Ok, it's not as bad as the title sounds, but the flywheel was slowly working itself outward on the crankshaft. Thus the interference with the fan shroud that I'd noticed the first time I started this engine. I had previously spent a day tweaking the shroud around so it didn't scrape on the flywheel and I'd thought to myself that the shroud was sure a close fit to the flywheel, but it didn't dawn on me that the flywheel could be the culprit. Today I started the engine and noticed the rubbing noise again. Hmm, there must be something going on. I then realized the flywheel had moved closer to the shroud. Time to take action.
Prior to taking the shroud off, I tried pulling the flywheel key (seen in the above photo) but I didn't have anything small enough (and strong enough) to reach through the shroud holes, so I had to remove the shroud. Then the key was easily wedged out with a tapered punch on the backside of the wedge notch. I then used a block of wood and 3 lb sledge hammer to knock the flywheel onto the shaft 1/4-inch until it seated on a shoulder on the crankshaft. Then the key went back in and was whacked several times with a punch and sledge. I presume that's the normal method for seating a key.
Since the shroud was off, now was a good time to paint the flywheel. I had previously picked up a can of Hunter Green paint from the hardware store. Not quite the right shade but it would have to do. That's quite the massive flywheel. The whole engine weighs a bit over 400 pounds and nearly half that weight is probably in the flywheel.
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