Well I changed my starter ring gear and thought I should share my experience as I learned a bit:The old ring gear came off rather easily from the flywheel when I drilled the ring gear in three places and cut into the teeth at those three points (not into the flywheel) with my saws-all and I was able to knock it off with a hammer and drift. The trick of placing the ring gear in the oven did not work for me, even at 500 degrees. The wife didn't like me using her new range for tractor parts much either. I dont have the luxury of owning a large heating torch, but what worked great was when I left the flywheel in the freezer overnight, then I created a little bonfire in the driveway, let it burn down to mostly hot embers, then threw the ring gear into the coals. I let that stay in there 10 to 15 min. until the gear turned a whiteish hue. I slapped that gear on the frozen flywheel and it dropped into place like butter. Make sure that you have the beveled side of the gearteeth facing the clutch side of the flywheel. I also waited for the flywheel to warm up a bit before I bolted it on the crankshaft. I did not want want the flywheel to thaw and expand and stretch or snap the mounting bolts. Of course while I had everything apart I changed the clutch & pressure plate, clutch release bearing, pilot bearing, tranny input shaft seal and starter bendix. Getting the tractor back together was a bit tricky as I was mostly by myself. After using some finesse to get everything all lined up closely with floor jacks and stands, I used a racheting cargo strap to hold the front and rear end of the tractor together so that it wouldn't seperate too far when I was pushing and rocking it together. Since I was trying to roll the rear half of the tractor on a floor jack over a sheet of OSB on top of a gravel floor, I found that I had the most leverage and control if I laid on my back behind the tractor and pushed upwards on the two tires with my feet. I had my wife eyeball the infut shaft for me and slowly turn the flywheel with a screwdriver through the big starter hole until I was able to gently rock it into place. That part was easier than anticipated. Other than those tips, follow the FO-4 manual and everything should work out for you. Also, even though you need to loosen the hood and lift the steering geerbox, do not completely remove the bolts mounting the dash panel to the sides of the gearbox. Only remove the four bolts attaching the gearbox to the trans housing. I got carried away and removed those and they were a real pain to get back in.
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