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I remember having a lawnmower and every time I hit a rock it would break the offset key on the crank, holding the flywheel. I think they were designed to break and made of pot metal, similar to a shear pin on a boat motor. eventually I put locktite on the tapered crank and it stopped breaking the key.
Maybe it isn't really a weak point , it will be a steel key, but can it break and cause an engine crash? I'm wondering if it may be a good idea to apply a locking compound or install a pin or something to make sure it can't spin? maybe it's unlikely to see enough torque on the gear to break it. I did find a post on another forum where the guy said he did break one , maybe in a race application. He might have had heavy valve springs? I assume its important to torque the nut properly. The key itself is weaker than OEM, being offset, but it still may not be a particularly weak point.
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