How much of a problem is this on my flywheel?

[BarryK]

Just picked up my starter from rebuild today and as I was reinstalling it I noticed the teeth on the flywheel gear are a bit chewed up.
you can see it in the pics below.
How much of a problem is this and should I start worrying about it?

If I need to change out the flywheel I really can't get involved in that until next year so is driving the car safe like it is or shouldn't i even drive it?

If I do need to change out the flywheel, how involved and major of a job is it? Does the motor and tranny have to get pulled?

Barry

 

[JohnZ]

I wouldn't worry about it - looks like typical ring gear wear caused by wear of the bushing where the pinion gear bottoms out in the starter nose when energized (causes the pinion to move further into the ring gear).

 

[BarryK]

great! thanks John. At least that's one thing not to worry about than

I know the guy that just rebuilt the starter did say the bushings were pretty worn plus some part - a bushing or sleeve or such that goes over the pinion gear shaft (?) was messed up and was freespining instead of being tight like it should have been causing excess play on the pinion gear so perhaps that's what caused this wearing on my flywheel.

I guess that problem should be eliminated now.

 

[speedmaster4]

seen em a lot worse than that come from cars used daily....unless starter grinds and doesnt turn engine, no big thang... you would need to pull tranny to remove flywheel...just warm up the ring gear with oxy-actyl torch and it falls off or grind part way thru and use hammer and chisel (i much prefer torch)...warm new ring gear in mama's oven and it drops on...any auto machine shop can do it if your not a thrillseeker

 

[BarryK]

Thanks Speed

I was getting a very rare intermittent grind once every few weeks or so until sept or Oct when it became much more frequent which is why I just sent the started in for a rebuild.
The guy who rebuilt it said the problems he found in it could have easily been the cause of my grinding noise and from one issue he found (i mentioned it above in my response to John) sounds like it could have been the cause of the wearing based on what John responded with.

 

[speedmaster4]

the 'sliding' pinion thing in the starter is usually called the "bendix",which is short for 'bendix drive mechanism'...failure common, often simply due to lack of lubrication, but just a $30 part and must remove to lube so most just change...bearing in 'nose' of starter housing is oil-impregnated bronze,also common wear point...if your rebuild guy was not on anything heavy i'm sure he replaced all that....relax

 

[BarryK]

speed,
yes, he replaced that.
here is the list of things he said he was doing when I dropped it off:

1.The Bendix pinion gear and solenoid do get replaced as standard.
2.the armature is cleaned and tested, and replaced if needed
3.brushes are replaced
4.leads are checked and replaced if needed
5.bushings are replaced
6.windings are cleaned, checked, replaced if needed
7.armature coils are cleaned, checked, replaced if needed
8.commutator is cleaned, checked and recut(?) if needed
he mentioned a few other things that I can't remember now and couldn't write down fast enough.

Since I don't have to worry about the wearing on the flywheel i'm all good and relaxed now. Only have to wait for my carb to come back so I can fire up the motor and check all my previous work.

 

[speedmaster4]

sounds great

only thing not on your list was a little known trick of "undercutting the mica" on the commutator....cutting mica between the segments is an old time electricians trick that adds 25%+ power to an elec motor for a short time if in continous service, probably a couple years in a car starter...dont worry if the starter guy sez 'i dunno' if you ask him

 

[BarryK]

Yep, A friend of mine mentioned that trick to me last week but this builder never said anything resembling that so i'm assuming he didn't do it.
hey, if it works and no more grinding sound than i'm happy
plus it was fast service and pretty inexpensive I think at only $40 so i'm happy

 

[Viet Nam Vett]

Well.. What think you should do here is replace the Ignition switch.. From what I can see it looks like when the ignition key is turned to the start posistion it is traveling to far... There by causing the starter armature to move out further then needed and causing some ware shown on the flywheel teeth in your pic..

Just my $.02 worth...

 

[BarryK]

geez Mark, how gullible do you think I am?

 

[Viet Nam Vett]

geez Mark, how gullible do you think I am?

I don't think you are... In fact since you have been on this Forum you have become quite the Knowledgeable guy. I myself have learned a tremendous amount from our excellent membership as you have.

So now... your are the man..

 

[BarryK]

I don't think you are... In fact since you have been on this Forum you have become quite the Knowledgeable guy. I myself have learned a tremendous amount from our excellent membership as you have.

So now... your are the man..

well, let's not overstate things either Mark!
i've managed to learn and not forget one or two tidbits of info thankfully since being on here but calling me knowledgable may be pushing it quite a ways!


thank god for the truely knowledgable people that are on here though

 

[firstgear]

seen em a lot worse than that come from cars used daily....unless starter grinds and doesnt turn engine, no big thang... you would need to pull tranny to remove flywheel...just warm up the ring gear with oxy-actyl torch and it falls off or grind part way thru and use hammer and chisel (i much prefer torch)...warm new ring gear in mama's oven and it drops on...any auto machine shop can do it if your not a thrillseeker

heck....Barry is the king of the kitchen stove....there are many things already that his wife doesn't know happening with that stove.....heating it up is no problem for him....perhaps even powder coat it while he is there......

 

[Viet Nam Vett]

well, let's not overstate things either Mark!
i've managed to learn and not forget one or two tidbits of info thankfully since being on here but calling me knowledgable may be pushing it quite a ways!


thank god for the truely knowledgable people that are on here though

Well ...I'm not over stating here.. Just read your reply in that place far far away about ground strap location... Sounds Like a Man who knows what he's talking about when it comes to Corvettes...

 

[BarryK]

Well ...I'm not over stating here.. Just read your reply in that place far far away about ground strap location... Sounds Like a Man who knows what he's talking about when it comes to Corvettes...

that one was easy....... I just read the locations off the sheet that came with the ground strap kit I had bought when I was doing my otor clean up

 

[JohnZ]

that one was easy....... I just read the locations off the sheet that came with the ground strap kit I had bought when I was doing my otor clean up

That's a very important thing to learn, and you picked up on it right away - some people never do:

Post: "Which end of the Johnson rod connects to the Canutin valve?"

A: Do you have the instructions? "No, threw them away - didn't need them."

A: Do you have the Assembly Manual? "No, what's that?"

A: Do you have the Chassis Service Manual? "No, that's $20 I saved."

A: Do you have the Owner's Manual? "What does it look like?"

A: What year car is it? "I dunno - I'm asking for a friend."

:W

 

[Viet Nam Vett]

That's a very important thing to learn, and you picked up on it right away - some people never do:

Post: "Which end of the Johnson rod connects to the Canutin valve?"

A: Do you have the instructions? "No, threw them away - didn't need them."

A: Do you have the Assembly Manual? "No, what's that?"

A: Do you have the Chassis Service Manual? "No, that's $20 I saved."

A: Do you have the Owner's Manual? "What does it look like?"

A: What year car is it? "I dunno - I'm asking for a friend."

:W

Excatly My Point...!!! Thanks for putting it into perspective. That's why Barry has become knowledgeable..Because he has taken the time to learn.

Thanks John..

 

[BarryK]

John and Mark

i HAVE to take the time to learn simply because I'm smart enough to know I don't know anything at all about any of this stuff (thus the reason for all my many threads and questions)
I figure it's a lot cheaper and inexpensive to ask a ton of questions and read the manuals than it is to have to get something fixed or have to buy a new part because i broke it because I didn't know what i was doing.

Believe me, i feel bad asking SO many basic and newbie questions but it's better than the alternative

 

[Tossin]

Believe me, i feel bad asking SO many basic and newbie questions but it's better than the alternative

But remember, your questions are also helping out a bunch of us other newbies who are a little behind you in work.

Barry, your threads and posts have helped me to gain a better understanding of my car (even though some of the work you've done is still a ways down the road for me) and wrench turnin' in general. For that, I thank you and everyone who replies.