Starter Disengages Prematurely

[Bill Michigan]

Recently, my starter has begun disengaging as soon as the engine first fires but before it's fully running, thus requiring many attempts before the engine finally "catches." Is this fixable by an adjustment or repair, or should I just plan on replacing the entire starter?

Thanks.

Bill

[lopena]

Bill:

You’ll need to pull the starter (admittedly somewhat a PITA) and look at the pinion gear and spring. These two items used to be readily available at a low cost (although I haven’t shopped for them in years). If the starter spins strongly (have it tested for free at Autozone) you may get away cheaply by replacing only the pinion or the spring (which sometimes breaks in half).

Good luck,
Alan

[Bill Michigan]

Thanks, Alan. That broken spring theory sounds very likely, since the problem wasn't progressive but rather, came on all of a sudden.

Bill

[Bill Michigan]

In case anyone else has starting problems with the same symptoms I experienced, I want to close the loop on this thread with my troubleshooting results.

After preparing to repair or replace the starter motor, it now looks like the hard starting was actually due to a carburetor issue -- specifically, a stuck (non-functioning) enrichment system. So, yes, the engine would fire once after heavy cranking and the starter would then disengage, but the failure of the engine to "catch" was really due to insufficient fuel, not a mis-functioning starter.

I partially remedied the problem with penetrating oil on the enrichment levers external to the carburetors and carburetor/choke cleaner on the internal parts. The mechanism does not yet have full-range travel, but it's enough to give me trouble-free engine starts every time. There are more comments and photos in the thread "Stuck Choke (Enrichment) Mechanism."

(I'll likely be taking off the carburetors for cleaning sometime in the future. This is no less intimidating than the prospect of replacing a starter motor, but at least the parts are lighter.)

Bill