I have a scotts lawnmower with tecumseh engine. the seal at the bottom of the crank has leaked all of the engine oil out. i have engine out of the mower - ready to pull bottom of engine off and replace seal/gasket. can i use a slide/puller to get that flange off of the bottom of the crank ? or is there some other method. thank you. David / Charleston, S.C.

As long as you replace the bottom seal and flange gasket ,you can take the flange off anyway you can,of course without damaging the crank.I usually remove all flange bolts and then use a small hammer to GINGERLY tap the flange away from the block,HTH

Once all the bolts are off the "flange" it should come off easily with a few light taps. That doesn't mean baby it but dont beat the daylights out of it either and go from side to side until the you feel it can come off by hand the rest of the way. Also if there is any rust or anything on the crank shaft i would recommend removing it with some emmery cloth (fine grit sand paper )