When starter motors go bad....

[mattc]

The starter motor in my Jeep is starting to "whirrr out" so to speak. With the cold weather, if the engine doesn't fire straight away, the starter won't continue turning the engine over - it just sort of screeches or whirrrs.

I have pulled it apart, and due to time, really quickly cleaned commutators, brushes, greased the gears a little and it made some improvement but not totally fixed. Previously after some extended mud dunking a clean up fixed it but not this time - and this time it wasn't muddy anyway.

From my highly technical description of the symptoms, is there some bit I should go back and clean thoroughly and try again? Would it be the motor stalling or something in the spinout mechanism? Or usually they are just plain dead?

Being a Jeep, a replacement is probably one gazillion dollars so I'll try the wreckers.

Thanks for any ideas.

cheers
MattC

[LuxyBoy]

Same happened on my Lux a month ago; it then just stopped. Something about the throw-out gear; anyway i had to replace mine

[Patroler]

Sounds like the little gear drive on the end is slipping, it's like a one way bearing, i think from memory its called a bendix drive, an auto elec should be able to rebuild the starter and replace the bad part.

[Nev]

does it engage with the flywheel properly every time? Coz on mine the return clip that pushes the gear against the flywheel was getting stuck so if it didnt start the first time it often you too just return half way and whir or grind against the flywheel until it meshed Needed a new one as well which is the way id go coz at least u no what uve got unlike on one from the wreckers where the same thing might happen again soon. Being a zook though it only cost me $180 installed for a Lucas Dont no about jeep prices...

[Loanrangie]

Take it to an autolec, they should be able to reco it for $150 or so, if it hasnt been done before they can skim the armature and fit new brushes and bushes if needed.

[4x4Monkey]

befor u put it back in check that it has do damaged any teeth on the flywhel
if it has Id see a Mech befor u put it back in

and get em to load test it too

Ive had problem in the workshop ya send out a starter motor comes back *working* ya put it in and shit ya not it does not work
so out its gotta come
by this time ya read to cuck the starter motor at the car

[Thommo 73]

my landcruiser did something similar to that not to long ago, and it was the one way bearing (maybe a dog clutch??). which was going to cost more to get rebuilt that buying a new starter!

but still get an autoelec to quote fixing, just check the price of a new one as well.

[mattc]

Thanks all. The ring gear on the fly wheel looked ok - at least the bit I could see. It now often just whirs straight away like it is not engaging with the flywheel at all. Time to price repair vs replace. Cheers.

[Loanrangie]

That sounds like the solenoid, if its just whirring away and not turning over the engine.

[Bad JuJu]

These guys used to have a fixed price repair for starters ... That is You get the starter off the car and take it to them.

I think it was $99-ish

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