[TR] TR4 Starter question

[Randall]

That would mean your TR3A is after TS50000 (when the change in starters
happened).  Starters before that had the drive enclosed inside the housing,
rather than hanging out the end; and a bonded rubber coupling to help
cushion the shock of the pinion slamming into the flywheel.  That bonded
rubber drive often fails, especially on engines with larger displacement and
higher compression.  BFE once had a run of "improved fail-safe" drives made
just for the racers; I think I still have the last two that Ken sold.  Has
paddles and polyurethane cushions instead of the bonded rubber.

The starter with the exposed drive and a big spring cushion instead of the
bonded rubber started at TS50001, and continued through the end of TR4A.
They had to make a lot of other changes to accommodate the starter change
(the flywheel, ring gear and gearbox casting all changed to match the
starter), so my guess is that failure of that drive was a common complaint
even back then.

Count yourself lucky it's never happened on the '3.  I've spent what seemed
like hours in the freezing cold (but in reality was only a few minutes),
repeatedly having to stop and wait for the starter to stop spinning after
one cylinder fired but not the next one.  My last 3A had the early starter,
but the one before that had the later starter (and the same problem).

-- Randall  

> Hmmn.   Very interesting indeed.  My 4 is an early one and 
> the starter looks just like my TR3As.  I never heard of the 
> starter stopping as engine fires.  My 3 keeps cranking as 
> long as I push the button.  Jim
>