rebuilt starter sounds horrible

Northvale - PA · Nov 21, 2015

so, I just had the starter on my Ferguson TO-20 rebuilt. It was 6 volt now 12. Before it just sounded like it was grinding away inside. The front bushing was worn, etc. Now, it basically sounds the same. Not smooth but clunking in and sounds like it is grinding away in there. I'm afraid the nose might crack off. Any suggestions what to do next? About a year ago I cleaned up the flywheel teeth with a small file thru the starter hole. try that again?

JD Seller · Nov 21, 2015

The starter is hitting the ring gear too hard since it is 12 volt. There are different drives for many started that soften the engage force on the ring gear. I do not know if there is one available for your TO-20 tractor. The teeth on the ring gear get worn down and filing them may get the rough spots off but the teeth on the ring gear are still shorter than they should be. You may need to replace the ring gear to get the grinding noise fixed.

I am not a fan of switching the 6 volt starter over to 12 volt unless you can change the drive. The straight 6 volt starters engage too hard when ran on 12 volts.

Steve@Advance · Nov 21, 2015

Now that the starter has been run a few times, take it off and see what's happening.

Look for freshly ground metal indicating something rubbing, teeth not meshing properly, etc. The drive may be going in too far if the front spacer is not right. Also the ring gear is known to work back on the flywheel, causing improper engagement. Ring gears tend to wear in 2 places on a 4 cylinder, look it over all around, it may be time for a new gear. If you replace it, tack weld it in a few places, otherwise the 12v will push it back.

Might check for crank end play too, if the crank thrust washer falls out, the flywheel will move forward. Not sure if that will affect the starter, but will move it 1/16" or so.

John B. · Nov 21, 2015

Your ring gear may be loose on your flywheel! I've seen this on bigger engines and it sounds bad. Either way if the teeth are worn or the gear is loose on the flywheel it will need to be replaced. An inline 4 cylinder 4-cycle engine will always stop in two different spots and those two spots are where the ring gear will wear the most since the starter is always engaging on those two spots.

Janicholson · Nov 21, 2015

If you rebuilt it it might need a look to see that the end frame is indexed correctly. If it was rebuilt by others, they may need to rerebuild it. A wrong drive, or wrong shimming of a good drive can make nasty noise. If the engine is not turning the drive may be the wrong one. If it was rebuilt as a 12v, it should be good to go on 12v. Jim

rick1 · Nov 22, 2015

i had a to30 for about 10 years i switched to 12 volts.seems like every three years or so i had to have the starter worked on for different reasons one i think the nose broke or cracked but other than that i got by with it.wasnt all that expencesive to have fixed.
RICK

SparepartsTN · Nov 23, 2015

I second JD Seller's comment about using a 6 volt starter on 12 volts. My 1962 Ford 4000 is 12 volts, I needed the starter rebuilt, rebuild shop said it was junk and sold me a replacement. I put it in and thought it was going to destroy the tractor. They sold me a 6 volt even though I had told them it was 12 volt, after some arguing I got my money back. Took my "junk" starter to another rebuild shop, he cleaned it and put in new bushings, good as new for 1/3 the price.

rebuilt starter sounds horrible

Northvale - PA

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JD Seller

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Steve@Advance

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John B.

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Janicholson

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rick1

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SparepartsTN

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