ring gear

[rustbucket]

the ring gear on my 66 1098 saloon has got a section of about 5" long with some serious wear and the rest is well worn.
has any one taken off the gear and fit a new one?
i would rather pay £20 for a new gear than £80 for a new flywheel

[Alec]

Hello RB,

Not too difficult as long as you have a big hammer and a solid base to hammer on.

Rest the flywheel on a couple of short bits of 4 x 2 or the like, use a drift and a hammer to knock the old ring gear off.
Clean up the flywheel register with some emery and also the new ring gear. You can carefully warm it up with a blow lamp, or just drift it on cold, although it is tricky to keep it square. Make sure the lead on the teeth is the correct direction before fitting!

Alec

[simmitc]

A sharp cold chisel and a big hammer will split the old ring off without any problem. Unlike Alec, I've never had any success pressing an old one off (even with a ten ton press!) and even less success getting the new one on. A domestic oven will not get the ring hot enough, and in my experience a normal blow lamp can't the the required heat either. However, a proper gas axe (oxy acetylene) will do the job with no trouble at all. The good news is that the latest ring gear being sold has the teeth shaped on both sides, and so will fit either way round. As with so many things, take a photo of the old gear before you remove it, which will then give a good reference for how to fit the new one. Good luck.

[autolycus]

I use some barbecue charcoal to heat the new ring gear. Nice, even heating, no danger of overheating, and plenty of room for sausages in the middle.

Kevin

[moggydriver62]

I have allways drilled a small hole between the teeth,then it will split and come off a easily.

[moggydriver62]

P S. you still have to hit it with a chisel,between the teeth.
but it does make it easier.
kenny in the colonies.

[bmcecosse]

Yes - as above - drill a hole and then chisel. The Mini lads seem to find an oven works well - have the flywheel in the freezer... But the barbecue idea sounds good! Good luck!

[Dominic]

I agree with Roy - freeze the flywheel and roast the ring-gear at the highest heat the oven will go to.

When I fitted mine, I was amazed at how loosely the ring fitted on the frozen flywheel, about 1/32" loose play. When the temperatutes equalised, it was completely tight and never gave any problems.

Good luck!

PS A very important point here - make sure the oven's owner is out shopping first! I can't stress that vital safety issue strongly enough! A hot ring-gear necklace isn't good I understand.....

Happy new year to you all!

[rustbucket]

barbi works fine. cracked it up, placed the ring gear above the coals, attached a temp probe and shut the lid. left it for 30 mins on max and the temp had hit 301c. big pair of welding gloves and it went on a trteat. bit like waving a pencil in the albert hall. nice

[bmcecosse]

Excellent -well done.

[rustbucket]

bit touch and go. but it was well slack at 290c.