Starter Question

[mcboi52]

Recently (January), I bought a '89 Prostar 190 from the original owner. I ran it out at the lake twice, then the starter decided it didn't want to engage anymore and just spun. Within a day or so, I went and bought a new starter identical to what was on there. Now, 2 months later...same thing. It did start at first...buzzed around the lake for a little while, went back to pick someone up to take out, and that's when it just spun again. It's a horizontal mount (if that matters). Am I supposed to spray something like WD-40 in the starter or is this a common problem?

Even after tapping on the starter a few times with a hammer to see if it would do anything...nothing.

[oldairboater]

Tap the starter lightly at only the bendix or the end plate if you must. Sometimes tapping seats the brushes if they are hanging. That doesn't sound like your problem. Stay away from the sides where the magnets are. If it was me. I would pull the starter off and grease the bushings and bendix shaft. WD40 is junk in my books and I only use it to clean mud off of my shotguns and displace water off of my reels before I oil with appropriate oil. I usually get my starters rebuilt from a local shop. I think that is better then new junk or rebuilt junk from a parts house. JMO.

[thatsmrmastercraft]

You would do well to heed the above advice.

[mcboi52]

Thanks for the advice. I didn't even think to have the old one rebuilt. Oh well...live and learn. I will take this one off and grease it though. Something to do tomorrow...

[thatsmrmastercraft]

Standard procedure is to lay a couple towels below the starter to cushion the fall in case it slips. Hate to have it end up on the cement under the boat the hard way.

[dmminfla]

You could have a bad spot on the ring gear. If it happens again turn thr crank a quarter and see it i works.

[Thrall]

Originally Posted by dmminfla

You could have a bad spot on the ring gear. If it happens again turn thr crank a quarter and see it i works.

Yeah, missing a couple teeth on the flywheel or the bendix is sticking on the starter, put some light grease on it.
Or just possible it's a bad starter, but not likely since same symptoms as last one.

[03geetee]

Neighbor had the same problem, wasnt the starter but after replacing it and seeing the same result his battery and starter cables were the culprit. Always test your stuff before throwing new parts at it.

JTR

[Table Rocker]

A starter should not spin until the Bendix has thrown the gear. If your starter is spinning in the air, the starter gear and ring gear are not in contact. Take your starter off and look at the teeth on the ring gear. You will probably see damage.

If a starter is not installed correctly (shimmed in most cases) and is too close to the ring gear, it will work fine for a while. But since the ring gear is usually a little out of round, the gears bind on certain places on the ring gear. After a while, the bushing between the starter gear and shaft will wear from the binding and the starter gear will become loose. The worn bushing allows poor alignment of the gears and the starter gear starts chewing up the ring gear. The next thing you know you are replacing your starter and ring gear.

[mcboi52]

Since I'm not "that" mechanically incline, I apologize ahead of time if my questions/replies sound dumb.

Originally Posted by dmminfla

You could have a bad spot on the ring gear. If it happens again turn thr crank a quarter and see it i works.

Can you do this without taking anything apart. Say I"m in the middle of the lake and this happens again...is there an easy way to turn it?

Originally Posted by Thrall

Yeah, missing a couple teeth on the flywheel or the bendix is sticking on the starter, put some light grease on it.
Or just possible it's a bad starter, but not likely since same symptoms as last one.

Since I do get a little impatient, I already bought and installed a new starter yesterday...thinking maybe the last one wasn't good. We'll see I guess.

Originally Posted by 03geetee

Neighbor had the same problem, wasnt the starter but after replacing it and seeing the same result his battery and starter cables were the culprit. Always test your stuff before throwing new parts at it.

JTR

Is there an easy way to test this stuff out? It's definitely a habit I need to get into when things like this happen.

Originally Posted by Table Rocker

A starter should not spin until the Bendix has thrown the gear. If your starter is spinning in the air, the starter gear and ring gear are not in contact. Take your starter off and look at the teeth on the ring gear. You will probably see damage.

If a starter is not installed correctly (shimmed in most cases) and is too close to the ring gear, it will work fine for a while. But since the ring gear is usually a little out of round, the gears bind on certain places on the ring gear. After a while, the bushing between the starter gear and shaft will wear from the binding and the starter gear will become loose. The worn bushing allows poor alignment of the gears and the starter gear starts chewing up the ring gear. The next thing you know you are replacing your starter and ring gear.

You might be dead-on with this one. I definitely didn't shim the new one when I installed it. Is there a standard shim that needs to be used for these? Also...about the ring gear...and this may sound stupid...but I'm guessing it's pretty involved to change it?!? Meaning, not something I should try at home?