On Mon, 12 Jul 2010 06:22:19 -0700 (PDT), hr(bob) wrote:

Why were you anywhere near the intake manifold, you should have been
leveraging against the main chassis of the engine!!!

I understand your concern!

At first, I leveraged UP with the prybar on the aluminum engine, then moved
about 60 degrees and leveraged again (all the while uselessly banging DOWN
on the flywheel puller contraption from ACE on the flywheel).

When I moved the third 60 degrees, I didn't realize it but now I was at the
front of the mower where the carberator and air filter are, which has a
plastic pipe (painted the same color as the aluminum engine) which is the
intake manifold.

In just a split second, the plastic pipe collapsed, along with a bolt which
snapped in half holding it to the opening for the intake valve.

It was exactly at that point where I realized the advice to bang DOWN on
the crankshaft while lifting UP on the flywheel (thereby leveraging DOWN on
the soft engine parts) was sheer folly.

It was only then I started wondering about the logic of it all. Of course,
prying UP makes sense to remove a flywheel ... but what does banging on an
immovable crankshaft going to do?