Flywheel and ring gear installation measurement

[nova_robotics]

Yes I realize a lot of people use a torch to heat and install ring gears. I also know that gears are heat treated and tempered.

Heating a gear to 800˚f, or "over a 1000 if necessary" as one suggested on another forum, will ruin the gear. The damage will not be apparent. But the teeth will be softer. They WILL wear more quickly. It may not matter to you as it will work for long enough, the failure can be blamed on something else. No one will know that the gear was damaged during installation.

The factory service manual says 400˚, not over 450˚. They did not just make that number up. A metallurgical engineer told them to put that in there to maintain integrity of the steel.

As far as time consuming, it does not take as nearly as long to measure and do it right, as it does to split the tractor to install another. Especially if it fails when I NEED it.

This is absolutely correct. I think the manufacturer has built a safety factor in there, but I wouldn't go past light yellow or you'll begin getting into annealing territory. Those are hardened gear teeth. You don't want to be doing this job again in a year. There's a trick you can do to control the temperature. Use the boiling point of water to set an upper limit on the temperature. That way you know you're not messing with the heat treatment.

Heat one side up and cool the other side down. Dry ice is readily available and dirt cheap. Even just throwing the flywheel in your freezer overnight will make a big difference.