ok, 9 out of 10 times when I go to start tractor it grinds (not clicks) 2or 3 times then starts. Dealer said to try hooking up jumper cables to starter to see if it was just a bad ground, no difference. also tryed cleaning battery posts. new starter is $400 bucks. I'm ready to take the starter apart myself. anyone have any ideas?
help, starter trouble.
- Thread starter haybaler9
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RobJ
Elite Member
usually a gear problem (torn up gear) or the silonoid isn't kicking in hard enough. What the dealer said is a good first try (even though the starter gounds through the block). If the gears look ok put on a new siloniod.
Good Luck,
Rob
Good Luck,
Rob
thanks. well he meant the ground from the battery not the starter. the L4200 has a crapy ground cable on it, I'm thinking of buying a new longer one and going right to the frame or block with it. I'm going to take it apart and check out the gears.
I had problems with a starter. Priced a new one @ just under 500.00. That wasn't in my price range. Took the old one off and had it rebuilt. I think it cost me about 125.00. The guy that rebuilt it said it was the starter clutch. I didn't know they had a clutch.
Volfandt
Veteran Member
Starters, alternators, generators, dynamo's all can be rebuilt by a generator shop for a fraction of the price of a new unit.
Sounds like the bendix gear is either worn or the starter isn't generating enough torque to fully engage it.
A generator shop can replace the gear if needed, test & regrind the armature's communtator, replace the field windings if ncessary, install new brushes and new bearings making it like new.
If the battery tests good and all the connections are clean, corrosion free and tight then pulling the starter and having it checked out would be the next step. Most shops will check it out and call you to give you a price to repair it.
Good luck
Volfandt
Sounds like the bendix gear is either worn or the starter isn't generating enough torque to fully engage it.
A generator shop can replace the gear if needed, test & regrind the armature's communtator, replace the field windings if ncessary, install new brushes and new bearings making it like new.
If the battery tests good and all the connections are clean, corrosion free and tight then pulling the starter and having it checked out would be the next step. Most shops will check it out and call you to give you a price to repair it.
Good luck
Volfandt
rbargeron
Elite Member
haybaler9 said:
When it GRINDS, is it a high-pitched Zing or a low crunch? If it zings that sounds like the starter motor is starting to spin up before the starter pinion (small gear) is fully engaged with the ring gear (large gear on the flywheel). There can be different causes for this.
One cause is when the spring on the starter pinion is broken and doesn't shove the pinion all the way in before the motor starts. The fix for this is a new Bendix drive - includes the spring, pinion gear, and small over-running clutch.
Each time it grinds, the pinion gets a little damage - the ends of the gear teeth lose the nice taper they had when new, making it more likely to grind again next time. These things engage on the fly, so everything has to be smooth to work right.
Another possible cause is the starter drive is not the right one for the tractor and doesn't have enough reach - it doesn't push the pinion far enough in to fully engage the ring gear.
Whatever the root cause it is important to fix it as soon as possible. Each time it "grinds" the pinion is chewing away on the ring gear too - eventually it makes a worn area that even a new starter won't fix.
To make matters worse, the engine always stops in one of 2 or 3 positions so its these areas on the ring gear that get all the wear. Replacing the ring gear is a big deal - it means splitting the tractor - which tends to be hard on your checkbook. BTW, each time it grinds, it does actually turn the engine a little bit, and it eventually gets past the worn spot.
I know about this because BMW's 6-cylinder cars were susceptible to this in the '70s - their starters didn't have heavy enough springs in the bendix drive. This sounds very similar. It may just need a starter drive, but if not fixed it may eventually need much more.
Hope this is useful. As always, prompt cheerful refund if info is bogus.
well, i think I need a new ring gear. every gear is worn, not just a few so I thing it's from age, not a bad starter. I'm about ready to junk the tractor. i've only put 200 hours on it(2000 when I got it) and it's had the motor rebuilt, tranny rebuilt and alternator.
RobJ
Elite Member
haybaler9 said:
what kind of tractor is it?
DieselPower
Elite Member
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- Sep 30, 2006
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- Fairfield, PA
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- JD 3020, JD 4230, JD 7410, JD 2440, MF 750, NH LS170
haybaler9 said:
Actually a bad starter with a bad bendix gear will cause damage to the ring gear. It's very possible that the starter was bad, you have had that rebuilt but it was not done soon enough and now the ring gear is damaged.
BTDT
Veteran Member
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- IH M Farmall-propane powered, H Farmall (father-in-laws), Ford 1300 diesel
If you had the motor and tranny rebuilt, wasn't the wear on the ring gear apparent when tractor was split? I would have replaced/repaired then. Some units you can drive off the ring gear, turn it around, and re-install, with new teeth edges being to the starter side. Saves having to buy new gear.