This one really has me stumped.
For the first hundred or so revolutions, the new starter worked like a
champ. Now, every time it engages, it's like it locks. Putting the hand
crank to it and you can hear it "pop" free, and maybe one time in ten it
will engage and turn over the engine. The starter motor is fine (at least
it works right on the bench) and I can see no evidence on the teeth that
anything is being damaged.
My first two guesses were that it was pushing out so hard and fast that it
was not engaging the ring gear teeth but rather binding on the face or that
it was going out to far and somehow getting bound up with the ring gear. I
tried shimming the starter farer from the mounting on the chance it was the
second, but that didn't help. It's not practical, without major machining,
to move the motor the other way.
I thought also about the battery, but it's freshly charged and you can hear
and feel a definite release inside the starter motor when you wiggle it by
hand. I'm almost sure it's a gear engagement problem.
I should mention that it's a gear reduction starter motor sold by one of the
respected suppliers on this list. (TR3A)
Any thoughts or suggestions?
TIA
Ken Gano
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