Posted by David Sherman on Monday, December 03, 2001 at 9:37PM :
In Reply to: Help! Starter motor posted by rich on Monday, December 03, 2001 at 7:42PM :
I'm not sure what you have, but here's some ideas: Does it have the foot-pedal for the starter? If that's the case, there isn't any bendix, so perhaps the linkage is not engaging the pinion far enough. No matter what kind of mechanism it has, if the starter pinion and/or ring gear is badly worn, it will tend to disengage itself. The pinion is far more likely to be worn out than the ring since it doesn't have near as many teeth. The bendix itself can be a little bit sneaky because dirt or thick old oil can keep it from running up the shaft like it's supposed to. It should be easy to pull the starter and take a look. Maybe something obvious is wrong like a chewed up gear or a busted bendix spring. You can get them replaced at any decent auto electric shop. You shouldn't need a new starter. While you have it off, clean it up good so the bendix works like it should. Also try running it while it's off the truck via some jumper cables to see that it spins good and fast and the commutator (brushes) aren't sparking too much. Don't let it run a long time like this because it will go too fast. A little sparking is normal, but too much means a short in the rotor. Could be there's some intermittent connection in the starter or cables or brushes that opens the circuit when it starts to get warm. Might even be just worn-out brushes. Good luck, it's probably something simple.
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