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Date:         Thu, 5 May 2016 12:10:33 -1000
Reply-To:     Scott <SCOTTDANIEL@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Scott <SCOTTDANIEL@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject:      Re: Diesel Vanagon Starter ?
Comments: To: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <CAHTkEuK8RBFreaXx8TwmGtsHOzzpTew=YX2G1LwVFCV_c_UQrw@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed

the diesel starter uses a bushing mounted in the nose of the starter itself. There should be no movement of this bushing in the starter housing, and the fit of the starter shaft into it is ...'smooth, not sloppy or tight.'

there is a Retainer Ring sort of thing on the shaft forward of the bendix drive gear. Covering that ring is a round part that snaps over the ring under it, that is in a groove in the starter shaft. if you wiggle it, it will rock some on top of the ring it's covering. ..kinda a snap fit. ( when I go to replace a bendix drive gear ...I use an open end wrench over the shaft to tap this retainer thing off the ring. You can see which way it will go. )

havn't had to look at one in a while, but I'd say this 'cover ring' thing limits movement of the bendix drive gear toward the flywheel and slight wiggle is normal.. And I imagine you have a stock diesel flywheel.

in any case... 'Usually' whenever there is oddball or unclean engagement of starter to flywheel .. if it's not worn out flywheel starter teeth, it's the bendix drive gear.

a bit fidlly to replace .. only about 30 bucks from a good starter rebuilder shop .. take them your starter to get numbers off it . Heck, I got The Perfect bednix drive gear for my 46 year old Mercedes car for $ 27 that way. ..and that totally fixed the intermittent failure to engage or stay engaged.

btw....flywheel teeth. they don't wear evenly all around the flywheel, since engine compression causes the engine to stop in 4 places more than everywhere else. Do rotate your engine through a full turn inspecting those flywheel teeth.

I have long wondered if the ring gear comes off the diesel vanagon flywheel. 'traditionally'...like on a 70's era Mercedes for example.. That gear is a heated/pressed/and shrunk on ring gear. Like a 70 dollar part at a 'real' foreign car parts supply company ( not a FLAPS )

to replace it, heat with a torch ...tap if off.. heat new one..drop it onto the shoulder if fits on ..let it cool in place. Neat. One of these days I will try that process with a diesel vanagon flywheel I have, because just rotating that ring 80 degrees or so on the flywheel with give it fresher teeth for the starter to engage.

hope ya followed al that !~ S.

On 05/05/2016 02:52 AM, Don Hanson wrote: > I have an 84 van with an inline gas motor and the diesel style 50 > degree mounting set up. The transmission is currently out. I have > had this strange "squelching" sound when I start the vehicle...not > every time but frequently. Been doing this now for a few years and > perhaps 40k miles...There is no problem starting, the starter seems to > behave normally, other than the weird sound as the gear retracts, I > guess. > > On this diesel starter, there is a small bearing or bushing > sharing the shaft with the starter gear. It is about 5mm wide, with > a shallow groove around the circumference and is slightly loose on > that shaft. It seems to be meant to slide back and forth slightly on > that shaft, perhaps to keep the gear from being extended too far into > the flywheel teeth? I can 'wiggle' this bushing slightly with my > fingers....It seems like this could be the source of the weird sound > that sometimes comes when I release my starter switch....kinda sounds > like when you trap a ping pong ball (do people still play ping pong?) > under the paddle against the table.... > > Does anyone have anything to advise about this? Is that bushing > (sorry for the imprecise terminology) supposed to wiggle, or should it > slide smoothly on that shaft? Can that little bushing be replaced by > itself? What's it called? thanks. Don Hanson > -- >


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