We purchased a 6v starter from Napa after learning we had the wrong starter for our flywheel. These look identical and there’s only a fraction difference. Not sure we got a 6v but another 12v, although I number on the sticker is different. Can someone help identify if it is a 6v? Thanks in advance!
The tooth damage shown in one of those pics is typical of a 6V/12V mismatch. Yes, you're measuring in the right place. PLEASE stop buying starters until I can get out to the shop and send you a picture of a correct one! Once an electrical part has been installed, it cannot be returned. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
OK- - - -here's the Paul Harvey "rest of the story". I just removed a known 6V starter from a 54 Chevy 235 that I've had on hand for several years. it had the original "black label" starter on it, part number 1107108. Several web searches confirmed that it is, indeed, a 6V truck engine starter with a foot-pedal engagement. It seems that a lot of us, myself included, have beem dispensing well-intentioned, but erroneous information. The "shaft" ahead of the gear drive IS NOT 5/8" diameter- - - -it's a few thousandths under 9/16"- - - -0.559-0.560" by my measurement with a dial caliper. The ID of the bushing in the nose cone where the shaft rides is slightly over 1/2", meaning that what's being measured ahead of the gear is actually a sleeve the pinion gear is riding on- - - -not the actual shaft! I'm going to dismantle and rebuild this starter to confirm the other rumor- - - -that 6V and 12V starters have different-shaped drive lugs that engage the gear drive. Supposedly, the 6V lugs are straight, while the 12V ones are angled to give the gear drive a slight rotation as it engages to minimize gear clashing. I'll post some pics as soon as I can find them on my hard drive- - - - -they disappeared! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
This one has had the 12 volt style foot switch added at some time, the one with the small side terminal used to bypass the ballast resistor during starting to give the coil full battery voltage. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Maybe my eyes are not seeing right but the stickers and bar code on those look like they may have the same number I am seeing 244-9651 on both of the starters .you may want to check those stickers on the two starters you posted pictures of .
I happen to have my 6V starter apart. Here's some pics and measurements of the shaft. There's no sleeve that the gear rides on. SuziQ's measurements are actually on the shaft. There's a stepped down portion that goes into the nose of the housing. Don't beat me up on the accuracy with the caliper. I was doing it one-handed.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
OK ,that explains why "6V and 12V parts can be interchanged" is incorrect. The drive splines on the 6V asrmature are definitely straight, so neither the 6V drive gear nor the armature can be installed in the other housing individually. It would be possible to use a 12V arnature AND drive in a 6V housing to accomodate a 168 tooth flywheel. We did use 6V armatures and field coils with special gear drives to make "super torque" starters for small block Chevy racing engines, back before the planetary gear Mitsubishi starters came along. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Martin '62 Chevy C-10 Stepside Shortbed (Restomod in progress) '47 Chevy 3100 5 Window (long term project) ‘65 Chevy Biscayne (Emily) ‘39 Dodge Business Coupe (Clarence) “I fought the law and the law won" now I are a retired one! Support those brave men/women who stand the "Thin Blue Line"! Hug a cop! USAF 1965-1969 Weather Observation Tech (I got paid to look at the clouds)
There's a rarely used synapse firing that's telling me there is a visible difference in the starter housings between 6 and 12 volt but the synapse is being lazy in telling me exactly what that difference is. A neighboring synapse is trying to tell me the difference is at the tail end of the housing, one steps down and one doesn't but don't hold my feet to the fire because it's been a LONG time since that synapse has been exercised.
Last edited by Tiny; 01/01/202211:25 PM.
Save a life, adopt a senior shelter pet. The three main causes of blindness: Cataracts, Politics, Religion. Name your dog Naked so you can walk Naked in the park.
Tiny, my generator has a stepped down housing with no band around where the brushes are. It's different from what's shown in the service manual, so must be an aftermarket or later model generator. That may be what your synapse is trying to tell you.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
Most (maybe all) 6V generators have a short, straight housing with a spring steel band around the brush area. The average 12 volt unit has a longer, stepped-down housing without a band. I don't recall that kind of difference in starters. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
We just had a 2-hour weather-related loss of phone service, which also kills our internet access. Nothing but heavy rain here, but north Alabama and Mississippi, and south central Tennessee have had some rough stuff in places. How did Oxford get by, Suzy? Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Most (maybe all) 6V generators have a short, straight housing with a spring steel band around the brush area. The average 12 volt unit has a longer, stepped-down housing without a band. I don't recall that kind of difference in starters. Jerry
It may have been generators instead of starters now that you mention it. I told you that synapse was being lazy.....
Save a life, adopt a senior shelter pet. The three main causes of blindness: Cataracts, Politics, Religion. Name your dog Naked so you can walk Naked in the park.
