James H. wrote:
On Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:50:28 -0700, Bob F wrote:
If it was designed for that, the holes would have been tapped.
It IS designed for the flywheel puller and the holes are not tapped.
We already pointed out this in the owners manual.
When I answered this you hadn't.

Hi Bob F,

I'm sorry. I didn't realize that. My mistake.

I think we can all agree there are two ways to remove a flywheel:
1. Pry and bang
2. Tap and pull

The advice to pry and bang, for someone like me (I always said this
was my very first lawnmower engine), is, let's just say,
"problematic".

In my case, using that method cost me a broken intake manifold and
bolt, and time, and money ... which would have been better spent
doing it the right way (i.e., the documented method, documented right
on the flywheel, unbeknownst to me!).

So, I strongly recommend that people new to lawnmowers use the proper
approach, which is to tap the two holes and pull with a flywheel
puller (I used a harmonic balancer puller available at any auto parts
store).

In the end, it would have been less time & money had I done the job
properly. Too bad I didn't notice, in all the dirt and grime, the
words clearly stamped (now that it's clean) on the flywheel (see the
pictures posted at http://yfrog.com/jobriggsandstrattonflywhej):

TO REMOVE (flywheel), USE WHEEL PULLER HOLES

There's an art to knowing what forces you can apply where on mechanical devices.
You have just learned a bit of that art. I started over 50 years ago. The next
time, you will know better. It might not be a flywheel, but you will think about
what can be damaged a little more carefully, and hopefully avoid damage.
Sometimes learning is harder than other times.