Flywheel Removal, Atco HD 2065

Fear not, that centre nut has reached the self-extracting stage.  You will need to hold the flywheel (around the rim, not through the fins! ) and continue undoing it until the flywheel releases from the taper on the crank. But before you do Have a good look for any timing marks as they will save having to retime from basics.

With the piston at top dead centre, Villiers usually stamp an arrow onto the rim of the flywheel to align with a mark or obvious raised piece on the magneto backplate. with those lined up and the points correctly gapped the engine should be correctly timed.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gnqkmtpxpx6yay9/Villiers%20Lightweight%20igni…

Flywheel holding. A good quality strap wrench or a homemade tool such as the one bottom right in this image; or you may be able to hold the crank on the other side of the engine.

Thank you once again Wristpin, i did wonder if it was a self extraction system , but i just did not want to risk it, i will look at it again today,

you could also try the sharp tap method. there is normally a bit of horizontal play between the shaft and main bearing, so arm yourself with a centre punch, place it in the end of the shaft (usually countersunk), pull the flywheel gently towards you and then give the centre punch a sharp tap, this will often release the morse taper grip. if there is no play then plan b wont work

btw dont make the mistake i did on reassembly, leaving a film of oil on the shaft.  morse taper needs metal-metal contact to grip else it can slip and shear the woodruff key.

you could also try the sharp tap method. there is normally a bit of horizontal play between the shaft and main bearing, so arm yourself with a centre punch, place it in the end of the shaft (usually countersunk), pull the flywheel gently towards you and then give the centre punch a sharp tap, this will often release the morse taper grip. if there is no play then plan b wont work

btw dont make the mistake i did on reassembly, leaving a film of oil on the shaft.  morse taper needs metal-metal contact to grip else it can slip and shear the woodruff key.

There's a whole section on this on the site already...

https://www.oldlawnmowerclub.co.uk/technical/villiers/magrebuildhome

and externally here...

http://www.tanygraig.force9.co.uk/John/vil2strokes.htm

Just on a point of order.

The flywheel is on a taper but not a  Morse taper per se. Your machine does not have a flywheel key, hence the emphasis on timing the flywheel to the crank.

Oil on tapers, Morse or otherwise, has always been a strict No, No. Apprentices would be told that oiling a taper was a “ hanging offence”.

The two links in the OLC post, while useful are for two-stroke engines, but you have a four stroke. The link that I posted is specifically for the Villiers Lightweight range, one of which you have.

Suggested flywheel removal, hmm. One hand to hold it, one to hold the punch and another to hold the hammer?   OK, so you may have an assistant,  but I’d stick with what the manufacturer has provided. Back in the day, Villiers provided two special spanners designed to be struck with a hammer, both to loosen and give the final tighten to the flywheel nut - they were colloquially known as a “ flogging” spanner. One was a ring spanner and the other a heavy duty box spanner with a stout tommy bar.

Hi Wristpin. did exactly what you said ,managed to hold the shaft the other side of the engine, and it was off in a couple of minutes, found the timing marks first, all very straightforward .Thanks again.

Had to put a morse arbour onto a drill chuck recently, advice was to wipe down with alcohol before tapping on, cant see that coming off ever.