Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Had to push start the mav to get home from work today. Pulled it all apart and found a heap of oil and crap in there. The brushes worn down to nothing and the springs that hold them in seem to be fused together. Its not a pretty site and I don't think its repairable. I'm wondering if anyone knows how the hell oil got in there in the first place so I can fix the cause of it before shelling out for another starter motor. I've had enough of it for now, time for a beer.

oil maybe from changing oil filters just a thought.....

its possible uve done a rear main seal and its comin off the flywheel but thats a bit of a stretch id think, ur clutch would be slipping if it was leaking that bad, or do u have an auto, and if its only the brushes which it sounds like u can get all those expendable parts from an auto leky. if the brushes are covered in oil they got less chance of workin especially if they were mostly worn.

Yeah I thought of that but looks a lot more serious. There is rust all inside it too so maybe some water got in there at some time and couldn't get out. I just don't want to buy another motor to have the same thing happen in 3 months time.

I replaced the rear main about 18 months ago so I hope its not that again. What a job it was. The reason it won't turn the engine over is definitely the brushes, there is not much left of them at all and the car was gradually getting harder to start so I think they were slowly losing contact with the commutator. The brushes were replaced with the solenoid about a year ago and when I took it apart at that time it was completely dry inside. I am assuming that the oil and water inside the starter has caused the brushes to wear a lot quicker then normal. I will take some pictures of the insides tomorrow when I have some better light and post them up tomorrow. I have no problem changing bits inside but when you see the photos you will understand what I am talking about.

most starters you can buy a complete brush assembly, you may also need a new armatuer, if the brushes are that low its a very common problem for them to melt the contacts on the end of the armatuer. will sell exchange units for $200. the oil inside the starter is the cause of your problems. its unlikely that the oil was from the rear main if its in the brush assembly

Yeah the armature looks pretty stuffed, there is small chips in the commutator too so just need to figure out where the oil/water came from and if it will be cheaper to repair or exchange/replace. There are two rubber hoses just beside one of the filters which run oil to the oil cooler which was fitted when the turbo was installed and I'm starting to think that may be where the problem has started. Thanks for the comments guys keep em coming. Will post pics tomorrow.

Here's some pics. Keep in mind this is after i washed it all down with petrol.

Dammit No wreckers or auto eleccies open on saturday up here. Stuck at home for the long weekend.

Ok in these pics you can see the 2 oil lines for the oil cooler that I was talking about and you can see that the bellhousing is wet from oil on this side. The other side of the bellhousing is completely dry. Any more ideas?

yeh that looks like those lines are leakin, how old are they, if ur bellhousing is oiled on the outside i reckon ur main seal wont be the cause of that, u didnt get a loose oil filter one day did ya? i have seen that happen a few times it only needs to be a little bit loose to leak under pressure. although u would have picked up that when u took those ones off, check ur hose clamps on the lines, it might pay to take em off cut an inch off and put new hose clamps on, they may have been put on too tight and cracked the end of the hose out, or they may be just loose, oil lines under pressure will always leak if they have a way doesnt matter how much u do the clamp up. as for the repair, give it a really good clean out, shine up any contacting sufaces with a bit of emery paper. Any lumps or burrs will give ur brushes premature wear, give it another wash out with metho or petrol, lube up any shafts bushes or moving parts with a bit of never sieze or lith grease and wack some new brushes in it. check ur solinoid throw and movement too while its out just incase u got some shiat in it too.

another thought to maybe its leakin out the back of ur tappet cover

Thanks for those tips mate. I can't shorten those hoses anymore or I won't get the filters back on. I am going to try and see if there is a blockage or something in the oil cooler too I think that would cause the oil to be under higher pressure and force its way out of those lines. The lines have been on there since I've owned it and I would presume since the turbo was fitted so could have been at least ten years at a guess. I think I'll just take them out and get some new ones made up to be on the safe side. Still don't know if its worth rebuilding the starter itself. It will need at least all new bearings, brush holder and brushes. The commutator doesn't look real flash either. Not sure on the solenoid but it was fairly new so hopefully the oil hasn't damaged it too much.