Engine Flywheel - Cleaning & Inspection

WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2002 Pontiac Sunfire and 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

Clean the flywheel in solvent.
CAUTION: Wear safety glasses in order to avoid eye damage.
Dry the flywheel with compressed air.
Inspect the manual transmission flywheel for the following conditions:
- Damaged ring gear teeth.
- Loose or improperly positioned ring gear. The ring gear has an interference fit onto the flywheel and should be positioned completely against the flange of the flywheel.
- A scored, grooved, or damaged friction surface.
Fig 1: Manual Transmission Flywheel
Courtesy of GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
Inspect the automatic transmission flywheel for the following conditions:
- Damaged ring gear teeth.
- Stress cracks around the flywheel-to-crankshaft bolt hole locations.
Important: Do not attempt to repair the welded areas that retain the ring gear to the flywheel plate. Install a new flywheel.
- Welded areas that retain the ring gear onto the flywheel for cracking.