Starter Acting up

[Tom-D]

To get it really clean, one needs to take the starter off and take it apart for cleaning.
Dan

That is not an easy task.. because coming apart starts at the other end. and when you start, you find there at a lot of other things that need replacing too.

Just free it up, until the new one arrives.

 

[kyleb]

That is not an easy task.. because coming apart starts at the other end. and when you start, you find there at a lot of other things that need replacing too.

Just free it up, until the new one arrives.

Gosh, I thought it was easy. Pop the case apart, pull out the bendix, clean it, reassemble, squirt the nose bearing with silicone spray..

 

[Dan Thomas]

Gosh, I thought it was easy. Pop the case apart, pull out the bendix, clean it, reassemble, squirt the nose bearing with silicone spray..

You'll find copper dust in the back end (from brush and commutator wear) that needs cleaning out, and the rear bearing will need cleaning and relubing. The brushes might be close to being shot. The front bearing is a sintered oilite affair that just needs a bit of gentle cleaning. Aggressive cleaning will remove the very heavy, thick oil it's permeated with, and it isn't likely to absorb silicone lube at all anyway. Besides, that front bearing takes most of the reaction loads from the starter gear and is probably worn, too.

Prestolite recommended a 200-hour inspection interval on the brushes. Very few starters ever got that, and the brushes were replaced when the starter finally quit, if the brushes didn't cock and grind up the commutator first. The Skytec is a sealed-up thing, and the brushes and everything else in it are rated to last the engine's TBO without any servicing.

Dan

 

[Skylane81E]

The skytec units are tough too, one on an old Navajo started the plane cold soaked to sub zero temps. To say the duty cycle was violated would be an understatement and the brush assembly looked like a bomb had gone of in it and I found case fragments in the cowling.

But it still started AND even after telling them what happened and why it broke they sent us a new one under warranty!

 

[Tony_Scarpelli]

It cost me $175 to have a starter or my Lycoming 0320 rebuilt. Pulled it off, dropped it off to Accessories Plus and picked it up the next day and had the mechanic log it and reinstall it...easypeazee.