A week after the rebuilt starter ran out of its 1 year warranty it started cranking rrreeeeaaaalll slow. I had a pin hole in the steering hard line right above it and it got soaked in hyd fluid. It worked OK and I thought I was out of the woods but I was wrong. The guys at O'Riellys say its drawing way too many amps. Is it worth it to try and repair the starter, I do not even have a multimeter (I haz the sparky dumbs), or should I just suck-it-up and get a rebuilt from Amazon?
If you were the kind of guy that liked to mess around taking things apart and had a half a chance of getting it to work, then you wouldn't be asking. Buy another one, cheap if you don't mind the quality, OEM if you NEED it to be reliable. Now if this was the OEM starter, then I'd say take it apart or find somebody to look at it, but a "rebuilt" that you got mail order I'd replace.
We have local places that rebuild starters and alternators. You have to hunt around to find them, I would expect a decent sized town to have someone. Some starters are very common and you can get one cheap at the parts store or new online. But others are odd and very very expensive, so it's worth getting the local rebuilder to look at it. I know some of the 4 wheel atv starters are around $400, and it's worth taking it off and taking it to the rebuilder and getting it fixed for $100 or so.
If it’s was soaked in oil then probably carbon brushes got soft and failed. Don’t forget to wash all the insides of it with special cleaner, don’t use break cleaner or carb cleaner or anything aggressive, which can damage insulating lacquer.
TVA, thanks for the knowledge! (Level headed advice, not hyperbole, thats cool.) I hadn't consider the brushes might be susceptible to chemical degradation but that makes a lot / the most sense. A part that failed AFTER the soaking. I'll also look closely at the lacquer varnish to make sure my initial attempts at cleaning didnt degrade that insulation. Thanks for the help TVA! Thanks to all that replied.
Something else to remember guys if you have a power shuttle machine the starter is sealed to prevent oil from bellhousing from getting into starter.
Coy, i'm not sure if this comment was meant for me or not but... my Drive End Housing (DEH) did have a lot of oil on / in it. (I may have incorrectly attributed that to the hyd fluid soaking when it was just the normal bellhousing oil.) I have got to say I'm really glad for all the experience on this forum and I do appreciate and respect all that reply... Really good info on this forum! Thanks
Thanks for the reply Franklin2, Its funny you should mention that because that was my initial thought also. Is my starter common or rare? So I did some GOOGLIN' and I noticed that several other tractors used an almost identical starter and some were a fraction of the price of the Case branded starter. The 188ci starter has a through and through bolt directly underneath the solenoid that I didn't see in any of the other starter designs. As I was surfing / lurking on a Ford site (or maybe Fiat tractor site) I saw an almost identical version to my Case starter, identified by that small bolt. It was for a big Cubic Inch 3 cylinder but it was about half the cost of the Case starter. (I didn't compare cranking speed or power or amps just noticed the similarity of design.) I'm trying to identify the make and model of the Case 188ci starter and if I can I'll try to make a complete list of all the other tractors that starter fits. Its probably too ambitious, and I'm probably way too busy building the new container house, and I'll probably NOT do it, (excuses, excuses) but I have already found about 100 different models (Case and Ford) that the same design / style fits. It could be a real cost saver to use a Ford/Fiat/6xx/545 tractor starter instead of a Case 188 Diesel starter. At least its an option. The parts house was pretty proud of that Case version at almost $250 rebuilt. If anybody is better at compiling tractor fit lists (expert systems) than I am, please have at it!
Ford tractors now New Holland which is part of CNH. All that matters is that it fits and cranks fast enough!
Not pointed to anyone in particular but just some info to pass along.
Generally if wet clutch or similar system keeps blowing seal it’s either overflow is plugged or if the system equipped with sump pump, that pump not doing its job! Just FYI!
TVA _ Thanks for that. Ive got a shuttle shift so Ill check it out. Ive got a lot to learn about tractors thats for sure. Thanks to all that reply.
Just because a starter may be identical to your original starter the all important thing is that the bendix drive gear has the EXACT same number of teeth on it. If it doesn't you will be removing the flywheel ring gear and replacing it. I had a very sad experience when a previous owner had installed a replacement starter that had one tooth more than the original starter had.
Yea, I had to flip the ring gear on a 258ci Jeep truck engine because the PO used a replacement bendix gear with a different spacing. Same number of teeth just about 1/16th of an inch larger gear. Thanks for the experience / knowledge.
Rusty, rusty, rusty ,rusty on the inside but new and clean and shiny on the outside.
How's the hydraulic oil? Any water in it? Is it milky or clear? If the machine has sat for a while, some of the water will separate out so try loosening the drain plug on the hydraulic reservoir - just a little - just enough to see some seepage. If there's water in there, it will come out first cause it's heavier and will work it's way to the lowest spot. When the the water stops dripping and oil starts, tighten it back up. You can try the same approach on the drain for the rear end or any drain plug, really.
Yes there is a little water but not too bad. Its not gray just a little on the bottom. I topped off the rearend with 85/90w and I used the Walmart HD Hyd fluid for the implements up front but im not sure if I should use the Walmart HD fluid or the Economy fluid for the transmission. The HD fluid is pretty thick and I think the Economy is thinner. Ill have to search that to see if its better to use a thicker or a thinner HYD fluid in the transmission.
Well my starter problem wasn't JUST that it was rusty and needed a good cleaning, it was and it did. The bigger problem was that the brushes were not making sufficient contact with the commutator. In my Tiawan made or reman'ed starter (which I have to give it up to the Tiawanese because that sucker is pretty well built) the brushes are held against the commutator by two springs. The springs are made from flat stock and (on one side at least) the spring was doing it OK but the other side just didnt have the spring tension/ pressure to keep the brushes in contact with the commutator. I got out my magnifying glass and three good lights and hidden in the bend of the spring was a rusty ole crack. I very gently pinched the spring between my fingers and it snapped like a glass rod. FUDGE! Or another word that starts with "F" but might be inappropriate for an audience of all ages that uses this fantastic forum... So my temp fix was to replace the old spring with a cut down Office Max paper binder clip thing. It worked for now and im sure its a crappy fix and im sure there will be a few who would have used something different but it got the starter working again and heck thats all it really needed to do. Thanks to all the members that helped me out on this FIX IT IN THE DITCH project.
don`t knock it if it works a gets ya out of a jam
What ever works
Thanks Grady, TVA, Tinkerer and Franklin2 for the tips, points in the right direction and the helpful PM's.