dodgey flywheel?

bad day. fitted a new reco starter to my car yesterday and found that every second time the starter will not engage with the flywheel. talked to the mech who sold me the starter and he says judging by the damage to my other starter there is a definite problem with the flywheel. this got me thinking, since this problem is relatively new, and a little while before it started the car started shuddering in reverse when the clutch was not fully engaged, is it possible that the flywheel is fractionally off balance, and has over-time distorted to give the shudders and lack of engagement? i had the flywheel made from 1-piece solid turned metal by a guy who has been doing it for 30 years, if it is off balance would i be with in my rights to ask for a replacement? it is only 12 months old and has only done about 6thousand kays.

was the ring gear cut in or press fit ? Was it balanced ?

I had my flywheel balanced before it was put on.

Mmmm nah seriously doubt that the fly has gone out like that.
Clutches will shudder for a variety of reasons. Glazing and local hotspots are just two of 'em.

Im thinking along the lines that the ring gear is not placed far enough back (toward the g/box) on the fly originally to allow the starter pinion to fully engage.

Only checking out the damaged starter pinion itself would confirm that.

Do you still have the old starter? if so take a closeup pix of the pinion teeth.

L8tr
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tassupervee wrote:Mmmm nah seriously doubt that the fly has gone out like that.
Clutches will shudder for a variety of reasons. Glazing and local hotspots are just two of 'em.

Im thinking along the lines that the ring gear is not placed far enough back (toward the g/box) on the fly originally to allow the starter pinion to fully engage.

Only checking out the damaged starter pinion itself would confirm that.

Do you still have the old starter? if so take a closeup pix of the pinion teeth.

L8tr
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Yep might be only engaging half way across the ring gear causing the starter to rip the teeth of.Pull the starter of andstick your finger through the hole and feel for damage of flywheel.(is this a subie transplant)JVLRacing

when i showed the old starter to the guy i bought the reco off he seemed to think there was something wrong with the flywheel as ther was wear on the teeth to to indicate full engagement. i would have to check how the teeth were made, not sure of that, only know that the flywheel was made from scratch and thought that it was balanced when made. tazsuperbee, i had considered what you have said (it wouldnt surprise me if i had clutch problems) but if the flywheel was too far back (beside the fact that both myself and my mechanic checked the measurements, (my mechanic double checked it all once fitted) ) if it were too far back then surely the problem would have happened earlier then nearly 6000Ks, instead it happened rather suddenly, and more to the point, surely my new reco starter should be engaging a little, rather then not at all 2/3 times, as my old one engaged all the time until the teeth were ripped

was the bush for starter replaced v small circular hardened ring fits into g/box for pinion to ride in smoooothly

could it be the flywheel has come a bit loose? would knock a bit....

where does it fit? i have setup for an automatic starter so that there is no (end?) bearing. is there a ring that fits around the rim that the starter fits in, is that what you are saying?

baybuscamperkid wrote:tazsuperbee, i had considered what you have said (it wouldnt surprise me if i had clutch problems) but if the flywheel was too far back

Nope, what i meant was that the ring gear itself may NOT be back far enough to the rear (g/box end) meaning incomplete engagement of the teeth. if the flywheel itself was incorrect,ie too far back, you would have already had dramas with clutch engagement due to insufficient clearance between the pressure plate fingers and the release bearing.

However, if the teeth are being damaged then there may be a mismatch between the teeth profiles of the ring gear and the starter pinion, the measurement between the crank centreline and the starter pinion centreline or a combination of both. Perhaps the teeth are engaging right out on their extremities, thereby stressing and damaging the pinion teeth.

When starters are re-coed, the pinion isnt always replaced unless the sprag clutch is misbehaving or the teeth are already damaged and there is a possibility that the wear witness marks are old ones. The ring gear itself should reveal more. grab a small mirror and have a close look at the ring gear teeth and check WHERE the teeth are actually engaging.

If the tooth profile chosen by the flywheel maker is different to the profile on the pinion, even tho the tooth pitch is the same, this can cause damage which can often take quite some time to show its head.

Without having the starter and fly available to look at, we can only speculate on what is going on here.

best of luck with it tho dude.

L8tr
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