John,
Sounds to me like the gear on your starter is broken or the mechanism that
the solenoid uses to push the pinion gear to the flywheel has broken or come
apart. The starter should not spin until the piston on the solenoid has
engaged the contacts that supply electricity to it. To do this, the
solenoid has to move the plunger to the top of its cap and the gear the
distance to the flywheel. If the pinion gear or the slider mechanism is
broken, the starter will spin without the pinion engaging the flywheel. In
any case, you should pull the starter and inspect it. Most auto parts shops
can test it for you. Most larger cities have starter shops that may be able
to fix and rebuild it.
I'm sure that those more familiar with roadster starters will nail this down
as soon as they read it.
Charlie
1964 SPL310
-----Original Message-----
From: John E. Stromgren [mailto:jstromgr@sqi.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 1999 5:15 PM
To: datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net
Subject: Starter diagnosis
Hey, Gang:
I've got one of those starter sounds that I know dozens of you could
identify
and prescribe solutions for without even looking anything up:
1) I turn the key
2) I get a quiet little whirring sound
3) I look for an incline to push-start the car
4) I remember to be thankful for manual transmission
So, something with the solenoid not engaging, right?
Now it's not the sound of the starter missing teeth on the ring gear - I
know
that sound, and this is not it - much quieter and no pinion looking for a
gear
to mesh with.
What do I do besides remembering to park on a hill?
-John
_________________
John E. Stromgren
'70 2000 (#14061)
Issaquah, WA, USA
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