hey, i am trying to replace the carbon brushes on my starter, but im having problems because the springs raise them out of their place and i cant install the lower section onto the starter body.... do you have any tip of how to do it?? i know how they should go, but i cant make them to stay on their place....

 

dont know if that matters but its a Johnson 150 from 1994.... i guess most starters are about the same though....

 

thank you!!

you need to buy or make the tool, that holds them in place while you put the back on it.

thanx, do you happen to know how is it called, or have a picture or something?? i was thinking about maing something out of a thin plastic sheet, like a credit card material, but if it already exists, it would give me a better idea of how to do it.... 

Not sure what it's called, It's just a thin, flat piece of steel the width of the starter with a notch in the center so it will slide past the armature  to the edge of the starter. The one made for it is bent so it actually clips onto the back of the starter but for a one time thing, I would just notch me a piece of thin, flat metal deep enough for it to slide all the way past the housing and just hold it while slide the back onto the shaft.  Then just slide it out when the housing is all the way down.

thanx!! more or less what i was thinking, i was going to use thin plastic but i guess ill look for some thin metal then... 

Starter motor brush installation tool:

 

http://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=OIP.M6c9939fb40b47e9fc4b64859ed48831bo0&w=300&h=300&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0

 

Video:

 

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Starter+Installation+Tool+Brush&FORM=HDRSC3#view=detail&mid=9944E86C3A63F6F6E3759944E86C3A63F6F6E375

thanx!!

 

i managed to install them yesterday using 2 old ID cards to hold them in place while my friend assembled the housing and the lower lid... 

Glad you got it resolved.

well, today i tested the starter without intalling in on the motor.... it spins as it should, and it goes up, but it doesnt goes down... mine is a little different than the one in the video, the uppermost part is the small gear, the one on the video has a spring and a nut above the gear but mine doesnt have that.... 

 

i know its working, so i installed it on the motor now... i guess ill have to test it out on the lake (i dont have ear muffs), so, what do you think will it work?? will it go down once the motor starts??

 

thanx!!

I believe on some starters, when the engine starts, it "drives" the starter gear back down the shaft.  Don't make book on that.  You'll know once you start your motor. You may want to put some light lube on it, or maybe just a silicone spray. 

 

Grease attracts dust and dirt and can get "gunky" and make for a sticky pinion gear.

thanx, thats what i believed as well, the motor would "push" the gear down when it starts... i guess ill have to head out to the lake to verify... 

If you have it together right, their should be the bendix, with the gear away from the starter, a spring, retainer and nut.

 

When you engage the starter, the sudden motion kicks the bendix up into the ring gear on the flywheel.  The spring is to keep it from hitting so hard and also assist in getting it to disengage when you stop cranking it. 

 

If the bendix is not going up when you engage the starter, you may have the cables backwards and spinning the starter backwards.

I manage the brushes with two knife blades. That tool looks handy.

If you have it together right, their should be the bendix, with the gear away from the starter, a spring, retainer and nut.

 

When you engage the starter, the sudden motion kicks the bendix up into the ring gear on the flywheel.  The spring is to keep it from hitting so hard and also assist in getting it to disengage when you stop cranking it. 

 

If the bendix is not going up when you engage the starter, you may have the cables backwards and spinning the starter backwards.

 

well, i didnt take apart anything external, and there is no spring nor retainer or nut. i already installed it on the motor, so i cant take a picture, but it looks like this one, only with a gear at the end of the shaft of course. as you see, the shaft is very small, and is not threaded for a spring or nut.

 

the bendix is going up, but its not going down as it should... i guess as Rhino said, the engine will drive it down again when it starts.... 

OK, yours is the reduction gear starter that has the Bendix on a separate shaft and your starter just drives a small gear that drives the Bendix.  It's not uncommon for the Bendix to stay in the flywheel when you quit cranking on one and it hasn't started.  As mentioned, as soon as the flywheel is spinning faster than the starter, it should spin the Bendix out of it.

thanx! then everything is working as it should i guess, now ill have to take it to the lake for the final test.... 

thanx! then everything is working as it should i guess, now ill have to take it to the lake for the final test....