[Healeys] Starters and Generators; was Re: Starting a BJ8

[Bob Spidell]

re: "If I am not mistaken there is a small hole in the back plate of the 
dynamo (and starter?) to lubricate the bronze bush now and again."

You are not mistaken.  There also is supposed to be a felt pad between 
the oiling hole and the bushing; mine didn't have this pad and from 
dutifully oiling the bush--probably over-oiling it--the inside of my 
generator became oil-soaked.  When I opened it up to do just the 
maintenance Kees described I saw that the field coil insulation--just a 
cloth wrap, basically--had seriously deteriorated; probably at least 
partly from all the oil.  My only choice was to send it to a 'pro' 
rebuilder; who replaces the armature and field coils as a matter of 
course.  He says he installs an oillite-type bush that doesn't need 
extra oiling.

I rebuilt my starter years ago and used silicone lubricant on the Bendix 
mechanism.  I like this stuff because it doesn't seem to attract dirt 
like petroleum oils do.  Moly/graphite sounds like a good idea too.

Bob


On 12/19/2016 1:45 AM, Oudesluys wrote:
> You generally do not have to have it rebuilt to improve performance. 
> It is just a matter of maintainance. If taken care of properly they 
> perform well and last forever.
> Just cleaning up often does the trick. It is an easy job. Clean the 
> inside using e.g. a spray can of brake cleaner but be careful with 
> some strong solvents in case they dissolve the shellac of the 
> windings. Just clean up the commutator with 400 grade sandpaper, or 
> better skim the commutator on a lathe, cut the insulator between the 
> copper segments with a narrow (ground flat sides) hack saw blade to 
> about 1/2mm below the surface if needed, inspect/clean/renew the 
> brushes (when the commutator has been skimmed), oil the bronze bushes, 
> clean the bendix thoroughly and lubricate with molybdenum/graphite 
> powder rubbed in on the shaft and it should be fine for the next 25 
> years minimum.
>
> By the way, more or less the same goes for the dynamo, although there 
> is a chance that you may have to renew the bronze bearing bush at the 
> back and the ball bearing at the front. If I am not mistaken there is 
> a small hole in the back plate of the dynamo (and starter?) to 
> lubricate the bronze bush now and again.
> Many years ago I used to modify dynamo's to take a ball bearing at the 
> back.
>
> No need for an often short lived modern geared starter.
> Kees Oudesluijs
>
>
>
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