starter motor problems

Hi. I`ve only just joined but would appreciate some advice. I`ve got a Land-Rover 90, 1988, diesel. When I tried to turn the engine over I was sometimes just getting a sort of vibrating from the starter motor. Other times it would be ok. Sometimes if I took the hammer to it it would jump it into life. I got a replacement old starter from a scrappy and, within a few weeks I was getting the same problem and it has now gone to where it just makes this sort of whirring sound when I`m trying to turn over the engine. I`ve put back in the old starter motor which would usually work before I took it out, but now that is the same as the newer one, where it just whirrs when I try to turn the engine over, all the time. I`ve hit it with a hammer, rocked the vehicle, but no good.

Any advice? Would be most grateful.

Thanks,

Neil.

You say you`ve tried a hammer?

Simple problem, but can be a pain to fix.

The starter motor has a thing called a bandix gear on the end. This basicly allows the starter motor to spin upto speed before enguaging into the flywheel ring gear (a huge cog), and then to disenguage when the engine fires up.

What is happeneing here is that its not enguaging into the gear.

You need to remove the starter motor, and then you will see it as a sort of large spring with a cog that rotates back down the shaft if turned backwards. This spins down the shaft if spun from standstill to a really fast speed very quickly (i.e. a high torque starter motor)

When it is out, you will probably find the gear is full of clutch dust stuck to grease and other muck.

Give it a flush through with white spirits, and then give it a good spray with a light mineral oil (e.g. WD40) and then put it back in

This is a common problem with bendix gears, and why more moden engines have pre-enguaging starter motors where the solonoid pulls the gears in and out.

James

jamescronin said:

The starter motor has a thing called a bandix gear on the end.

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you sure ?

silly, it's a SPANDEX gear init?

odenne said:

silly, it's a SPANDEX gear init?

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Spandex gear's wot pan's people's into init/

kernowdragon said:

Spandex gear's wot pan's people's into init/

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Aye and BoB!!

Reeeeally, tell me more Is this for imself or the burds?

kernowdragon said:

Reeeeally, tell me more Is this for imself or the burds?

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Himself. He tries to make out it's his cycling gear. But we int fooled??