The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay rebuilding starter - question on replacement...

...materials.

I finally have the starter entirely pulled apart, have a great rebuild kit from classicgenerator.com (HIGHLY recommend dealing with him if you ever need a rebuild kit), but there are still a few parts I need to replace or repair on my own. Inside the starter there are 4 metal blocks that clamp the wire coils to the inside of the housing; between the metal blocks and the wire coils there is some paper gasket material. Does anyone know where I can find replacement gasket material or if it needs to be a special type of paper? I will try to take pictures of what I'm talking about later tonight if I can.

Secondly, is there a good chemical or solution to clean the wire wrappings on the starter coil? Mine is covered in rust and junk (but still has good continuity - already checked) and I'd like to soak or wash it in something to help clean it. I've been hesitant to use any solutions yet because I don't want to eat away any coatings, nor do I want to cause it to rust more after being cleaned. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Thanks!

I think you can just use varsol to clean the windings. Then you blow it out, and let it dry thoroughly in a warm place. Someone else might know better though. Why don't you just ask the classic generator guy, he'll know for sure.

Unless you have the right tools to remove the pole shoes (the steel blocks) it's highly unlikely you'll ever get the field coils out of the housing. The bolts holding them in are extremely tight, and it takes a c-clamp shaped tool called a "pole shoe vise" to remove them. I've rebuilt dozens of starters and generators without taking the field coils out. Just give them a good cleanup with solvent (Varsol or Mineral Spirits) and a blow-dry with an air hose. Don't worry about a little surface rust- - - -it will make no difference whatsoever in the operation of the starter. Pay close attention to the condition of the commutator on the armature, the copper conductors at the end where the brushes ride and the armature windings attach. It should be smooth, with no evidence of burned spots or loose solder joints. Sand it lightly with medium-grit sandpaper to be sure it will make good contact with the brushes.

If the starter needs more work than replacing the brushes and springs, bushings, and possibly a new drive gear, you'll spend more money trying to fix that one than you will on a good rebuilt unit. Field coil replacement and armature repair need to be left to a professional shop with the tools and knowledge to do it right!
Jerry

ooooooooooooooooooooh... THAT's why the screws were so hard to loosen!

So, yeah, I managed to get the pole shoes out after some work. At the time I just thought it was from all of the corrosion inside the starter that was causing them to stick. The reason I wanted to remove them in the first place was while the coils were intact and in good shape, the grounding wires and connectors on all of the wires (grounds and coils) needed to be re-crimped and cleaned.

Now that this is all done, have I gone too far and will never be able to get everything reassembled correctly? I don't want to oversimplify the assembly of a starter... but it seems overly simple. Hopefully I'll be able to have an extremely clean and working starter... if not, I'll have a great learning experience

Most moderate-to-large sized towns will have at least one shop that still does electrical rebuilding. I'd suggest finding that shop, and get the field coils installed by them, with the proper tools. Pole shoe bolts either come with a BIG screw slot, or sometimes a square hole that resembles a 1/4" square drive. From long-ago experience, I can tell you that there's NOT a 1/4" drive tool anywhere that will survive trying to remove or install one! If the fields aren't installed securely, they can work loose and wreck the starter when it's under high magnetic load during cranking. Most field coil connections are copper-welded, not crimped or soldered. If they're loose, replace the entire field coil assembly- - - -don't try to repair it. The resistance values are so critical a repaired coil simply won't flow enough current to develop the right torque. Once you've got the field system assembled, the rest of the rebuild should go pretty well.

Have fun!
Jerry