Starter motor

[sam93]

Evening all !

I've got a slight issue with my herald at the moment & i'm after a solution.

The issue being that sometimes when I try to start the car, the starter motor mechinism locks into the flywheel. To free it & therefore start the engine I have to bang the starter with a block of wood to release the mechinism.

What is the best soultion to this ?

I was thinking about pulling out the motor, then putting some copper crest grease on the spiral shaft. However this may not last particularly long.

Sam.

[Paudman]

Don't use copper grease, use graphite powder, you get it from locksmiths. Clean the Bendix on the end of the starter with petrol then lubricate it with Graphite. You may need a replacement Bendix, or replacement flywheel ringgear, if either is badly worn. You can often find both for less than £20 each on eBay.

[herald948]

You might not even need a lubricant once the Bendix is cleaned up. If you must use one, do as "Paudman" says and use only a dry graphite, which will be far less likely to attract grit and such that will quickly gum up the Bendix again!

[junkuser]

Damaged teeth on the Bendix drive and/or ring gear could be the problem.
Depth of engagement of the Bendix gear should also be checked.

[sam93]

Hopefully wear is not the issue, as the starter motor is brand new . It's been used only for about  3 months.

How should I check for wear ?

Sam.

[junkuser]

Sounds as though the Bendix teeth should be OK then but have a look at the ring gear teeth.
Easy enough with the starter removed.  Not uncommon to find the teeth half reduced in length or just generally mangled on old engines.
4 cylinder engines stop in either of two positions so tooth wear/damage will be on the part of the ring gear visible through the starter mounting hole or very nearby.

Turn the engine 1/4 turn (may have to remove plugs to achieve this readily) and compare the shape and size of the teeth with those seen previously.

Depth of engagement is a bit more involved to check but on some engines an aluminium spacer was used between the starter and the mounting surface (don't know if this was the case with yours) and even steel shims, (as on my Spitfire) to get the correct depth of engagement.