Jammed Starter Motor

Post by **Jefftav** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 3:16 pm

Hi All, The starter on my morris (1275 Marina engine) has jammed the pinion at the motor end and won't slide back to where it should be, it is jammed tight.

I was starting the engine yesterday after it has been idle for a few weeks and the starter was spinning the engine no problem and once the engine did start I heard a weird noise so shut it off and then the starter sounded funny and wouldn't go out of mesh with the flywheel. So I have managed to wriggle the starter motor off and found the pinion (the bit with the teeth) stuck almost at the motor end and it won't move back down the shaft.

It's a relatively new motor but I wondered if anyone else had experienced anything like this and what would cause this type of problem? Have I done something wrong?

Thanks, Jeff

Post by **MarkyB** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 5:14 pm

You should be able to see the "thread" that the bendix runs on.
It needs to twist back into place on this, not just push straight back.
It should all be clean, no grease or oil.
It shouldn't be possible for the Bendix to come right off this thread.
If it has, there is something amiss.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 6:39 pm

Jeff - there is this known problem of the starter motor running close to the ring gear (sometimes fouling) - on 1275 Marina/Ital engines fitted to 1098 boxes. How close was it before this happened ? It's maybe been 'only just' clearing - and has unfortunately caught it this time - and maybe now it has bent the Bendix. Can only suggest apply usual remedies to see if it will run clear.

Post by **Kevin** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 9:09 am

Hi Jeff I assume the noise sounded a little like a small grating sound with the starter still slighly running even when you released the ignition key (that sounds an awful description I know) what needs to be done once you have freed it off (unusual thats its jammed at that end) you will have to get a spacer to fit on the spindle at the starter end it varies from engine to engine but around 3/16" long, to fit it you will need to remove the bendix and for this you will need a tool for the job as the spring is very strong and its not safe to just do it in a vice.
I will dig mine out later to show you what it looks like.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 9:12 pm

The 'spacer' is only for where the bendix over-runs too far into the ring gear in operation - which is a problem I have NOT seen ! The main problem seems to be (and maybe this is what Jeff has) that the bendix does not (or only just manages to) clear the ring gear safely when at rest. Spacer does nothing for this.<br>

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Post by **Jefftav** » Sun Aug 09, 2009 9:39 am

Hi Just to follow up. I took the starter to an auto electrician who reckoned that it was just plain faulty (bad parts not matching?) and possibly the shaft was slightly out of true so I got a new one and the bendix is definetly 2 or 3mm shorter. I tried it on the car yesterday and it seems to work ok and disengages from the flywheel without any odd noises. So no real answer but I will just have to keep an eye on it for now. Thanks for all the tips, Jeff