> The pinion gear on the starter occassionally sticks, so it
>doesn't "spin out" and engage the ring gear on the flywheel. I've
>become pretty adept at removing the starter, freeing the gear and
>reinstalling the starter (record time - ten minutes). What kind of
>lubricant should I apply to the innards of the pinion gear assembly
>to solve this problem? None of the manuals I have address this
>problem or state any kind of routine maintenance/lube for the part.
>Any ideas? TIA
>Karl Theis
Karl,
I'm not sure about what to use on the innards of the pinion gear assembly,
but when I had the starter and flywheel out, I used "Lubriplate" spray on
the starter engagement gear and flywheel gear surfaces on my TR3, as these
components were supposed to be installed dry and I felt that dry lube was
definitely better than no lube.
NOTE: If the pinion is supposed to be dry or graphited I would heartily
endorse these types of spray-on dry lubes.
The Lubriplate is a spray on teflon/graphite, bound in a resin, (I don't
exactly recall now) that dries to a film and provides good lubrication.
Clean everything well with brake cleaner first. Don't clean it with carb
cleaner or gasoline, they can leave a residue.
I have used industrial grade, resin bound dry lubricants on the backing
plates of rear drum brakes for many years with great success. No chance of
contaminating the brake shoes with lithium grease and great long lived
lubrication, which is unaffected by heat. Basically I use it anywhere there
is an advantage for having a dry lubricant.
Thanks to Nick in Nor Cal for the information on carb vs. brake cleaner. I
checked it out myself. Carb cleaner left a residue and didn't let paint
adhere as well to steel as the brake cleaner did, something I never knew.
Good luck. The sticking starter doesn't sound like fun. Are you parking on
hills whenever possible?
Jack
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