Kohler CV16s bent starter armature shaft

[lee]

Hi Arkie, the Bendix gear is metal and what I'm calling a backfire is actually an afterfire through the exhaust like a shotgun going off and then the engine will start and run fine. It doesn't feel like it's kicking back on the starter when this happens. I'm thinking the ignition timing being late and firing when the exhaust valve is starting to open is causing this. But if the timing were that far off the engine wouldn't start right up and run fine. Maybe the compression release is holding the exhaust valve open and that's why it afterfires now and then? If the afterfire isn't what bent the starter shaft because it doesn't cause a kickback then I won't worry about it. I'm back to thinking it might be the bad battery that I changed out prior to the starter problems that caused the shaft to bend. The starter was struggling to turn the engine over due to the bad battery. Maybe it lost it's struggle with the ring gear and got bent. Then i installed a new battery and the bend got worse until the starter started sounding terrible causing me to pull the starter and find the bent shaft. I'm going to check each flywheel tooth and groove to make sure they are all ok.

[Skywatcher]

Hi Lee

Guess I must have missed your post the first time round, so I'll chime in now. I have run into this problem before, but the armature shaft usually breaks off instead of bending. With the engine cowling off and the sparkplug out, lift the Bendix into the ring gear and manually rotate the engine backwards so the pinion gear stays fully engaged with the ring gear. How much clearance do you have between the bottom edge of the magnet block and the top of the starter pinion? I clearance is more than ¼", the other members will get you through this one.

If the clearance is less than ¼", the pinion may be striking the bottom edge of the magnet block. To rectify this problem, remove the flywheel and remove the plastic fan from the flywheel. Take a coarse toothed file as you will be filing aluminum. Now file a ¼" wide 45º chamfer along the bottom edge of the magnet block. This will give the necessary clearance between the starter pinion and the magnet block to prevent a repeat failure. Be sure to check and if necessary replace the flywheel key if it is damaged. Make sure that taper on crankshaft and bore of flywheel are both clean and dry, torque flywheel bolt to 49 foot pounds. Recheck clearance just to be on the safe side. All the best,

Sky

[Arkie]

Hi Lee

Guess I must have missed your post the first time round, so I'll chime in now. I have run into this problem before, but the armature shaft usually breaks off instead of bending. With the engine cowling off and the sparkplug out, lift the Bendix into the ring gear and manually rotate the engine backwards so the pinion gear stays fully engaged with the ring gear. How much clearance do you have between the bottom edge of the magnet block and the top of the starter pinion? I clearance is more than ¼", the other members will get you through this one.

If the clearance is less than ¼", the pinion may be striking the bottom edge of the magnet block. To rectify this problem, remove the flywheel and remove the plastic fan from the flywheel. Take a coarse toothed file as you will be filing aluminum. Now file a ¼" wide 45º chamfer along the bottom edge of the magnet block. This will give the necessary clearance between the starter pinion and the magnet block to prevent a repeat failure. Be sure to check and if necessary replace the flywheel key if it is damaged. Make sure that taper on crankshaft and bore of flywheel are both clean and dry, torque flywheel bolt to 49 foot pounds. Recheck clearance just to be on the safe side. All the best,

Sky

Very good:
Turning the engine backwards will keep the started Bendix meshed into the flywheel for continuous viewing.

Just curious: Would he maybe see any marks on the aluminum at the bottom of the flywheel magnet as a hint that the Bendix has previously contacted?
You need to also watch and make sure the Bendix gear is not meshing real tight into the flywheel teeth if the armature shaft is not rotating true. (still has proper mesh clearance thru complete rotation of the starter armature shaft if the armature shaft is still bent somewhat)

[jimw1949]

Can you buy parts for the starter, or do you have to buy a whole new starter?

[Fulltilt]

Can you buy parts for the starter, or do you have to buy a whole new starter?

You should be able to buy the separate parts. Avail from Kohler, or various online sources.
Look up the part numbers here: http://www.kohlerenginesparts.com/PartStream/Index

[StarTech]

Which makes better sense paying 87.75 for a bendix kit plus shipping or buying a new aftermarket Arrowhead starter for 59.20 plus shipping?

[Fulltilt]

To me, this makes the most sense : https://www.dbelectrical.com/products/s ... fgodHFkF_A
One year warranty, free shipping,and no sales tax... whats not to like? Which is why I don't bother rebuilding 'em anymore.
As I've said before, I've used several DB ( chinese) starters with great results. So they be OK in my book.
But the guy wanted to know about parts, no?
I might add, a lot of that starters' parts are NLA, so....

BTW, what happened to your rambling reply about belts , markups and such? Interesting.

[KE4AVB]

It was deleted by the Admin as it was considered unnecessary. I also caution Star about posting the business related info. I do see I got to go over his books and operation again to see if I get him a little more profitable but that matter for me and him to discuss privately via a secure encrypted emails. He still a little timid about billing being new at this. He got to make more profit to cover the overhead. Heck he want to just charge $10 per hr for labor before I had a serious talk with him a few years ago.

As for the Chinese stuff if you had some the problems I have had with them, you would have a bad taste in your mouth too. I having to replace a fuel valve out my pocket this week because the supplier won't honor the warranty. It wasn't even assembly properly.

When it comes to starters so far I have only replaced two in the last 8 yrs and that was because someone installed the wrong size starters as a replacement and they didn't fix the original problem either. Their solution was to just install a bigger battery.

[Fulltilt]

As for the Chinese stuff if you had some the problems I have had with them, you would have a bad taste in your mouth too. I having to replace a fuel valve out my pocket this week because the supplier won't honor the warranty. It wasn't even assembly properly.

When it comes to starters so far I have only replaced two in the last 8 yrs and that was because someone installed the wrong size starters as a replacement and they didn't fix the original problem either. Their solution was to just install a bigger battery.

Well when it comes to chinese parts, its kind off hard to get around using them. Even when you don't expect chinese, you end up with a chinese part. I've not had any real problems using them , it can be a crap shoot at times, but generally they ain't bad.

As for the starters, In that same amount of time, I've had to replace about 10 or so. I first used a DB starter about 7 years ago on my SB chevy/volvo powered boat, as far as I know it's still workin' ( though I haven't used it in about a year or so).
I had one instance where the terminal stud had poked thru the box in transit and got buggered up, and DB quickly sent me out a replacement with no problems. They didn't try to blame it on the carrier, and no hoops to jump thru, so I like using them myself.

[lee]

I picked up a starter off a CV15s today. This starter has 13 teeth while the starter that is on my CV16s has only 10 teeth. I'm thinking the CV15 and CV16 should share the same starter soooo which is the right starter for these engines? Could this be what caused the bent shaft?