Imagine you sit in your Plymouth and
start up the engine. What do you hear before the smooth rumbling of
the V8 or Slant 6 cheers your ears and senses? Well, it’s the
sound of the starter. In many cars the unit has done its job for many
years now, and unnoticed it might have become louder and louder every
year until it finally became very noisy. This occured to my own Sport
Fury, and I excused this noisy behaviour with the age it is; and as
it is – pronto! But, due to some spare time (I had to wait for
the bearings of my power steering unit), I decided to give the starter
a long deserved overhaul.
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To begin, the battery and the starter cable should be disconnected.
It takes three bolts to romove the starter from the bell housing.
To dissassemble the starter unit remove the two screws on the back
of the unit. If it doesn’t fall apart immediately hit it softly
with a plastic hammer around the housing.
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The housing is removed and the spindle slips out. |
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To disassemble the bendix from the head two screws have to be removed… |
... then the bendix is free. |
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The splint can easily driven out with
a punch. Then the bendix unit can be removed from the rod. |
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The rear clamb must be pulled back and … |
... the starter drive comes out. Check the drive for bad teeth! When
reassembling the spring should be greased. |
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If this disc has a gap, then the bearing is worn
out.
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There are four bearings to replace. One is in the
head section, the second is in the starter drive, the third is in
the middle plate and the last one is in the backing plate...
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...Most likely all four of them are worn out during
the years. Ask for oil-impregnated bearings!
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Check also the main rod, just in case!
Usually the bearings are much softer than the main rod and it should
be ok.
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This is what happens after a while if the starter
is driven with bad bearings. The metal plates of the spindle may strike
against the magnets in the housing.
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Here, three pieces with new bearings.
The old bearings are laying next to the new... |
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Starter drive and middle plate reassembled and equipped
with new bearings |
Check the brushes. If necessary, now’s a good
time to replace them. |
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Don’t forget the shim! |
Four screw drivers hold the brushes in position – just
another way to assemble the unit with two hands only. |
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Great - everything fits. |
The front of the starter housing slips into a rod on the
head ... |
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... while the backing plate slips into the slot on
the housing – no way to fail. |
Ready for test. Negative cable on the housing and positive
on the screw where the starter cable belongs. How does it sound now? |
Finally it’s done! All excuses, “it’s
an old car and it is as it is” have been proven wrong. The starter
gives now a smooth, quiet and powerfull noise, just as it was when
the Fury was still new. The noise is comparable with a new, modern
car. Give
it a try! I takes not more than 3 hours to get the job done (excluding
the time you have to wait for the bearings). |
