Ive finally figured out that is going wrong with my starter motor now and i have 2 options to fix my problems.

Option one - Because the car has had a engien conversion for some reason there is spacing issues between the large brass 'cap' (not sure what its called) that the startermotor shaft comes through and the flywheel, the previous owner modified the brass bit by grinding it back a bit, this seems to work, but the clutch in the starter seems to be going, i only get 1 to 2 torns from it before the motor starts freewheeling then have to stop and try again. so i am wondering, can i get the clutch mechanism fixed in this starter, keep the modified cap and be happily on my way without having to do a total starter rebuild?

Option 2: When i ran into starter troubles on the road whilst i was travelling (the modified starter i left at home ignorantly) mechanics kept getting flustered about clearance issues and charged me an arm and a leg to put some washers on the starter bolts and space the starter back. unfortunately as you can imagine this leads to the starter misaligning and jamming far to regularly, but in the interests of using stock starter motors, i am wondering if it would be cheaper/about the same cost for me to get a proper spacer machined with a lip to match the starter that would align the starter with it hole securely and eliminate the wobble/jamming issues?

if its just the solenoid in the starter thats retracting too early you might be able to rebuild it so that it holds and allows the starter to engage

i dont think so, the starter is engaging, getting a couple of turns, then i can hear the starter free spinning without doing anything productive, i thought if it was the soleniod then the starter wouldnt be spinning?

no because if the solenoid is weak it would engage properly and you get the starter free spinning, its the solenoid that controls the clutch mechanism in the starter

thanks for that barls. do you know if the solenoids are the same on the starters for 2l auto and 2l man starters? i have a near brand new solenoid on an auto starter motor, so if their the same I'll switch them across and that'd be fantastic!

on that one im not 100% sure if they are. i can ask the old man on this one but there is no guarantee if he would know or not.

IMHO but in the interests of compatability, id be machining a spacer to acheive the correct engagement of the starter to the ring gear which means, in the case of a breakdown (however unlikely) you can pick up a used starter out on the road from a wrecker as opposed to having to fix a modified/customised starter which could remder you stranded until suitable parts can be sourced, modified or actually fabricated to get you going.

I think you are already aware of this......painfully and wallet lighteningly aware!

Keep the starter box stock and alter the conditions around it to work correctly.
Spacing the starter back with washers is asking for trouble, sooner rather than later, and a broken starter mounting flange would be the very least of the troubles.
A properly machine spacer ring and slightly longer bolts will maintain starter mounting rigidity and possibly save you a heap of grief if/when things give up!

It sounds at the moment like your Bendix drive (pinion clutch) is deciding to give up.
it will eventually fail completely.

L8tr
E

[ Edited on 18/11/06 by tassupervee ]

well I'l pull it to pieces and try switching them anyway, if i have any spare cash this week i'll head down to my friendly machinist and see what he can do for me.