The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Flexible Spring Steel Weather Strap/Starter

Anybody ever make their own Flexible Spring Steel Weather Strap that covers the brushes on a 6V starter? If so, how'd you do it?
I suppose my best bet is to find a used starter with a good strap.Any ideas?

Drew,

There are probably dozens of ways to do this. The first thing that hits my pea brain would be a small length of Signode steel strapping with a worm drive hose clamp around it.

I guess it all depends on what you wanted as a end result...show or go!

Stuart

I have thought about this myself. I will be watching this one!

yes thin metal with big hose clamp over it mayby with gasket matereal under it

The metal/gasket/worm clamp idea may just work. I know heating and building supply stores sell large stainless steel clamps for flexible duct work.I'll check this weekend to see if a piece of aluminum/steel heating duct & clamp will work.Thanks for the idea.

maybe one of those universal oil filter 'wrenches' that's a metal band with a handle might fit, just rig it so there's a way to bolt the ends together in place of the tightening handle ... not sure why you'd need a gasket, they originals didn't have that

Bill

If you want a really good fit, do as Red says. That should be just the right size, and a few nuts and bolts and some washers and you should be in hog heaven. May even look like it belonged there.

Chevs of the 40's, Starter Band, #817114, $6.00 ea.

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Ha Ha Ha ! Thanks Denny. Sometimes my laziness to search gets the best of me. But,thanks anyway to everyone for the good ideas.

Whats a "Flexible Spring Steel Weather Strap" I'm clueless here... Peter

Peter - the metal band that was originally found over the brush openings on our generators and starters ... frequently discarded long ago

Bill

I just purchased one from the Filling Station and it doesn't close down tight leaving a gap for water and dirt. Does anyone know if the one from Chevys of the fourtys fit tight? I am really getting tired of buying parts that don't fit and aren't a quality part.

Depends on how much you care about looks. I have wrapped duct tape and then put the metal band over it. It works, but the pickup looks like Jeff Foxworthy might own it.

Crenwelge, I thought you were Jeff Foxworthy!

Sorry, I just couldn't pass that one up. I highly recommend spending the 6 bucks as suggested by Denny Graham. The weather-strip spring band is VERY important. Dirt and grime are the worst things to put in a motor or generator. That stuff wears the bearings, armature, brushes and will cause the insulation on the wires (yes, some of the wires are insulated) to break down. Any one of these things can result in the ultimate failure of the electrical device when the smoke installed during the manufacturing process to escape.

Yes the originals had a gasket. That's probably why the replacement band is fitting loosely. Most FLAPS worthy of the name have gasket paper on rolls in about 3 different thicknesses. Use whichever one takes up the gap best.
Jerry

Boy you’re jogging my memory Jerry. I do believe I've seen a paper gasket in some also, but its been a long, long time. I haven't seen any of the GM AD's with a gasket, is it called out in the parts books? I'll have to look that one up when I get a spare moment.

Craig, I don't see either band in The Filling Station catalog, but once again, Chevs of the 40's, starter band 817114 $6.00, and here's the generator band 816340 $10.50
The circumference of the starter and generator are different by about a 1/4" to 3/8". I'm just wondering if the band that you got that fits loose might be a generator band instead of a starter band.

I have a spare starter and generator that both need bands. Just to avoid having to spend $25 or $30 on something that might not fit and probably won't look original, I'm gonna make my own. I have the bent up rusted originals for patterns to take the measurements from. I just yesterday, received four thickness of Blue Spring Steel from McMaster I also ordered the proper rivets so they will look authentic. I will be doing some experiments on the 3/16" end roll after I anneal the bands to see if I can form the roll properly. The end roll and clip will be annealed and reheat-treated after the forming is finished.

For those that care about those little details I’ll post some pics of the process if I’m successful.

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

I'm not sure gasket paper has a part number. We just walk in the parts house and they ask what thickness. We keep various thicknesses in our shop all the times, And yes, I clearly remember starters in the 50's had gaskets. We made them back then and now I've gotten lazy and use duct tape. It works, but gasket paper looks much more professional.

When a generator would cook the commutator and throw solder, it coated the inside of the band. There was no gasket. Would they put a gasket on the starter band but not on the generator band?

Stuart

I have never seen paper/gasket on the inside of the bands of a starter or generator; however, my experience is limited to only about 30 different GMC and Chevrolet used starters & generators.

I have also had 48-55 starters and generators rebuilt by professional re-builders over many years (starter and generator specialists) and they never put paper/gasket under those bands.

This does not mean that the paper was not there originally but the paper/gasket did not seem to be needed (the bands produced a very tight closure without paper/gasket).

Tim

I have sealed starters on pickups and farm tractors since the 50's because that's what the old timers did. On the dirt roads of the day they were subjected to a lot of dust. I recently rebuilt a starter on a 1950 John Deere with a Delco starter that had a gasket. Was it original? I don't know. I just reused it. Had it not had a gasket, I would have used duct tape. We buy 42MT starters for our over the road tractors factory rebuilt. I have never looked at them. Generators had fans for air flow any way.

Well duct tape or not some of us are concerned with originality and I don't think any of the GM starters ever had a gasket behind the band. And I would have to agree with ya Tim, the band fits tight enough that you taint gonna get anything in there unless you drive it through a two foot deep puddle.
That said, once again, when I worked the parts counter at an auto parts store back in the early 60's I do remember seeing bands come off that had a paper gasket under them. What they were from I have no idea.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL