The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop starter and flywheel teeth match?

Hi guys,

ive a 235 engine F805b - 3837004 in me 1953 truck.

since the truck came over two years ago ive been having the terrible starter / flywheel grinding sound and have pulled the gearbox / clutch and flywheel out to replace the flywheel ring gear

now im unsure of what i totally require.

the starter has no id badge and the teeth are worn a little (9 of them) it has the stomp switch on the top.

the flywheel has 139 teeth

the clutch disk is around 9 1/4 inch.

can any one advice what gears i need for the flywheel and starter. i have converted to 12 volts. im hoping th get the parts from Jim Carter. thanks Dan

Hy Dano&Rose, 139 teeth indicates a six volt flywheel, so a six volt starter would be required, If your truck is currently twelve volt, a six volt starter will still work on that, it just won't take cranking the engine too long, so your engine must be maintained in a good state of tune. Unfortunately the six volt starters had a larger diameter armature shaft so swapping a six volt starter drive into a twelve volt starter is not an option, hope that helps.

Since your across the ocean and parts are a little more limited, you can also remove the ring gear, turn it around and give it a bit of a turn using the otherside of the teeth if they are in good shape.

By rotating the ring gear before reattaching, you make sure that the teeth will not stop at the current position as they do. An engine typically finds a few spots in which it always rolls to a stop and this means that the starter almost always engages those same sets of teeth when starting again, hence the rotation.

Jeff

hi Jeff, thanks for that, and a good idea! will stop me from cutting the ring gear off!

with all the parts out of the old girl and getting ready for the summer im going to have a fresh start with the clutch and everything, so am happy to wait for the correct ring, the teeth on the starter are knackard as well!

Hi 3b. any clue on what size the "larger diameter armature shaft" will mesure so i can have a check? could it be possible that i already have a 12 volt starter on the wrong flywheel? and could this have made the problem in the 1st place?

thanks for your help.

Hy Dano&Rose, I don't know off hand but I'll measure tomorrow for you and report back.

There will be a number on the body of the starter. Use that number to look up the starter on the "old chevy manuals' site. If your starter is 6 volt, you probably need to replace the drive. If the drive is worn and loose, it will cause grinding that destroys the teeth on bothe the drive and the ring gear.

From reading past posts, flipping the ring gear requires a little machine work to allow it to fit on the flywheel upside down.

Hi "truckernix"

ive a number of 901 only on the stater motor, spent two hours now going over "old chevy manuals!" is there a place to look on the site?

Hy Dano&Rose, I finally remembered to measure the starter shafts, twelve volt starters have a 12 mm diameter shaft, six volt starters have a 14 mm shaft, hope that helps.

thanks 3b for your help, i got it all back together just fine and works a treat!

Ok, I have a similar situation but wit a 55 1st. When I got the truck it was half way converted to 12v....alternator put in. It wasn't long before the 6v starter went out and since replaced with a 12v starter. I have had no problems in the last year or so with this set-up. I have a bad spot on the 139 tooth fly wheel ring gear and it is next to be replaced (tired of the occasional grinding when trying to start it). The ring gear I got has 168 teeth.

So, am I correct in the assumption that the new 168 tooth ring gear will work fine?

Sometimes I get confused answers with the 55 1st questions.

am told a 12v starter will only work with a 168 teeth ring - the dimensions of the teeth dictate this, a 6v will work with a 139 teeth ring and you can put 12v through that starter and it will work fine.
having said that Patrick of Patricks antiques talks about 162 teeth - is that just a misprint?
and I need a 168 (162?) teeth flywheel - an in Tanzania East Africa - can anyone assist? Could collect in UK

My starter was grinding the flywheel too. I pulled the starter to find that the drive was in bad shape and there was a lot of slop between the drive and the shaft. This caused misalignment and grinding when engaging. A new drive fixed the problem and the ring gear damage was light enough that it didn't cause further problems.