Well, I pulled my starter and disassembled it this morning.
It's a total wreck, I'm surprised it worked at all.
The drive-side bush was *gone* and the housing underneath eaten away, The
armature shaft badly worn and scored, the pinion gear fairly munched at the
end but otherwise OK. The commutator side bush was *mostly gone*, worn
through more than half the way around. Shaft at this end also damaged, with
bronze bits welded to surface (kinda bumpy-orange like) for variety.
The commutator was pretty cupped from wear but would have been servicable
with some work. The windings looked OK. I didn't bother sticking a meter
on it to check electrical anything since the mechanical was so bad. The
brushes were pretty badly worn/scored as expected.
Everything inside was covered with conducting metal powder!!: copper
(commutator), bronze (bushes), steel (housing); plus carbon, rust, dirt,
grease, etc. It looked like someone had buried it in the back yard
for ten years...
Every wearing part is 23-years worn.
The housing is damaged.
To hell with it.
The local-rebuild job I inspected today was a piece-a-shit, I didn't buy
it. I ordered a Lucas-factory-rebuilt unit from TRF for $$ instead. Ah
my little red money pit...
But it does vroom vroom very nicely when it's running, so it's worth it.
And I'm almost out of original systems to rebuild...
NEXT: The carbs are the last thing on the fix-list! This weekend's project
while I wait for the starter. More exciting damage reports to come! 8-|
--ian
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