rekab69 Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 Hi, Starter motor spins but doesn't turn over the engine, sometimes catches with a gratting noise. Been getting worse over the last couple of weeks... Tried bumping the engine to a diffferent position in case the ring gear was shot...?! Took it off tonight, on the floor with a fresh battery the dog gear flew forwards and while it turns over the motor I jammed a piece of wood in the dog, loads of power....?! Questions... Do ring gears go, I felt in the starter motor opening the teeth seemed to have a chamfer on the leading edge is this correct..? Could it just be a week solenoid...? Whats a good make starter to buy...? many thanks dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 Yes, ring gears do wear out. Mine has nearly 200k on it and has not worn out yet. Unlikely to be the cause. I have had a couple of starters go in much the way you describe, much graunching of teeth! Valeo IIRC. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 There three makes of starter motor - Prestolite for less than £100 and in my opinion totally rubbish. Then Valeo for about £140, which are ok and probably the most popular. Then there's Bosch for almost £200 - no doubt they are the best, but a lot of money. If you play in the mud fairly often I would suggest a Valeo item. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex Member Posted September 19, 2007 Share Posted September 19, 2007 Hmmmm, me thinks you had a bad ground or power connection. I would clean and lube the bendix to make sure it is OK and try it again. Make sure you a good ground from the battery to the starter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gromit Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 There three makes of starter motor - Prestolite for less than £100 and in my opinion totally rubbish. I've a Prestolite in mine for the last 4 years or so and not had any problems with it. Before I changed it, I had the old starter out about 3 times. Same symptoms as you, worked fine on the bench but wouldn't engage when fitted it. Earth and lives to the starter & solenoid checked. Ended up replacing the starter which fixed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 I must be lucky then, never had [tempting fate now] any probs with my 200Tdi's starter in 14 years -- still the original it was built with. I'd go for a good clean of the bendix gear & earth leads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben_J85JTY Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Just got a Prestolite for £80 in P+P which by my reckoning is half the price of the Valeo item, therefore it could last half the time and still be cost afftective. That doesn't however include my time fitting a new one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Ben I had to replace the starter motor on my Discovery recently. Got a Prestolite one from my local independant dealer, it failed after two months. We then went through 2 more brand new ones which also failed before finally settling on a Bosch. I hope you have more luck than I did. Rgds Ivan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben_J85JTY Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Ivan, We will soon see, It arrived this morning so it will be fitted on Saturday morning Cheers Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rekab69 Posted October 25, 2007 Author Share Posted October 25, 2007 Hi Still haven't got round to buying a new starter, it will start every time although I have to endure the ginding of teeth. I tried running jump leads direct from the battery to see if it was a bad earth. No change, just spins for a while then catches on the third or forth attempt. Where if any are the earth straps which I could double check...? Guess I'm just waiting for it to finally give up.... Cheers Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 2 straps to check, 1st from engine block to left hnd engine mount chassis side & 2nd is normal battery earth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex Member Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 Still haven't got round to buying a new starter, it will start every time although I have to endure the ginding of teeth. I tried running jump leads direct from the battery to see if it was a bad earth. No change, just spins for a while then catches on the third or forth attempt. The bendix is sticking. Pull the starter off. Lube up the bendix assembly. It will be fine after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 The bendix is designed to run dry. If you oil or grease it - clutch dust etc will stick to the oil and cause the bendix to stick again in the future. Rinse the mechanism through with petrol/brake cleaner etc and try it again. If the bush inside the bendix is excessively loose, then the starter will have to be repaired/replaced. You should have an earth cable from one of the starter motor mounting bolts to the chassis - or possibly from a bracket on the back of the starter (if it's Prestolite). Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rekab69 Posted October 26, 2007 Author Share Posted October 26, 2007 Knuckles have just grown back so I'll bash them off again removing the started, can't recall if there was an earth strap near the motor it's self, could be lucky... Thanks for the replies guys, for ever helpfull as always.. one day I might even be able to post an answer too..... Nah! maybe not.... Cheers DAve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rekab69 Posted December 1, 2007 Author Share Posted December 1, 2007 Third time lucky, removed my starter motor again.. Cleaned bendix, which was clean as a whistle, checked and cleaned all earth straps, again all tight and making a good contact... as before...??! All in all, I couldn't find a single thing amiss.... Re installed starter motor, and...............???!! Starts first spin, as it should...!! Starts so quickly now, I'm not to sure if I actually want go anywhere but I just go for a short drive to be polite.... Many thanks to all who suggested checking earth straps and cleaning bendix, cheaper than a new starter, but I have no idea what was at fault... Cheers db Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosZuki Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Not sure if LR have possibly the same issues as i have found on some Zuks in the past that the small amount of wiggle on the bolts can lead to that problem. simply slackening of bolts and wiggling it seems to get it to line up properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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