dome nut

[alan stewart]

can anyone tell me the best way to get dome nut off flywheel

[skyetoyman]

socket and t bar on the nut and give the bar a sharp tap with a hammer. That is usually enough. tightening it up to the correct torque is a bit more difficult.
As as been said many times -- do not remove flywheel.

[alan stewart]

thanx it worked now got access to points are at excess 20 gap but small screw is damaged head and cannott undo any advice

[skyetoyman]

you don't say what model you seagull is. If the problem is a poor spark try the cordless drill/socket trick. Look at "how to set points gap correctly" in the search box before trying to remove flywheel.(removing flywheel should be a last resort.) avoid like the plague
20 thou gap is not critical but clean points are.

[alan stewart]

my model is 40 plus 1976 mechanically its good bing carb i drilled screw out and bolted and was able to reset points and clean cleaned all contacts on h t lead carb spotless clean fuel right mix spark is bright blue good compression but it fires on easy start then dies what else can i check

[alan stewart]

my model is 40 plus 1976 mechanically its good bing carb i drilled screw out and bolted and was able to reset points and clean cleaned all contacts on h t lead carb spotless clean fuel right mix spark is bright blue good compression but it fires on easy start then dies what else can i check

[Charles uk]

Clean the entire fuel system, fuel tank, fuel tap, fuel pipe, carb, after everything is spotless blow it out with an air line.

The cordless drill is a last chance remedy, do not use until you've tried everything else, cleaned & set points, renewed plug lead & plug & ensured that fuel is getting through the carb.

I had a 102 brought to me that the owner had tried the magic drill cure, without cleaning the fuel system, when I removed the cylinder there was more than a teaspoon of cast iron dust from the rings & bore in the head, I don't know how much had gone down the exhaust.
But after cleaning & setting everything & a light hone of the bore, it had a good spark but only 30lbs compression on 8 :1 mix, & a few squirts of oil down the plug hole, BUGGERED!
We also had a gentleman on here who broke his crankshaft trying this.

Ask anyone on here, that works on a lot of Seagulls, if they do this & their answer will be very rarely.

There is no logical reason that I know, why this should cure anything.

[40TPI]

If you have compression, a good spark and the gap (timing) is anywhere near correct a Seagull will fire up if it has a correct fuel /air mix. I have to agree with Charles that the electric drill routine is "last chance saloon" and even then should be done with due care to prevent damage elsewhere as he notes in his example. I'm starting to get the impression that in some quarters there is a feeling that this is the first thing to do. Not so.

In this case if there is a spark then winding it up on a drill is not going to do any good. My checklist if it fires and dies on Easy Start would be:

1. Fuel . Check and double check that the main jet is clear. Hold up to see light through the jet hole. Check carefully that it is properly assembled back into the main housing and the locking screw is actually engaging into the correct place. (Taken as read that both filters, the supply pipe and float bowl have been taken out and cleaned and that the float chamber/inlet venturi can be flooded on the tickler. Also that the correct starting procedure is being used.....)

2. Crankcase. Air leaks would have to be pretty bad to prevent it starting but worth an inspection for leaks between the two halves esp near the tiller mounting point. A good squirt of oil directly into the inlet port to make sure the main bearing sleeves are sealed wouldn't go amiss either.

Going back to potential damage on the drill....... how many people actually check the state of the flywheel cam for rust before attempting to bring a long neglected motor back to life? Leaving it rusty will "sandpaper" the soft heel of the fibre points arm. The points heel will quickly wear down and the gap will change if it is not cleaned and a given a smear of grease/Vaseline. "Drilling" with a rusty cam will do it quicker!


Peter

[alan stewart]

thanks charles i have stripped carb itis clean jet clear and everything o k i have a villiers carb spare will change over tomorrow and do drill thing have put oil in bore and spun all filters clear carb fills with fuel and when tickled i also have a spare fly wheel and magneto i will have to try before stripping the whole engine this will not beat me

[alan stewart]

there is plenty of grease on the fly wheel cam

[skyetoyman]

no point in doing the drill thing as you have a good spark. fuel supply must be the problem. there are fuel filters in the system .

[rosbullterier]

When you've finished that Alan, got a good spark, compression, tell tale water stream and you are blowing spume from your test tank - I would invest in a new keyboard - the luxury version which has the punctuation and capital letter facilities . . .

[atoyot]

...As as been said many times -- do not remove flywheel.

Even with leaving the flywheel on, it's my understanding that the dome nut has to come off in order to get the top plate off so as to at least look at the points, or adjust same or to lube the cam. Not that I"ve done this yet, for want of leaving well enough alone.

Then again, I don't know enough about either of my 'gulls history or past lives to know if they warrant such an inspection just on principle. The thought of employing an air impact wrench (air spanner?) has come to mind for removal only, but I seem to sober up before doing something that extreme.

[Hugz]

I had an EFNR that was doing the same thing. Everything was working fine but after a minute or so it died. I replaced block and found hairline crack in the transfer port which I suspect opened when warmed up. Hopefully this is not the case with yours.

[skyetoyman]

Atoyot .... Dome nut removal and lifting pulley plate to check points etc. is akin to lifting the bonnet (hood) on your car and taking off the distributor cap. When cars had those things. It is a part of normal servicing and isn't rocket science . (hope I didn,t miss a full stop)