About six months ago I answered an ad from one of our corporate-pilot members who had modified his engine to one of the B & C or SkyTec starters. He wanted to sell his operational original starter and clutch, so I bought them as spares. They bench tested fine, so they reside in a box in the corner of the hangar.
But I don't like re-doing jobs I've already done, so rather than take a chance on a short-term fix, I called Niagra Air Parts (800/565-4268 http:www.niagraairparts.com/ )and ordered their new manufacture clutch.
It comes to $225 plus $150 core on my old clutch.
What surprised me was the price of gaskets and seals. I realize that recent posts discussed the clutch pinion-shaft seal at the autoparts store, but there is another seal on the front of the starter armature that should also be replaced. Additionally, there are two self-lubricated copper/brass bushings/bearings on the engine side of the starter assy., and there's another one at the rear (commutator end) of the armature. The seals and bushings with gaskets come to $69 per starter assy (including new brushes.) I couldn't see myself doing this work on my own without replacing the brushes as well. (They're actually not expensive, only about $4.50 each, times 4.) I replaced them even tho' comparing the new vs the (525 hrs) old, there was only about 1/16" worn from the original brushes. (The new total length of brushes is 3/4" about half of which is useable.)
The reason I was surprised about the recent price increase is because when I called El Reno to order from their 1999 catalog, I found that in only 4 years seals have gone from $4.50 each to $16.50 each (and there are two in the assy.) Bushings/bearings are the same. (No longer only $5, they're now $16.50 also, and there are three of them.)
I started to simply exchange the entire unit, but by the time you send a starter motor out for rebuild, you've got $175 plus shipping, not including the clutch. The whole ball of yarn will end up costing about $500 if you overhaul or exchange yours.
So I ordered El Reno's $69 overhaul kit, and Niagra's new clutch and did the work last night. The only difficult part was removing the old bushings/bearings, but I finally realized they are "split" bushings and are easily removed with needle nose pliers after they're upset with a punch. I used large sockets and a large C-clamp to press the new seals and bushings in. I soaked the new copper/brass bushings in oil and lightly greased the armature shaft ends before reassembly. I also cleaned the armature and field windings with electronics cleaner. (Man, what a lot of brush dust and junk! Pretty surprising considering there was only 525 hours since overhaul on that starter. I was also surprised to find the rear starter bushing/bearing completely dry. I'm glad I did this work.) It took a total of about two hours.
The only really critical item is making certain that the clutch has at least 1/8" clearance from the crankshaft gear, and that it fully engages that gear before the starter motor is energized. It's a very simple process, and the only adjustment mine needed was the pull cable needed to be lengthened/adjusted about 1/8" to allow free-play between the lever and the clutch end. Everything else was a simple remove 5 bolts/nuts, remove the motor and clutch, clean off the old gasket, install the new gasket, and drop-in the new clutch and rebuilt starter motor, tighten the bolts/nuts.
Why didn't I consider the B & C or SkyTec? I didn't want to cut off that pinion shaft inside my engine, and I didn't want to depart from originality. Niagra also claims they've yet to get one of their new 5-roller clutches returned due to wear or failure. We'll see.
Now that I'm back in business with a newly rebuilt starter and new clutch I don't imagine I'll need that spare anymore. I've got another El Reno overhaul kit in hand for it tho'. I'd go ahead and rebuild it too if I didn't think someone else might enjoy doing it.
I actually did enjoy it. Whoo-Boy! Ready for Reklaw!
