Removing a Fly Wheel on a Yard Machine Snow Blower

[Diche Bach]

Mice infested my snowblower, including (the little bastitches) stuffing their bedding (somehow they got their hands on about a plastic shopping bag FULL of red YARN!?") under the fly wheel.

I've dismantled it and called the manufacturer about a fly wheel puller and they tell me "There is not such a tool. The technique is to use a 'brass pick' and a rubber mallet and tap in the center to knock it loose."

I seem to recall removing at least one fly wheel in my day and this technique is foreign to me. What I'm gathering here is that the wheel itself is more or less just 'stuck' on there (perhaps with some little notches that lock it into place) and by tapping on the dimple in the middle it causes the underlying mount to recess and the fly wheel to shift upward (opposite to the direction of the tapping force). I recounted this understanding to the lady and she said, yep that is right. When I asked about putting it back on there she said 'it is basically just pressure that holds it on.'

Are any of you guys familiar with such an operation? Any advice or suggestions?

What about this "brass pick" business!? I may have a socket driver that has a small blunt square end which might fit inside that dimple, but I have never heard of a 'brass pick." When I asked her about this she said "more like an ice pick" and I clarified that what they really seemed to be talking about was a "brash punch."

Any idea why they would specify brass?

With the amount of effort I'm putting into fixing this thing, I'm tempted to just move back to Atlanta; it would be simpler!

[Bunsen]

I dunno exactly how things are arranged in there, but maybe look for a gear puller? Auto Zone and some similar shops often have free tool loan programs, so you might not even have to buy it. As for recommending a brass punch, I'd guess that's to insure that any deformation from an over-enthusiastic hammer strike happens to the punch, rather than mushrooming the shaft and making removal impossible.

[PakledHostage]

Bunsen already makes some good suggestions, but can you post a picture? (Of the flywheel, rather than the mouse's nest...)

[Diche Bach]

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

Bunsen already makes some good suggestions, but can you post a picture? (Of the flywheel, rather than the mouse's nest...)

Can you believe it, the hand-me-down phone I inherited from my wife doesn't have an "SD card" in it!? What the heck is an SD card anyway!?

I'll see if my old phone can still snap pics and use a hard connection to transfer it, else get our old Olympus recharged.

MACHINES! They hate me!

. . . I know what it is; all that caving gear I wore out over the years has conveyed to its mechanical brethren to never give me a break. Between the machines and the rodents, I'm surrounded.