12v starter..?!
Posted: June 8th, 2012, 10:09 pm
So a couple weeks ago I was getting the car ready for my first race this season and when I started the car for the first time (same motor, same starter, new transaxle), it would start but make a horrible noise that (maybe only to me..) sounded like a goose being strangled. I checked the bushing and there was a lot of play between the starter shaft and the bushing, but the bushing itself looked the same dimension as a new spare I borrowed, and in pretty good shape. Hmm..
I decided to put it all back together to get me through the weekend, and it actually didn't sound as bad for the rest of the weekend, as long as I just sort of bumped the starter button instead of holding it. At some point, the starter gear seemed to have gotten stuck in the flywheel's ring gear, but I rocked the car back and forth to free it up and didn't have any more trouble after that.
Anyway, something was definitely up, so a couple nights ago I pulled the starter out.. Turns out it's a 12v starter (stamped 12v on both the body and the solenoid). At first I thought someone might already have swapped the bendix for a 6v one (which some people do to save weight/money) but comparing the dimensions of the starter gear, it's definitely a completely stock 12v starter.
Hmm.. What the hell? I thought this was supposed to not work at all! Granted it wasn't working very well last weekend, but I now realize the problem was probably that I was using the wrong bushing in the bellhousing. I used this same starter for the last 2 years with no problems, but I assume my old tranny had the correct bushing installed.
Any thoughts? I buggered up my starter anyway trying to grind away enough material to clear the exhaust, so should I just go out and buy a cheap 12v starter?
I decided to put it all back together to get me through the weekend, and it actually didn't sound as bad for the rest of the weekend, as long as I just sort of bumped the starter button instead of holding it. At some point, the starter gear seemed to have gotten stuck in the flywheel's ring gear, but I rocked the car back and forth to free it up and didn't have any more trouble after that.
Anyway, something was definitely up, so a couple nights ago I pulled the starter out.. Turns out it's a 12v starter (stamped 12v on both the body and the solenoid). At first I thought someone might already have swapped the bendix for a 6v one (which some people do to save weight/money) but comparing the dimensions of the starter gear, it's definitely a completely stock 12v starter.
Hmm.. What the hell? I thought this was supposed to not work at all! Granted it wasn't working very well last weekend, but I now realize the problem was probably that I was using the wrong bushing in the bellhousing. I used this same starter for the last 2 years with no problems, but I assume my old tranny had the correct bushing installed.
Any thoughts? I buggered up my starter anyway trying to grind away enough material to clear the exhaust, so should I just go out and buy a cheap 12v starter?