Sooo, how screwed am I ?????

[Lanse]

I dont think Im very. Someone on another site reccomended that I take it apart and remove any grease and other assorted crap (no pun intended) , and there was a ton of it!!! Well, now theres these two little magnetlooking like things on the base (flat circle thing with wires and magnet looking like thingsa) that stop the base of the thing that goes in the can like thing, and how do I seperate them to stuff the long copper thing between the magnets??? Say What???? thats the best I could do describing it, I am only 14 Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Birdhunter1]

What is it that we are talking about here?

 

[wushaw]

14 years old and tearing into a lawnmower is the beginning of being a mechanic of some form.
Tearing something apart is one thing....putting it back together is another.

Anytime you work on something and need advice or parts you need to give make, model & year if possible and a detailed description of what system you are working as possible.

There are millions of thingamajigs and hootises

 

[Fordlords]

I'm guessing he is asking how to get an armature back through the brushes on a starter motor after removing it?

-Fordlords-

 

[Lanse]

Chevylands was right

that sounds like a good description!! Its the starter on my Briggs 8 horse from 1978, from my last post.

BTW, I want to be an AG mechanic someday!!

 

[Mith]

I might be thinking of the wrong starter, but if its the one I am thinking of, I have done it by pushing the brushes back out of the way with a screwdriver, and there is a special bit of wire you get with new brushes to hold them back while you push the armature back in. You could probably use a bit of thin wire to hold them back.
I might be thinking of the wrong starter, havent rebuilt one for a while. Infact, I may have been 14 the last time I rebuilt one

 

[BTDT]

Lanse, I'm sure you can use a camera phone, or digital camera, maybe take some pictures to go along with your questions so we kind of get an idea of what your working on. They will also come in handy for when you re-assemble what your working on if you take pics along the way. Might also check into buying some briggs, tecumseh, repair manuals. Lot's of good info in those, with parts lists, descriptions, etc. Good luck and keep the questions coming.

 

[chrisjbell]

A lot of those motors have holes you can use to stick a bit of wire or such in to hold the brushes out of the way to get the shaft back in.

You're not screwed at all as long as you don't break the little wires attached to the magnets. That's fixable, too, but is a real pain sometimes...

 

[Wayne County Hose]

Hey, at least you have the 'net to come to. When I was 14 and did this, I had my dad over my back calling me an idiot.

 

[Erik_in_Hoyt]

if you've got clearance, try a piece of card stock or heavy construction paper - roll it so it fits inside the "can", let it open up and push the magnets back against the sides - then slide the armature (wire wrapped "copper thing") down the inside.
once it's in, you can pull the card stock back out and hopefully your magnets are hitting wherre they're supposed to - without bending or breaking anything.