Posted by chriscase on Wednesday, April 04, 2007 at 18:48:54 :
In Reply to: Re: Starter mystery posted by Kaegi on Wednesday, April 04, 2007 at 18:00:38 :
Think of a munged up roller bearing, with rollers that jam, and sieze the shaft. Then, when the starter drive gets old, too much wear and the rollers just don't catch anymore.
Better to wear and stop grabbing than jam up solid- the 14:1 ratio between the ring gear and starter would make the starter do 42,000 rpms if it is jammed and you rev the engine to 3,000. The centrifigal force is more than the copper windings can handle. It is one of the reasons they did away with the foot pedal starter- a helical 'key' on the shaft means that the drive will 'unscrew' from the flywheel if it jams, saving the starter. But Chris, standing in the pedal, keeps it engaged. The only exploded winding I ever saw was on my 1/2t Command car.
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