Today I removed the clutch inspection covers and found that I can rotate the flywheel by hand ~1/8" or so back and forth without the crank moving. Clutch is still installed so can't see much. So, loose flywheel bolts.
On the older sixes there are 3 alignment studs in addition to the 6 shoulder bolts so even with loose bolts there is no end play. Is the 292 flywheel just aligned by the shoulders on the bolts? They would ALL have to have backed out beyond the shoulder to have play (which has probably trashed threads).
Also on the older sixes there are no lock washers - but instead there are three retention plates that straddle two bolts each. Once the bolts are torqued to spec the corners of the plate are bent up with a cold chisel and then these 'corner tabs' are pounded flat against the bolt head.
When did Chevy stop using these? Seems a bulletproof method of preventing the bolts from backing out.
If the shoulder depth of the bolt is designed for use with a star washer - eliminating it could cause the shoulder to run into the crank face (as the bolt runs out of thread). This would affect one's ability to torque the bolts properly.
