DONT "drive" the flywheel with a hammer. Apart from the chance of obvious
damage to the flywheel itself. A hit with a hammer can alter the strength of
the magnetic pick up. Factory workers do not press the flywheel on. That's
why the shaft and inside of the flywheel are both tapered. The flywheel
should just push to the seating position. Dont tap the key any lower than
the top surface of the flywheel.
"DK" wrote in message
...

This is exactly why they make hammers.

If you were in the factory you would press the flywheel on, but you
are not in the factory so you use a hammer to drive the flywheel onto
the shaft.

If it bottoms out before it tightens up, then you have a worn
shaft/flywheel surface and you need to ship it up until it so tight
that you can't pull it off without a puller.

You can buy shims at auto parts stores.






On 17 Dec 2006 10:26:56 -0800, wrote:

I have a 15 HP Craftsman riding lawn mower that uses a Briggs and
Stratton engine. Anytime I put the key in and start it, all I get is a
clicking sound. The flywheel doesn't turn at all and after a couple of
clicks, smoke starts coming out of the engine compartment. So I talked
to a guy at the Sears repair place, and he told me to change the
starter, solenoid, and flywheel key. So I buy all three and put them
in. (Note: The old flywheel key was in perfect condition) I give the
engine full throttle and turn the key. The engine suddenly comes to
life and sounds as if it had a lot more power than before. I turn the
engine off and go inside.

The next day, I try to crank up the engine, and it won't start. The
starter motor is turning the flywheel like is supposed to, but its just
not cranking up. So I change the spark plug with a brand new one and
try to crank it up again. It does nothing. I then open up the flywheel
and see that the key is sheared completely in half!!! I change the key,
close everything up, and restart the engine. It cranks up fine and runs
perfectly. But I turn it off. Let it cool down, and crank it up again,
and it won't start again. The flywheel key is again sheared in half!

So everytime I change the key, it works fine. But then the second time
I crank the engine up, the key shears. What do I do? I don't think the
crankshaft is bad because the original key that I pulled from the mower
the first time was fine.