Home - Sunday / Tuesday - Feb 8th & 10th 2009

Time to start thinking of the Mechanical things.

I ordered some parts for the Lucas Starter from England, on eBay. $13 or so got me new bushings, brushes and washers. I used to work for a man named Arne Hanson back in Benson at his electric motor repair shop. He was very patient and kind to the young brat I was back then.

My father taught me engines and cars and led by olid Christian Example. Arne taught me of electricity and machine shop work and how to think. I heard it a thousand times, "Think! Jon! Think!". Amazing how long those early impressions stay with you.

Most engines have electric starters. The little 6hp Petter diesel has a Lucas starter usually found on older Triumph TR6 or Spitfire models. This one was a new one in 1984 for $330. Twenty five years old and time to freshen it a bit.

Warning: To those of you from Loma Linde, this is really boring and somewhat technical. You would be wise to stop now. Really.

 

This is a starter. Kind of an average one. There are three main components. On top, the Solenoid that throws the gear out and engages the gear on the flywheel on the engine. The Bendix and Gear on the right and the actual motor is the big black can.

 

Here are the spare parts.

 

One of the Instruments of Torture. A set I paid $3 for and really use it alot.

 

The Solenoid has been removed. The small black looking can contains alot of wire wound around a core. The shiny slug goes back and forth inside it. When 12v is applied by the Ignition Circuit (Start Position), the slug slams left, into the Solenoid and throws the gear out to the Flywheel.

 

A Diagram. The Flywheel would be where the two parallel lines are drawn.

 

The Gear, in the engaged position.

 

A Bendix contains kind of a One-Way mechanism. When the engine starts, the Bendix will not transmit all that higher speed rotation back to the starter. It slips, in other words.

 

To get the Bendix off the shaft, the spilt ring on the right had to be removed. These babies are tough to get off and this one went flying thirty feet into the living room where the red arrow is.

At least I found it.

 

To get the Armature out, this one-way washer has to be pried from the shaft.

 

The Bushings are "Oil Lite" types. Made from sintered (powdered) bronze, they are porous and you can squeeze oil right thru them. I soaked these for a couple days to impregnate them completely with Mobil !.

 

 

Yes, it fits on the shaft.

 

The Commutator is the segmented disc and is a little rough and will be given to a machine shop to reface, and polish.

 

Current is fed from the battery thru the Brushes to the Commutator. Here, two have been removed.

 

The old brushes were hardly worn. Not even broken in yet. The new ones are actually longer than the old ones. Then, the springs will hold them tighter against the Commutator.

 

Needs a little help.

 

The rounded part on the corner means the brush is almost new.

 

Lotsa copper dust inside which is normal.

 

All tore apart, time for bed.

 

Nice to have big sinks in a darkroom. I placed Degreaser in a tray and proceeded to clean things up. Degreaser is then washed off with hot water. Works great.

 

All clean.

 

After refacing and polishing. Really smooth now.

 

New, on the left. Old, on the right. Still serviceable, but I want new. To help breaking in the new brushes, their surface is curved, not flat. The old one still shows those curves in the two lower corners.

 

Two brushes installed.

 

Sometimes it is wise to keep everything in sequence for reassembly.

 

A Soldering Station.

 

The Stator Windings are made of aluminum. I trimmed the old wires and will wrap them around the new and solder all together.

 

Done. The shiny wire is solder.

 

An Industrial Strength Dentist Drill. I used this to split the old Bushing which made removal easier.

 

Split. Came out really easy.

 

I used a socket for support and to press the new Bushing into place.

 

The new Bushing is to the left being pressed into the housing.

To get it in all the way, I used a second socket.

 

How to press this Bushing out?

 

Use the new one to press the old one and install it at the same time.

 

All done.

 

All four Brushes and the Endplate installed.

 

I used some used 400 grit sandpaper to buff the shaft a bit.

 

Grease.

 

All reassembled.

 

Placed the slug for the Solenoid in place and installed the housing.

 

Used a small wire wheel to buff the electrical spade connectors.

 

 

 

Done. This will work just great when the engine has been finished.

I have new parts coming from England. Just paid for them last night. The Internet is great.

When I paint the engine, I will paint the starter as well.

Later ...