Q on removing starter drive to replace Bendix. Help!!

[FarmallCubGal]

I'm struggling to pull th drive out of its casing and suspect the very large screws on th side of the cylinder are the issue. Furthermore, those screws are stuck!! Do I really need to pull those screws or should I keep pulling on the whole thing? Thanks!!

[FarmallCubGal]

I forgot to add t h picture

[FarmallCubGal]

Oh!! Got it! This guy popped off, thank goodness. Nevermned!!

[Jim Becker]

The picture helped. Now I can see where you are with it. Leave the big screws alone. You probably would never get them out anyway. They hold the pole pieces in place.

You have the through bolts out, the only ones you need to remove to get it apart. The commutator end frame (end cap on left) is attached to the rest of the unit by wires, making that the wrong end to get the armature out. If you look just below the tip of your screwdriver, you can see a joint between the frame (the cylinder) and the drive end housing (part around the Bendix drive). There is nothing holding them together except rust, paint, and assorted crud. Knock them apart and the drive end housing will slide off allowing the armature assembly to come out the right end of the frame.

[Jim Becker]

Looks like you figured it out while I was typing.

[FarmallCubGal]

Hi Jim
Thanks!! Not sure you saw it but somewhere I also posted a thank you to you for posting that cub wiring diagram. While I had seen the pictures of physical wiring in the old cub manual, the schematic what was I wanted to see!

[Jim Becker]

Been a while since I have actually had one of them apart. As I recall, there is a woodruff key to keep that part from turning on the shaft. The setscrew you already removed is the only thing that holds that part in place on the shaft and it should slide straight off. It is probably sticking a little. Get a little force against the part and do a few light taps on the end of the armature shaft which may be enough to pop it loose. Don't go crazy on the end of the shaft and damage it. Do not do any prying against the armature windings, even though they seem like a convenient place to do so.

Where'd the next question go? I guess you got that too.

[FarmallCubGal]

Yes!! I wasn't hitting it hard enough, LOL. Now I have the issue of an extra washer and it's not clear where it goes. It has a wider opening than the shaft itself. Not sure it's from the old bendix or what. Looking for a starter assembly diagram...

[Jim Becker]

Look at the quick links at the top of this page. Use that to get to the PDF manuals. Then follow to the Tractor Parts Manuals (pick one of the Cub Parts Catalogs) or the Delco-Remy manual. For the starter, I'd look at the Delco manual.

Added thought: A washer too big for the drive end probably is from the commutator end. I think you should have one washer on each end.

[FarmallCubGal]

Thank you! Now I'm having fun with pulling the brushes back so I can it all back in. Wish I had asked for some top tips before I started this. LOL

[FarmallCubGal]

The spring on the bendix looks squished. Should I be realizing the bolt on the fly wheel drive to allowed more movement of the spring? I'm hoping the answer is to leave it alone as the tension is set at the factory!

[Glen]

Hi,
While you had the starter apart was a good time to check the brush length and the bushing at each end for looseness.
If the brushes are worn down, they need replacing. Sometimes not all of them wear down at the same rate.
The bushings have to be good so the armature doesn't rub inside the case. The armature runs very close to the magnets, only a small amount of wear on the bushings and it will rub.
Oil the bushings inside when you put it together.

[FarmallCubGal]

Hi Glen , Thanks for the Top Tip re: brushes! They all looked surprisingly good and there was no sign of arcing or pitting on the commutator (not that I'm an expert in these matters). Those springs were fierce so reckon there's good contact all around. It's back on the tractor now, but in hindsight, I sure wish I had first hooked it up to the battery to see it run. That would have been a fun & educational thing,

Putting that all back together was "memorable", to put it nicely. But, I reckon another advantage of pulling it all apart was that I noticed some of the insulation on the nongrounded wires were fraying and I wonder if that was contributing to the starter issues was having. Sometimes when you pulled the starter rod, you could hear absolutely nothing. Silence. I taped them up well so there's no shorting.

For those newbies like me who might be interested, I took a picture of the old Vs New Bendix. See below. The edges on the new one are definitely sharper than the old. At this time I can report that the starter is in place and it's engaging (yay) which is better from where I started this morning. Still can't fire her up since I have yet to install the new gas line, which is Friday morning's project. (Sure hope it won't last all day. So anxious to get 'Shelly rolling again).


Old Bendix is the top one

[Glen]

Hi,
When the starter does nothing when you pull the starter rod, it can be one or more battery cable ends dirty and not making contact. Take them off one at a time, and sand the ends, and the battery posts, and the starter post, and the place on the tractor where the ground hooks on.
If it still has the original battery box and the cable hooks onto the box, the guys have said that sometimes they needed to remove the box, and sand under it to get contact again.
It can also be the starter switch, guess you had that off the starter. Sand all the places in it that make contact, and the post on the starter. The pieces in the switch can burn over time, and get too short to make good contact anymore. Then it needs a new switch.
Hope you put the 2 insulation pieces in the starter switch, it needs those to prevent shorting.
If it doesn't work right in the future, I would try those things.

[FarmallCubGal]

Hi Stan - yes, thank you! After reading some old posts, I made sure was solidly grounded; had good continuity from the battery box all the way to the magneto post. Bought a brand new battery box since the old one was rusted good and missing it's lid. Had to sand off the paint down to the metal to get the continuity and believe it was worth the extra effort. Starter clicking and lights working good, and I have 6.3VDC eveywhere I expect so fingers crossed!