starter motor. Bent shaft.

[John Mason]

Hi all,  Has anybody ever had the problem of a bent starter motor shaft. I have been having problems with the starter motor getting stuck in mesh with the flywheel when starting and this got so bad I took it off the car for examination. I expected it to be the flywheel ring gear but then on checking the started discovered that the shaft was bent. The starter dog etc works fine moving up and down the shaft and it appears to be bent just before the front bearing. I have considered having a go at straightening it as I always have the starting handle as a reserve should the straightening repair fail.
What are forum members thoughts on this. Should I just look for another starter.

John Mason

[Chris KC]

I wonder how it got bent - did someone drop it perhaps?

I face a not dissimilar quandary over my bench drill, whose spindle got bent doing something you probably shouldn't with a bench drill. As spare parts are no longer made, it was either bend it back (unlikely to produce the required accuracy for a drill), get a new spindle made (unlikely to be economically viable) or buy a new drill    (Guess which way I went...)

I would have thought seeking out a starter motor 'for restoration' is the easiest / cheapest way to go. On the other hand what have you got to lose by attempting to bend it back straight? Just do it scientifically.

[Ian Williams]

John, I have come across a few Bacon slicers with bent shafts, I can speculate but do not know how they get bent for sure. I have straightened one in the past, put it in the lathe to check it spins true, but its easier to replace with a straight one from the spares shed.

[John Mason]

Hi all, I found the problem with the starter a few days ago and started to look for a replacement but all I could find were reconditioned ones (with dubious accounts as to what had been done in the reconditioning process) at a cost of between £175.00 to £200.00. However just after putting my thread on the forum I found one on eBay for £35.00 which states it has been tested and the feedback on the seller is good so I have purchased it.

John Mason.

[Chris KC]

That sounds well worth a shot John.

[Ian Williams]

And if worst comes to worst you can probably make a good one from the two!

[andrew34ruby]

Could the shaft be bent from when the bendix has jammed on the flywheel? I've often wondered about the practise of rocking the car in gear. If it was rocked one way the starter would disengage easily, but if rocked enthusiastically the 'wrong' way might it bend the shaft?