Starter Bendix gear and ring gear question.

SpookyDad · Post by **SpookyDad** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 12:11 pm

I had the starter off my truck recently and noticed one of the teeth on the bendix gear is broken off. Can these be sourced? Do I have to get a whole new starter?

At the same time I noticed the teeth on the ring gear of the flywheel are chewed up. Is the ring gear a separate item from the flywheel or is it machined out of the flywheel itself? Can these be sourced? I know this is, by far, the more serious problem.

When I took the little band cover off the starter, water and mud poured out. I don't know how it could function electrically with that in there but it turns fine.

I took the starter off because the engine would turn over a few times, then the bendix would retract, and the starter would run up at full speed with it disengaged. If I stopped and tried to restart the engine, the same thing would occur. There was no way to keep turning over the engine so I have a bad feeling about this. The truck not starting was due to a fuel problem. I have a feeling there may be enough teeth missing on one section of the flywheel that the bendix is slipping off and retracting itself. Does this sound right?

Neil

John V Cliche · Post by **John V Cliche** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 12:46 pm

Take your starter ot a rebuilder the bendix gear is replaceble, but if you found mud and water in the starter the brushes and bearings are certainly damaged and will surely give out soon.
You should know better than to use the starter as is, given what you found
Corrosion is probably your starter's problem ( no wonder

)
If there are several teeth missing in the same area of the ring gear and the engine stops in that blank space then your starter( functioning or not ) will be useless.
The ring gear is replaceble, it is seperate from the flywheel,you have to heat the ring gear in an oven ,or.... and you have the cool or freeze the flywheel but I think you should leave that job to a professional shop

Neil if you don't properly restore and repair ALL of your CCKW operating systems one by one,every driving experience will turn into a nightmare.

Hope this helps
John

dr deuce · Post by **dr deuce** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 12:47 pm

The ring gear is shrunk onto the flywheel. BE CAREFUL: There are 2 different ring gears and pinions/starters 6 volt and 12 volt. THEY DON'T MESH IF SWAPPED. Make sure you get a 6 volt pinion. You also cannot put a 6v pinion onto a 12v starter w/o a custom made bushing. You cannot put a 12v pinion onto a 6v starter at all. The starter shafts are different between a 6v and a 12v starter. The pinion MUST match the ring gear.

Jim Carter may have a pinion gear assy for the starter. If you can find a junkyard with a 40'd Chev or GMC, the pinion will fit. The whole starter will also fit, though a Chev is slightly different than a GMC. I believe that the GMC has a bit more torque, but if running 12 volts into the 6 volt starter, it will make no difference.

Take the starter apart and clean it out and replace the brushes while you are in there which can still be bought at a good parts store. Remember, it is a 1946 Chev to them, not a CCKW which is Greek to them.

SpookyDad · Post by **SpookyDad** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 1:55 pm

Actually the starter runs fine. It has always turned like a champ. I read somewhere you can get a starter rebuild kit? I will look into that. The brushes and stuff will need to be replaced.

I would never tackle the flywheel/ring gear myself. That IS a job best left to the pros and I assume that means pulling the engine. An engine rebuild was most likely going to be my summer project anyway. I had better put an engine stand on my list of sale items to watch for at HF.

Here in Texas, and being Canadian, I look for indoor activities for the summer. My shop is air conditioned so it will be a good project. The latest reenacting/air show/ public display is usually in the first weeks of May. I certainly don't even entertain going to anything from then until late September.

Dr. Deuce. Thanks for the tip. I will make sure I get matching starter and ring gears. The system has been converted to 12 volt. Could they have left the 6 volt starter in there?

Neil

dr deuce · Post by **dr deuce** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 3:13 pm

Yes they could and probably left the 6v starter. It will work just fine with 12v.

The flywheel can be removed by just removing, or sliding back the transmission so that you can remove the clutch assy.

Jim Carter starter parts:
http://www.oldchevytrucks.biz/34_46/full.asp?page=74

SpookyDad · Post by **SpookyDad** » Sun Feb 15, 2009 9:38 pm

Well it was exactly as I feared. I got it started with a lot of starting fluid and drove it from the field up to the museum building. Just before I got to the museum, it started grinding and sparks were coming out of the hole next to the starter. That was the end of the trip!

Now I have to find a new flywheel. I will order a new bendix from Jim Carter. If the price from Jim Carter is 0, then they don't have it, correct? They have the front end but not the complete starter.

Neil

SpookyDad · Post by **SpookyDad** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 12:00 am

What equipment would be required to do a field replacement of a flywheel?

Am I going to need some sort of transmission lift/jack to hold up the transmission while I get the flywheel out?

How many hours should I plan for this job?

If I was to remove the starter assembly, could I pull start it, then drive it home without the starter?

Then I could work on it when I got it home.

Neil

dr deuce · Post by **dr deuce** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 6:59 am

1. You could drive w/o the starter. You would need to bolt the wires that go to it together and tape them up well so that don't rub against anything and short out. Remember you have battery current which is almost unlimited as far as you are concerned!

2. The time will depend upon on how well/easily the tranny removal and installation go. I would say for a 1st timer, 10 hours

3. You will need something to lift/hold the tranny. You can use a chainfall from a 2x4 between the cowl (windshield open) and the back of the seat. I have done this with a closed cab. It is a little interesting because the steer wheel is more than 1/2 way thru the cab.

4. Of course you will need a good assortment of tools INCLUDING something to align the clutch disc when you reinstall the tranny. You will need a torque wrench for the flywheel bolts.

Hope this helps. A chevy is a lot easier....

SpookyDad · Post by **SpookyDad** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 12:05 pm

I had a feeling it wasn't going to be a simple job. Since the nearest parts store is a 40 minute round trip, I think this may be a trailer recovery solution.

Thanks for the realistic time estimate.

Neil

awg · Post by **awg** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 8:53 pm

much better to do that job at home!

the recovery home should be not be too expensive, because the operators are used to floating earthmoving machinery, and diesel is much cheaper
(in Australia it is anyway)

A CCKW will use a lot of gasoline in 100 miles!

I carry a spare starter motor

good luck

SpookyDad · Post by **SpookyDad** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:59 pm

The truck is finally home. I removed the starter and we pull started it. It started right away and didn't complain once on the trip home. I had to adjust the governor because when I was messing with it before, I turned it the wrong way. It was running really slow but after adjusting the governor it ran fine and we putt-putted home at 45 MPH.

I pulled off the lower pan under the flywheel expecting to see it full of shavings. There was nothing fresh there. The ring gear looked chewed but since I don't know what the original profile of the ring gear teeth, I don't know how badly.

Well I am so glad I didn't have to do this in the field. I can now take my time and do it right.

Thanks for all your help

Neil

dr deuce · Post by **dr deuce** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 6:05 pm

All used ring gears have the teeth worn down a little/somewhat.

You might want to try this:

Remove all the sparkplugs.

While someone turns the motor via the fan (in the correct direction), you could look at the ring gear for one revolution to see if any place is worse or has missing teeth.