it all turns out to be the woodruff key, (phew) plus the flywheel nut wasn't very tight - but i'm not surprised, what a tiny woodruff key for such a heavy flywheel

thanks for everyones advice

tony

it all turns out to be the woodruff key, (phew) plus the flywheel nut wasn't very tight - but i'm not surprised, what a tiny woodruff key for such a heavy flywheel

thanks for everyones advice

tony

Actually it is the interferance taper on the shaft that does all the work. The key just simply positions it! I hope you got the nut up to the proper torque of 72 ft/lb with your methods used. As it is somewhat critical.

Oh well, we won another battle here!

Tony,

Having similar problems to yourself. Just bought a 2001 2.9 had trouble starting it on arrival home, though it did start.

Had a go yesterday and nothing. There's a spark, though I have nothing to compare it with.

Fitted a new plug with no improvement. Can you give me an idea of what you did to find the problem.

I'll try and get a flywheel puller in the mean time.

Cheers.

as soon as you remove the flywheel you'll see if the woodruff key has sheared - there's a slot in the flywheel and a half moon shaped slot in the crank , if it's sheared the remains of the key will still be in there but in two pieces

my flywheel nut was not very tight which i think was the problem with mine

have you checked the obvious with yours like air filter, HT leads/connections, is fuel getting through, try the tap in the reserve position, make sure you have full choke (lever all the way up) when starting

if it is the key you can get new ones on ebay or from a company called ondrives.com they are cheap enough

good luck with it let me know how you get on

Tony

Woodruff key and flywheel puller ordered.

Having checked all the obvious, fuel, spark, spark plug, I thought I'd found the problem when I removed the coil etc. The earth connections in there were loose.

Cleaned and tightened these and the other earth up, once again no change.

How do you hold the flywheel while loosening/tightening the retaining nut ?

Oh and how do you check the timing ? I can see two small lines in there (through the small hole), though these are not visible at TDC. Is this the problem ?

Theres a scribed mark on the outside of the flywheel thats lines up with a mark on the cases if you use a strobe light from memory.

Normally with shercos you remove the flywheel & on the righthand top of the stator on the outside of the slot for the mounting screw is a line which should line up with the side of the mounting lug, easier to see & understand than explain.

Have a look at the manuals pinned at the top of the sherco index or go to shercos site for a better/more detailed explaination

One thing I'd suggest to any sherco owner who has the older style ignition cover with front sprocket guard is throw it as far away as possible due to the fact they warp & the chain throws water through the gap, the 06 onwards covers fit & seem to seal better

Edited December 23, 200916 yr by tony27