A starter "Bendix" (which is a brand name, BTW) has a ratcheting tooth setup instead of an overruning clutch, and a very coarse thread on the pinion gear which engages it due to inertia when the starter shaft starts to spin. There is no solenoid action involved in making the gears mesh, just starter armature rotation. The Delco-Remy style starter drive has an overruning clutch as part of its features, but there are several other parts to the drive assembly. The gear on a Delco drive is engaged into the flywheel ring gear by solenoid action before the starter armature starts to turn.
Engines which had a habit of firing a cylinder or two without actually beginning to run had a habit of disengaging a Bendix drive prematurely, necessitating repeated efforts at starting. An example of such an engine would be the Chrysler Corporation flathead sixes, and some of the early Ford overhead valve V-8's, the 239 and 292. These engines used a "follow-through" Bendix which remained engaged until the flywheel spun through one or two revolutions after starting. Heavy-duty Diesel engine starters use a variety of very rugged starter drives such as the Dyer Drive, or a Sprag clutch, or a couple of other high-torque designs.
Jerry
Last edited by Hotrod Lincoln; 07/06/2011 12:34 AM.
