it turns to cool the engine it has little fins on it to draw/suck air in to cool the engine down
impact gun and 11/16 socket. It unthreads counter-clockwise.
No, a rusted flywheel will not cause the engine not to turn over.
A bad flywheel can definitely cause the engine not to turn over. The flywheel has teeth. If the teeth are chipped or broken, then the starter can not engage to spin the engine over.
Don't do that too often. If the starter Bendix is not fully engaging the starter gear into the flywheel, you could be wearing the flywheel. That could be expensive. Remove the starter and inspect the flywheel. Slowly turn the flywheel by hand and inspect the entire circumference of the gear.
A machine shop uses a surface planer.
Turn the flywheel to BDC (bottom dead center) as you continue to turn the flywheel into the combustion stroke, it will be the first valve to move.
Pull the starter motor so you can see the flywheel. Make a chalk mark on the flywheel. Have someone turn the engine over by hand while you watch the flywheel turn one revolution. Look at the gear teeth and watch up in there for flexing and cracks and see that the bolts are all tight.
Counterclockwise as looking at it from the flywheel.
IF YOU HAVE NOTICE That when you turn the key foreward all your assy. come on. And then you have to turn it further to make the starter ingauge. So that is when the starter gear / drive contacts the flywheel.
when you have a clutch put in you also have to replace or remove the flywheel and have it refaced to keep from messing up the new clutch, and yes the flywheel is suspose to turn when the engine is turning, so if the flywheel wasnt replaced or refaced then i would say that the flywheel is what the problem is
You should be able to turn the starter with little effort when it is not engaged with the flywheel.
One of two things. Either your bendix is bad on your starter (best case) or you have a bad spot on your flywheel and the transmission has to come out. Try turning the motor by hand a quarter of a turn. if it will start after that once then your flywheel is bad. It it doesn't the it's probably the bendix. Good luck.