Why not give it a shot.... can't break it cuz it's already broke. I would only caution not to get that area too hot. Weld a little bit, then let it cool down. Hit it again later, let it cool, etc., etc. After you have the teeth built up enough, use a small grinder to reshape. There ain't a whole lot of stress on those teeth as it's only a one-banger (and probably not a *lot* of compression.) I'd go for it. Ken.

Christ, I hope whoever uses this technique to fix his $30 flywheel willingly works for $0.00/hr and gets his materials for free. Otherwise, it'll be far cheaper and easier to just go get a new flywheel for the engine.

I dunno about MIG, but I've done a weld repair on the starter teeth of an automobile flywheel. As others have advised, if your flywheel is a cheap and easily obtained part, go with replacement. But you can weld a couple of beads where the tooth was, then grind it down to an approximation of the tooth profile. I used stellite for its wear resistant qualities.

That was cool. The page is dated 1997, how has it stood up? Was the JBWeld metal-filled? Bob

|| |> - GWE | |Christ, I hope whoever uses this technique to fix his $30 flywheel |willingly works for $0.00/hr and gets his materials for free. Otherwise, |it'll be far cheaper and easier to just go get a new flywheel for the |engine.
What fun would that be?? Some people just like to fix things for the sake of seeing if they can do it. And you only notice the aggravation on the weekend, when the store is closed but your welder etc are handy.
Just had a thought: If this is like some automotive flywheels, with a toothed ring pressed onto the flywheel, you could conceivable knock the ring off, move it 90 degrees, and re-install (heat it first). This would give you good teeth at the compression area. Rex in Fort Worth

I have an old 7 HP Troy Bilt Horse and it never requires more than 2 pulls to start. (even after sitting all winter long). It has automatic compression release so hand starting is easy.
I'd just remove all that electric start crap and get it tuned up.

That depends on the brand of engine. If it's a Briggs then the ring gear is probably easily replaced at least on the newer engines. Actually it has to be since they've gone to selling them with plastic ring gears which don't hold up. If this is the case then be sure and get the aluminum replacement. It'll last a whole lot longer.
If it's got a Kohler engine then it's a different story. I'm not sure on the newer models but the older models the ring gear isn't replacable and the flywheel is very expensive.
Wayne Cook Shamrock, TX

"Daniel J. Stern" wrote: First off, the engine could easily be rotated 1/4 turn with the spark plug in place by means of the pull-rope. There is no need to loosen and retighten the plug. Secondly, doing as you suggest will only worsen the damage to the flywheel and will very likely chew up the starter drive pinion as well.(clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Daniel, I hope I am not as dumb as I seem to you. This was my thinking: When you pull the rope, the compression generally causes it to stop in the same two spots, which is why there are usually two areas on the ring gear that go bad. If you stop pulling as the piston goes up on compression, it will rotate in reverse and stop. If you go past top-dead-center, it will rotate forward to another spot and stop. Those are the two particular spots you want to avoid to get around this problem.
When you put power to the starter motor, the pinion engages the flywheel before the engine starts to turn. Therefore, it seems to me the pinion would be fully engaged before the damaged teeth came around, so I would not expect the pinion to be damaged. The damage which usually occurs to the pinion in this situation comes from continuing to try to start when the ring-gear teeth have gone bad. Typically, you hear the gears grinding, and the motor does not turn.
Obvioiusly, the practical, sensible solution is to buy a new ring gear, as you say. But, as others have noted, many of us enjoy the challenge and sense of accomplishment in "outwitting" the system. You may not choose that for yourself, but I often do. (My family thinks I'm nuts. But they call on me when things need fixing, and that makes me feel useful.)

Very expensive indeed. And Kohler has been dropping parts support on a lot of their older engines.
-Carl

I don't know where you buy your parts from, but I sell replacement parts for Briggs and Kohler and neither on sells "$30 flywheels". A Briggs heavy flywheel (for use with a tiller) with ring gear will run about $100- $180 and a Kohler will go for around $300. Even a weedeater flywheel goes for over $50.
-Carl

A shop that marks 'em up a lot less than you do, as it seems, because:
is flat ludicrous.

That may be true, but it is reality. You can buy a whole lawnmower for less than the cost of a replacement engine, and often for less than the cost of either the short block or the "magneto"
Tillers and snowblowers are getting pretty close. A brand new "scratch and dent" from home depot or Lowes or whoever can cost about the same as a replacement engine for an Ariens or other high end blower or tiller, and it is the IDENTICAL engine. Usually a Tecumseh Sno King on the blowers. Up here a utility engine is generally pretty close to $100 per horsepower, brand new, ready to run. Surplus you can do better, IF you can find your configuration. I bought a 5 HP Sno King with less than 20 hours on it for $50 almost 10 years ago. Went looking for one to replace a snowblower engine that broke a camshaft this winter - nothing worth looking at for less than $200 (about 10 years old, and well used). Left the old Ariens sit - I'll likely end up putting a cam in it this spring. In the meantime, if we get a heavy snow I get to blow out the neighbour's driveway.

I had a small engine shop a few years back, and I can agree that many flywheels are very expensive! A "plain" flywheel for a 8 HP B&S can run near $100, add a ring gear and add $50 to that price. Pretty crazy when a new engine can be had for $400 or so. Greg

Don -
My dad had a Horse and it worked and worked. He finally shipped it back to them and got it retrofitted. What happened - he was willing to get his baby fixed - they offered him a new - but model under one. He was very pleased as the 15 years it worked in the sandy loam it was warn. The new one showed up and was just as good, but easier for him to control.
I can't say they will do the same thing again but they do fix.
Martin