Flywheel teeth inspection

[Vikingone]

So I pulled my flywheel on my 85 cj and found the teeth ground down in the engine side. Towards the tranny side is good. Makes a terrible noise on start up. It seems like the starter bendix doesn’t come out far enough.(or I’m assuming). Aftermarket starter. (Not sure from where). I did find one dowel pin missing from the 9 o’clock position on the block. But still kinda weird. Anyone seen this before?


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[ttuseth]

Got a pic of how your starter gear looks?

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[Vikingone]

Yes indeed. Now I did buy a new starter solenoid thinking maybe it sticks a bit. But won’t know if that fixes it until a new flywheel is installed.


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[cglax6]

Yes indeed. Now I did buy a new starter solenoid thinking maybe it sticks a bit. But won’t know if that fixes it until a new flywheel is installed.


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Take that puppy apart and roll that starter gear across the flywheel teeth...that'll let you know if you have a mesh issue if everything is aligned properly.

Make sure you count ring gear teeth and make sure that starter gear is made for your ring gear.

I suspect you have an alignment issue. If you're missing an alignment dowel, that might be your issue...if not you have another alignment problem. I agree that it looks like the starter gear isn't engaging all the way, and that might be because it's not aligned correctly. If it pushes in at an angle, it's not going to engage all the way and tear up your teeth like that.

Disclaimer: I've never seen something like this before and I'm not an auto mechanic. I'm a mechanical engineer with shipboard experience who likes to work on cars.

The auto gurus may be able to shed more light on this, but that's my gut feeling when I look at your pictures.

 

[Vikingone]

Good idea taking the starter apart. Hopefully I can get to it today. Out with the wife doing a baby registry. I’m sure gonna need some garage time (also dubbed the time out room) after that lol


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[Lumpy Grits]

The ring gear on the f'wheel needs replacing. Look at the damage to the top of the gear teeth.
That starter gear looks beat.
Take the starter back where you got it, and have them test it.
Also confirm it's the correct starter and not miss-boxed.
Looks like the gear pitch is incorrect between the f'wheel and starter.
LG

 

[Vikingone]

Pulled apart the starter this morning and ran the starter gear across the flywheel ring gear and she meshes perfectly. So now just to figure out why it’s grinding. The starter does state that it is highly recommended to replace the starter solenoid when replacing the starter. Does anyone know why it seems so important?


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[mriplaybass]

I really don't see the reasoning behind that recommendation other than trying to sell you more parts. The only reason I can come up with is, assuming that the solenoid is the same age as the starter, it too is due to fail. Kind of a pr-emptive strike. I tend to think along the lines that when a light bulb burns out, I don't replace the switch.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

It's a BS sales pitch to the un-knowing.
Where did you get the starter motor?
Like I said-The flywheel gear is damaged.
LG

 

[ttuseth]

I know your waist deep into a teardown now but I thought I'd let you know I got mine fixed.
The flywheel I removed was pretty torn up and the dimensions appeared to be just a bit different on the new one. I also reinstalled my original spacer plate vs the aftermarket replacement I had put in as I suspected it might have been part of the problem too.


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