Hey guys! I have a question regarding a flywheel, basically...WHAT IS IT!?

I have a manual transmission Accord and I am going to put in a new clutch soon.
But, I'm confused..Can the car be driven without a flywheel? I don't remember putting it in a year ago when I changed my clutch, I actually think I left it out!!

I am not sure if I really did or didn't.

 

You would know if you "left it out".

Think of it this way in a manual trans....it is like the "brake rotor" for the brake system - just backwards. The clutch disc is "clamped" between the clutch pressure plate and the flywheel to transfer the engine power to the transmission....it is a fairly large round hunk of steel...it also has the "ring gear" on it, this is what the starter "turns" when trying to start the car.

Should either replace with a new one or at least have a machine shop re-surface the flywheel when replacing the clutch.

EDIT: Looks something like this...a new one is ~$60

 

The flywheel the the metal plate that is bolted to the engine. It has teeth around the outside so the starter and turn the flywheel. This has to be installed on your car.

When the transmission is removed to do a clutch, the order is the engine block crankshaft, the flywheel, the clutch friction disc, then the pressure plate.

Search for v=FfjGohWy-OU on YouTube for a video on how a clutch works.

 

Your engine would have a flywheel even if it did not have a transmission or an electric starter. The flywheel is necessary for the engine to run at all, be it single cylinder or multiple cylinder. The reason is that as your engine runs each cylinder/piston goes through four phases and energy is produced on only one of them. So the engine has to be kept spinning through all four cycles even though power is produced to do it on only one. So to keep it spinning extra mass must be added to the rotating system (the crankshaft, connecting rods, piston pins, and pistons) and the flywheel is the storage source of that additional mass.

Of course its also an excellent place to bolt a clutch and to attach a ring gear to if you want to use a starter on it. In some engines, small lawn mower engines come immediately to mind, they are also used to generate electricity and/or to trigger the spark for a the spark plug(s). I've seen belts run off of them and pumps driven directly of of them too.

You got some very good advice about resurfacing the things if you are putting a new clutch in your car. Its a somewhat pricy thing to have done (I think I paid $70 for the last one I had surfaced), at least compared to how inexpensive some machine shop operations are, but its well worth doing.

 

check wikipedia for more detail than you probably want.

good luck

 

unless of course you had a flexplate, a completely different animal...

 

Thanks guys, I checked the Internet and it made sense. I actually remember seeing the teeth when I took the bottom cover of the housing while I was replacing my oil pan.

My clutch has been giving me signs of slipping, I'll shift into 1st and 2nd and a few seconds I could feel my clutch vibrating like crazy. It's 3 puck so it's rough. Makes the same vibration noises as if I'm completely letting off the clutch while not moving. I'm looking into getting the dura last clutch kit from autozone. The flywheel I have is the original. I saw one on autozone for about 60 so I'll just get that too.

To stop the vibrating I have to completely let off the gas so it grabs right then hit the gas again. If not then the clutch spins as I press the gas.

These are signs to replace it right??

 

Hard call, this is the internest so hard for me to "feel" it. Kind of sounds like it.

If you are doing this job, my two cents......replace the rear main seal...you will be looking right at it right before putting the new stuff on.

Do you really want to have a rear main seal leak in 10K miles and have to do all of that work again.

 

Clutches slip when the disk material wears down. When the disk gets thinner the springs have to push the pressure plate itself a bit farther and so the pressure lessens as the disk wears. So as they wear they begin to slip. Chatter is something different. Chatter is caused when the flywheel, disk, or pressure plate surface becomes contaminated, usually with oil. Generally speaking that oil will come from a leaking rear main seal. So it may not be a matter of you've got a clutch gone bad and it would be a good idea to replace the seal while you were in the area - nope - it might be that you've got a bad rear main seal and it would be a good idea to put a new clutch disk in while you were in the area (and resurface the flywheel and replace the throw-out bearing too).

 

With the clutch I have chatter is normal to me I guess. It's a stage 2, 3 puck. I put it in when I was running turbo on it but I removed it and kept the clutch. Ive been waiting for it to wear out so I can have a stock clutch :P

But recently it just feels like the clutch doesnt grab right away. It seems as it spins for a few seconds before it actually grabs.

Is the rear main seal difficult to replace?

I had my pressure plate resurfaced for $50 last time I changed the clutch. But for $100 I can get a pressure plate, clutch and a throw-out bearing from autozone.

I think Im going to buy the flywheel too.