Fidanza Aluminum Flywheel
ARP makes a bolt the same size as ours but it has a little bit of a shoulder. There are 8 in a pack -so get 3 others to go in and 3 sets will do 4 wheels and save a $$.
Below are 10mm diameter hardened pins sold at Fastenal and are about 2x the length of the stock pin. The stock dowel is 9-9.5mm diameter so you'll have to fit the wheel so it seats properly then look into the dowel hole and make sure it is aligned before you drill the new larger hole.
The stock pin only catches 50/50 in the crank/wheel for about 1/4" and that is all that is holding the wheel from rotating on the crank since those 6 bolts have no shoulder contact. You must use red loctite on the bolts or they will come loose and that one short pin will not hold like it does with the stock iron flywheel. -the aluminum is soft and if it moves even a little the bolt heads chew the alum. and then you no longer have the proper torque load from the bolts fastening the wheel to the crank.
The bolt holes in the wheel are 1/2" diameter and the shoulder on the ARPs isn't quite that big. The heads of the bolts keep the wheel against the crankshaft flange face but their shoulder (stock bolts have no shoulder) doesn't contact the wheel and the wheel expands when it heats up so you need to be sure that the dowel pin holds the wheel (when heated). You can see the mark the ARP heads leave in the alum. without the steel ring in place.
Diameter of the bolt at the threads and at the shoulder. Both the ARP and the stock bolts are the same length.
To keep the bolt heads from galling the wheel you can use one of these steel rings. The rings are on any of the 2.0/2.4/2.6 automatics and maybe some other engines. This particular one is from a SOHC 2.0 FWD. Fits the wheel perfectly. There is no hole in the plate for the dowel so you will have to fit a couple bolts, install the dowel then remove the bolts and coat the threads with red loctite and apply some anti-sieze to the back side of each bolt head where it contacts the steel ring. Remember the pilot bearing MUST be installed into the wheel using GREEN loctite, green loctite is an adhesive not a thread locker. The aluminum expands and the pilot bearing will become loose in the wheel this green loctite prevents the bearing from moving and that same green loctite is used on the three pressure plate dowels. Your surfaces must be clean and smooth check the crankshaft and the outside to make sure there are no scratches or nicks. If you are unsure how to fit the wheel to see that it seats go to www.aluminumflywheels.com and see their instructions. You can easily expand the wheel on a portable heater so you can test fit it to see that it completely seats.
After you drill the hole you will have to pull the flywheel back off then reheat it again to expand the alum. then using a round file or rotary tool gradually enlarge and smooth the hole in the wheel from the 9.92mm hole the bit left up towards 9.98mm and that will leave just a little that you will be able to push the pin in using a mallet. The hole in the crankshaft must be 10mm you can't force the pin into a smaller hole it will jamb.
Reinstall the wheel and tighten down two bolts out of the way of the dowel pin hole then look in to the hole an align the wheel to the crank. Install the pin using a plastic deadblow or brass hammer then use a punch when it stops to make sure its fully in. The steel ring needs to fit over the head of the pin so you will have to grind off the dome.
After the wheel has cooled it will not come off unless force is used. You can remove one or two bolts at a time to apply the loctite. Make sure the surface of the wheel is smooth/clean the hand tighten all the bolts. The green mark is for later on so you'll know where the pin is located. Use your torque wrench and alternate the bolt tightening pattern. I turned these down to 105ftlbs.
A bolt can be used to jamb something in to hold the flywheel while you torque the bolts. If your wheel is new clean it with solvent there is a coating on the friction surface. You can see the underside of the heads contact area. The ARP bolt heads are 12pt 18mm.
This kerosene heater works well to expand the wheel, it takes about 20min and you'll need some heavy welding glove to handle it. There are many different types or loctite, some are thread lockers, some are sealers and there is even adhesives. Check out Loctite or look at the back of the package for details. Permatex also sells a similar products.
The same new longer hardened 10mm dowel pin for a stock flywheel
If you purchased a used flywheel you may not be aware of the installation instructions. I've stated above how its worked for us and included what Fidanza says. The full instruction sheet is here, Aluminum Flywheel Instructions , but this is the relative portion to installation. HEAT up the wheel, torque it down, remove it and check for crankshaft or flywheel material that was scraped or scored and ended up in between each hub surface. When cooled you likely will have to use a heavy deadblow hammer to remove the wheel. If you have a repair SLEEVE over the stub or your crankshaft pay particular attention to it because these do not fit the hub of the flywheel and a portion of that sleeve may have to be cut off.
