How to refresh a flywheel, quick, cheap, and easy!

This is a quick video showing how I like to freshen up a dirty, rusty, overheated flywheel. This will not fix a badly damaged or warped flywheel but you could get a couple more years out of something that isn't too bad. I usually start with 120-150 grit sanding pads on a random orbit sander, after degreasing and cleaning it. This doesn't take very long and doesn't cost much, so it's worth a try!
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Barry Lambert
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Filmed at Carquest auto parts in Lewisporte, Newfoundland Canada

[@renecintronjr.2262]

I've done this in the past for the 1965 Mustang with a 289. And it worked great. And I'm about to do again on another 65 with a 289. Better than buying a Chinese made replacement flywheel.

[@StationroadRatrods]

I totally agree. This one is still working fine with a twin turbo LS

[@tanekoroi2568]

I like the attitude brother. Can’t be making it worse that’s for sure

[@StationroadRatrods]

I appreciate it 🙂the flywheel is still in my truck now and hasn’t had any issues!

[@nelsonromo7314]

Love it my man! Thanks for the video

[@StationroadRatrods]

You got it 🙂

[@accordv6er]

If you're going this route, try bolting it to a vise where it can spin while you scuff/sand to get even application. I tend to agree that with average abrasives, if its soft enough it comes off with a quick pass or 5 it doesn't belong on there, is buildup, rust, very thing protrusions etc

[@StationroadRatrods]

That’s not a bad idea. If I could find a hub assembly that would bolt on would be sweet

[@mrpopesalot8041]

​@StationroadRatrods how about the engine 😂

[@StationroadRatrods]

@mr absolutely would work, but I’d keep my sleeves away from it 🤪

[@KnuckleHeadGarage27]

I have a 85 S10 2.8v6 and i finally found the correct flywheel for it after trying others from on line that wouldn't work cause i was missing a weight on it that the factory one has and my engine was shaking to death bad . They don't make then anymore i have tryed everywhere and places and no one can find it or get me one so only place was a junkyard and think gosh there was 1 yard hour away that had it . But anyways got it home and it has some small groves like a brake rotor has but its not thich where my nail can catch them at all. I'm just worried about having it resurfaced Because if it's damaged or they don't do it right then I'm screwed so I found your video and figured I'd try cleaning it up that way and install it with my new clutch kit and stuff and drive it .

[@StationroadRatrods]

Hey man, the worst that can happen is it doesn’t work! You won’t damage the flywheel with sandpaper, but you can definitely knock off a bad surface. If it doesn’t work out, you can have it resurfaced on a lathe. Do a little digging and find a reputable machinist who has done the job before and I’m sure you’ll be fine. Good luck!

[@KnuckleHeadGarage27]

@@StationroadRatrods Update! Its working perfectly fine no problems so far at all and I've put over 200 some miles on it so far

[@StationroadRatrods]

@CDSAutomotiveGarage hell yeah man!!! That’s awesome

[@calthorp]

I have a old tractor & it had rust & bad pitting on the pressure plate. So I am going to try this. I was going to try a grinding wheel on my mill to do it but I cannot get to all of it in one go. So going to try the quick & dirty approach.

[@StationroadRatrods]

You won’t remove much material as it’s hardened and has silicone in the metal to reduce wear and not overheat so that works against your sander but it’s really good for taking off the glaze and some high spots. Good luck with it, I hope it works out!

[@calthorp]

@@StationroadRatrods I discovered that this morning. I used a 8" grinder with 8" flap disc. Did nothing much except polish it. I am just hoping it does not chew up my new clutch lining. No new pressure plates are available so got nothing to loose anyway. will let you know how it goes.

[@StationroadRatrods]

Sounds good dude. I actually just sanded the same flywheel again with an 80 grit stickit on a random orbit sander. Worked perfect. If it makes you feel any better my clutch lining is still fine and I’ve sanded this flywheel every time I replaced an engine for the last three years haha

[@calthorp]

@@StationroadRatrods I got the clutch all re-assembled hopefully I will have time tomorrow to put the two halves of the tractor back together tomorrow. I broke a hydraulic line so will need to repair that before I can test it out anyway.

[@StationroadRatrods]

Ah, a one day job turns into a week eh? 🤣

[@barrybaker9516]

If it works- who cares what anybody else thinks. Neat idea!

[@StationroadRatrods]

That’s basically my whole existence hahaha

[@Acura_mechanic]

Looks good

[@StationroadRatrods]

Thanks!

[@vontypenadi6222]

Good work

[@StationroadRatrods]

Thanks!

[@blaestyle6447]

Imma try this thanks

[@StationroadRatrods]

Good luck!

[@NornSanctuaryW31TK421]

Thanks for the helpful video. I’m gonna give this a try. I’m about to pull my engine to replace my rear main seal which probably has contaminated the clutch disc. It has been shuddering upon initial takeoff. The clutch doesn’t have much more than a couple thousand miles on it, so I’m assuming at this point things shouldn’t be too bad. I’ll install a new disc for sure. Let’s see what happens. Recently I was also getting some vibration through the clutch and I stopped driving it all together. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[@StationroadRatrods]

Definitely try this before you spend money on a flywheel. A new clutch disc is a good idea for sure. It’s possible that the shuddering could have broken a spring or warped the clutch disc.

[@NornSanctuaryW31TK421]

@@StationroadRatrods Ok thanks. I’ll let you know what I end up finding.

[@StationroadRatrods]

Hope it works out for you, I look forward to hearing what happens

[@Holledel]

I’m a fan. To get a flywheel turned at my local shop is $80 and a new flywheel from summit is less than $100 so if I screw it up I’m out $20

[@StationroadRatrods]

Yeah man! The only thing you’ll lose is time, changing out the transmission 🤣

[@sillygily4435]

I’m gonna do this simply because I did not plan ahead for this and did not buy a flywheel and don’t really have time for a machine shop. But for some reason I have a palm sander and sand paper ready to go. And because I assume the flywheel has been replaced before it should be fine

[@StationroadRatrods]

It may take two forevers with a palm sander, but it’ll turn out much better than if you just bolted it on 🙂

[@sdaafasfad]

6 months on, how is this flywheel performing? I see tons of comments on YT saying that DIY flywheel machining with sandpaper is asking for trouble... And just wanna see what your experience with this has been thus far? Thanks!

[@StationroadRatrods]

Actually to be honest the flywheel was fine. I know it looks rough but it didn’t shudder at all, there was no vibration and it was behind a 5.3 with a turbo all summer and didn’t slip at all. In my opinion I don’t think you would be able to sit down with sandpaper long enough to actually do any damage, the steel in these flywheels is super hard and doesn’t sand easily.

[@nbowling10trio]

Looks pretty good in the end, how did it work

[@StationroadRatrods]

It worked great, still have it in my truck now with a twin turbo 5.3 🙂

[@S10_Operator]

Trying to do this in my 2001 s10 2.2 After a while would it cause damage? Im only 17 so im not tryna break anything

[@StationroadRatrods]

The metal is extremely hard in flywheels and have graphite in them to allow slip without overheating the metal so you’d have to sand a LOT to damage it. As long as you don’t stay in one place for any amount of time you’ll be absolutely fine. Have fun!

[@S10_Operator]

@@StationroadRatrods Thanks man

[@StationroadRatrods]

You got it!

[@TelmenBudsuren]

so its totally ok for big fat skids with N/A beater yes?

[@TelmenBudsuren]

brb sanding flywheel

[@StationroadRatrods]

Absolutely! I ran 15.5” wide tires and a turbo 5.3, and did 2nd gear 2 step launches for two summers and didn’t have any issues hahaa

[@matthewvanderbeek1240]

For probably 60 bucks. Can bring it to a shop and have them machine it smooth again. Then u know it's good.

[@StationroadRatrods]

Of course, that’s an option. I called the machine shop that’s within 2 hours from here and for some reason no one wanted to touch a flywheel. One guy said something about “harmonics” but I have no idea. So I just sanded it myself haha. Many 4th gear highway burnouts with no slippage, and it doesn’t shudder on a slow engagement so it’s as good as it’s gonna get

[@beerggls]

Why not bolt the flywheel back up to the crankshaft and fire up the engine with the tranny out still? Then you could just hold the disc sander up under there and let the engine do the turning. Dowel pins removed first of course.

[@StationroadRatrods]

That’s a phenomenal idea! I didn’t have a running engine at the moment but 100% doing that next time

[@beerggls]

@@StationroadRatrods Could be possible issues with pressing the clutch pedal down with the slave line unhooked before turning the key. Might have to bypass neutral safety switch first if applicable.

[@StationroadRatrods]

You say that like anything I have has a working neutral safety switch 🤣

[@beerggls]

Same boat. End up with front wheels on top of the parking curb about once a month. Oops. Lol

[@StationroadRatrods]

Dude no lie, I almost drove my old Chevy into a concrete bench because I forgot it was in gear and didn’t have the clutch in lol, just stopped it inches away

[@pijnto]

Maybe if it was midnight and I need my car in the morning so I could go to work and get the money to do it correctly.

[@StationroadRatrods]

I wouldn’t normally do this but a flywheel wasn’t readily available around here, everything is two weeks away and I wanna drive the truck lol. No problems at all with this, 2nd gear boosted launches and 100mph highway burnouts with no slippage

[@drewx420]

@@StationroadRatrods my issue was shuddering on my turbo diesel swapped sas toyota truck. I have minor Hotspots nothing like this flywheel. The casting that holds the springs in shattered and let go. Hoping doing this along side a bit better clutch will solve the issue

[@StationroadRatrods]

First off, I had a 94 Toyota truck when I was younger and would have loved to do what you have done!! I bet it’s an awesome machine. My clutch is starting to get bad now and is shuddering in reverse so I’ll be replacing the clutch and flywheel as an assembly, I’d say that would do it for you too. The flywheel I did in the video is in my twin turbo LS 57 Chevy pickup right now and it holds fine but in reverse it’s not great. I have no idea why lol

[@gboy1298]

If I’m going to spend time to pull tranny and put back in. I’m going to replace with new parts so I don’t have to do again.

[@StationroadRatrods]

Good idea

[@user-cm5xj5bu6p]

My good friend.... even in a hundred years, you will not be able to turn all the levels of the flywheel, which should have a maximum tolerance of 2 percent, into a smooth and uniform surface with this tool you have!

[@StationroadRatrods]

I didn’t expect a result that a lathe could produce, I just wanted to knock off as much of the glaze as possible, and I think I accomplished that. I’m still using the same flywheel in my truck with no issues, and it has had a single or twin turbos for a few years now

[@user-cm5xj5bu6p]

I didn't mean to disrespect you and I apologize if you took it that way. If you did this to get the glaze, it is very good, but I wanted to share a small experience with you and know your opinion! Isn't it better to sand the rotation of the abrasive machine in the opposite direction of the rotation of the flywheel in order to increase the adhesion of the clutch plate to the flywheel?

[@StationroadRatrods]

@user-cm5xj5bu6p no worries at all, I didn’t take it as disrespect. I bet you’re right, again with the small amount of material the sander will remove it probably won’t make a whole lot of difference

[@leetos.4915]

I smell what u cookin I would do the same and save some bucks

[@StationroadRatrods]

Yes sir!

[@niveknospmoht8743]

Let's see... do it yourself--- need air compressor, hose and a DA sander plus sanding discs. Waste at least a 1/2 hour of time and go through who knows how many discs, get fed up take it to the machine shop. At a shop with necessary tools. Go through multiple discs to find out there are burned hard spots and will create chatter. Spend at least 1/2 hour messing with it at a shop rate of 120 per hour. Send it out to machine shop where it is hot tanked, machined and checked for visual cracks and won't chatter the disc. maybe if the wheel was relatively supreme and just need a scuff on your own vehicle, but I would not recommend this

[@StationroadRatrods]

Welp, I’ve had this same response several times but the ol flywheel is still doing just fine lol. It’s in my truck with a 5.3 and twin turbos, doesn’t slip or vibrate. Of course it won’t work every time, and I’d always suggest getting a professional do it with professional tools but in this case it worked great

[@muhammadshafay1341]

Not good

[@StationroadRatrods]

I know it looks rough but I’ve used it ever since and done 2nd and 3rd gear burnouts in boost with no slippage 🤣

[@georgewashington1106]

"rebuild"? That's what you call a rebuild? OK, now show us an engine "rebuild"....

[@StationroadRatrods]

I’m not sure where I said rebuild

[@georgewashington1106]

​@@StationroadRatrods- @4:31

[@StationroadRatrods]

@georgewashington1106 ah, I see. I misspoke, you can’t rebuild something that’s just one big chunk of metal haha