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Subject: Starter motor R&R, part deux... Author: rv8flyboy : member since September, 2007 : 1162 posts Posted on: 2008-02-10 19:53:21

Well, here I was, my starter cleaned and tested, as best as I could and installed back in the car, the transmission all buttoned back and mated to the engine, the exhaust hung back under the car, and after a few days the darn things is giving me head aches again.

When starting the car, one could hear it slide in the flywheel, the starter motor would spin merrily, but the engine would be a sitting duck. Sometimes one had to repeat this 10 to 12 times before the engine would turn over, all the while trying to say the right magic incantations.

As RICK540 correctly pointed out, most likely the little clutch in the bendix was slipping.


Now what to do, I did not want to buy a new starter as the rest of the starter was in very good condition, after all, I had just inspected it. I also did not want to go through the pains of removing the exhaust down pipe, etc, to get the darn thing out again. That is just sooo much work. What to do, What to do......

After a day long calling around I found a place who was willing to sell me a bendix AND take it back if it would not fit, Most places either wanted to sell a whole starter in exchange and charge an arm and leg as core deposit, or, could only deal with me if I could give them an exact BOSCH number.

With the new bendix in hand I decided it must be possible to do an R&R on the starter without removing (most of) it from the car. I am happy to say, it was indeed possible to replace the bendix without removing the starter from the car. Here is what i did.



carefully remove the windshield water tank, use the heat gun to heat the hoses so you don’t break nipples, again, like i did the first time. The heat will soften those hose to the windshield washer tank.
This will open up a hole for your arm to slide through, yes this was all done one-handed.

now stick lots of rags under the starter motor to catch falling nuts & bolts, parts, etc.

remove the heat shield from starter motor, 2 nuts at the front, one difficult to reach nut under the starter. also remove the heat shield from the back 3 exhaust stubs.

remove both wires to the solenoid and the one going from the solenoid into the back of the starter motor

remove the bracket at the front of the starter motor, one bolt into the engine block. leave the two 17mm bolts which hold the aluminum nose cone to the bell housing by flywheel.

take out the two long bolts that go through the starter motor (9 mm wrench or deep socket). These are the same which held the bracket/heatshield in the front of the starter. This will loosen the motor section from the nose cone. Make sure the cover does not come off where the brushes are (golden dirty part) as then for sure you have to remove that section out from the car. Leave the long bolts in the housing. Just carefully lay it somewhere towards the front, maybe in a big zip lock to keep dirt from the grease, but it does not need removing, just find a place to lay it down next to the engine. There is a thin metal plate between the planetary gear and the motor, don't lose it.

Now take out the small black plastic piece under the solenoid, don’t drop it. This is the pivot point for arm attached to the bendix
Mark the planetary gear so you know how it goes back in. I did not and found out that it goes in multiple ways, but there is only one way to make the bolt holes line up. You can see where the black plastic piece went, unless you are good with mirrors you can't see the bolt holes ;-)

The solenoid is held in place by three phillips (cross head) screws, these need to be loosened so the solenoid comes off. Once the solenoid has been removed, the planetary gear inside the silver housing comes out. grab the plunger, formerly housed inside the solenoid and all will slide out. This will also hold the bendix. I removed just this part to install the new bendix.



About 5 minutes to slide on the new bendix, and a lot of time wasted because i misaligned the planetary gear re-installing.

I am happy to say, the new bendix cured my starting problems and being a curious guy, I decided to open up the old bendix to see what kind of clutch is used in it.






Well. I hope this will help somebody else who is a glutton for punishment and want to try taking the starter apart whilst still installed.....


Gert

750IL 1990 (9/89) Black, 75K,
750IL 1989 (9/88) Black, 155K

I told my wife, it is not a Boy Toy, is a Man's Machine!!

• Starter motor R&R, part deux... (pic) (url) - rv8flyboy 2008-02-10 19:53:21 (2736 views)
  • Starter motor R&R, part I here from rv8flyboy (url) - shogun 2008-02-10 22:27:47 (412 views)
  • Thanks Gert, excellent write-up - shogun 2008-02-10 22:20:05 (161 views)
    • Re: Thanks Gert, excellent write-up - rv8flyboy 2008-02-10 22:52:22 (138 views)