Starter skipping

[Dirtmod13]

For the last few years I’ve had a lot of trouble with starters skipping. I have used Bert and Brinn bell housings, rebuilt both with all new parts different starters new flywheel’s etc. is there one that just seems to work better or are they all junk?Als looking for the longer style motor on the starter. I had one from a gear place that’s out of business and it was quite a bit stronger than any other. Measures about an inch longer than the standard one.

[petesbuyin]

You need to shim the flywheel back on the crankshaft. If the bell housing idler wheel is not engaging deep enough into the flywheel, the starter will keep kicking out and skipping. Bert makes a shim for this.

I also find that the idler wheel in the bell housing must be very clean on the shaft. If it drags or hangs up even a little bit, the starter will skip. I clean it with brake cleaner and spray it with a good lubricate (not wd40) I use Tri-flow every couple of nights to keep the idler gear moving smooth on the shaft. I find that if you pump grease in the zerk fitting, the grease will collect dirt, making the idler gear sticky and make the starter kick out.

[cjsracing]

I had that problem every year with a Bert Bellhousing setup. I'd shim it a little more each year but come mid season it would start doing it. I went to the Quartermaster Bellhousing and setup and have not had any issues at all.

[CCHIEF]

Define starter skipping. Initial Engagement or after engaged and spinning, etc.

[Lizardracing]

These things use amperage to kick out the starter bendix so anything that can lower the amps like bad grounds, wires too small, dirty connections could cause this to happen too.
I use 00 stranded welding cable and sand the connections with emery paper on the battery, frame grounds, and starter.
Cheap and effective.

[pfd60]

Could a weak battery not engage the starter enough to kick the throw out gear all the way into the flywheel? I'm having the same issue with a newer bell and brand new starter.

[petesbuyin]

Could a weak battery not engage the starter enough to kick the throw out gear all the way into the flywheel? I'm having the same issue with a newer bell and brand new starter.

Yes. A weak battery will cause the starter to not push the idler wheel completely into the flywheel causing it to kick out.

[pfd60]

Ok thanks I will have it checked.

[TheJet-09]

@pfd60, I may have experienced what you're talking about as well. I bought a used car with a 16 volt battery in it. The battery charged just fine, but the starter wouldn't engage (it was brand new). So I changed the starter and same thing. I finally took the battery out of my trailer and it worked just fine.

Maybe it was an amperage thing, not voltage, but it showed it was fully charged.

[pfd60]

Thanks jet.

[pfd60]

So the battery tested ok on amps but was weak because it was not fully charged. The new starter comes out the same as the old one. The bell,housing is almost new. I checked all the positive connections and found a loose nut on the solenoid from the starter switch in the car. Ground good. Im charging the battery. Once its charged I will try again. I hope that loose connection was it. If not I'm lost .

[CCHIEF]

Poor connections will get hot while cranking. Remote "Ford" type solenoid or using the internal starter one?

[pfd60]

Remote type. I'm hoping that is the issue with it not engaging and staying out. It was loose enough I turned it at least one full turn in with my fingers. The red small wire from the start switch to the solenoid

[CCHIEF]

.............I believe you found what your looking for If not, look up voltage drop test for a video/explanation.

[Kromulous]

Some starters are just junk, i think there the biggest rip off in dirt racing in general. On ours i like to take the gear loose, wind it out on the shaft about a 1/4" and weld it on the shaft. IT makes sure the starter bendix can move the gear out far enough so everything is fully engaged.

I learned this trick on this forum, very handy.

[pfd60]

So I changed solenoid after the wire tightening didn't work. That's didn't help either. Then it hit me. I bought this car complete with a bad starter. Stupid me. It had the wrong flywheel. Bought the correct bert flywheel and no issues. I wanted to let guys know the flywheel has to match the bell. I figured it was the correct one when I bought it but after looking at the flywheel I noticed it wasn't outset like a bert flywheel is supposed to be. Thanks guys.