I'm gathering parts to swap my C4 to a T5 behind my '73 302. I bought and early flywheel, assuming it was 157 tooth. It turns out to be 160 tooth and has some damage to the teeth. What do I do? Can I flip or replace the ring gear? Use the damaged teeth? Or start over with 157 tooth flywheel?
There are two ring gears and flywheels available for the 302. The small one has 157 teeth and the large one has 164 teeth. Re-count the teeth on your ring gear - it has to be one or the other. Both are available in 50 oz and 25 oz counterweights - the early flywheels are 50 oz and the late ones are 25 oz. Most of the 302's use the small 25 oz counterweight flywheel with 157 teeth. If you want to use the 164 tooth flywheel you will have to get the large bell housing to match - the small bell will not fit the large ring gear. (you should never "flip" a ring gear and reuse it)
I did the T-5 swap on a 302. Used the late model bellhousing and a cable conversion. Try these guys. http://www.kajunjon.com/Main/flywheel_clutchkit.html
You're way off here. Only two imbalance weights for 302/5.0's are 28 oz/in and 50 oz/in. And the later(after 1981) ones are 50, not the early ones. The pre 1981 flywheel/flexplates are 28 oz/in.
OK, I did get my numbers and dates mixed up - didn't have the info on hand and used my memory - Thanks for correcting it.
Ring gears are easy to replace. Cut through the old one and it pops right off, may need to finish the cut with a chisel. Don't cut into the flywheel. Lay the flywheel down flat and have some wet rags ready. Heat the new ring gear up in a 500* oven for a few minutes, then just lay it down over the flywheel. Quench with the wet rags to shrink it.
You can heat the flywheel in an oven or with a torch to install it. When you quench ferrous metals they stop shrinking back to their normal size. You never want to quench a ring gear when you install it - let it cool in the air. You can keep the flywheel cool with wet towels but keep them an inch or so from the edge. To remove them you can just knock them off with a punch and hammer. There is no reason to cut it and chance knicking the flywheel. Note, for flywheels mounted on torque converters with welds let a machinist install them. They do have to be cut off and then they have to be installed square with the axis of the converter and welded on. If not done properly you get a ruined converter.
That only happens when you're dealing with high carbon steels and you heat them to red or red-orange color and submerse them to form Martensite within the material. That can make the metal brittle and distorted. A 500* oven won't get a ring gear anywhere near red, it may turn blue though. Does tend to stink up the kitchen when the machining oil cooks out of the piece and the wife may yell at you. Ask me how I know.
bmcdaniel, Be that as it may, I have seen more than a few loose ring gears on flywheels. I just make it a point to let them cool slow like I was taught.
