ultraslow Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 I own, am owned by?, a 1985 S3 with a 1.6l Xflow and 4spd. Recently my old Lucas starter quit.(it is a 25356A and it drives a 135 tooth ring gear) I sent it to a shop in CA to be rebuilt and upon it's return , the pinion no longer makes contact with the ring gear!!! The shop disavows any change of the pinion gear. My friends at Dave Bean actually measured all the starter pinions in their stock and they are the same diameter as the one I now have. I need a larger diameter pinion gear. Inexact measurements, at this point, say that 3/8 in larger on the radius could do thee trick. Has anyone heard of a larger diameter starter pinion gear? I am desperate as the weather is great and I am stuck driving my Honda Insight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDingo8MyBaby Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Are you sure the shaft is extending far enough? Could it have to do with the mount to the bellhousing? How many teeth are on your pinion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultraslow Posted May 23, 2014 Author Share Posted May 23, 2014 The pinion is being thrown out far enough. I have put clay on the pinion and the solenoid is indeed working as it should. The mount on the bell housing is okay. no changes there also. I have an eleven tooth pinion. The diameter and height are correct. Ken Grey at Dave Bean has been working on this with me for at least two months and we ar both lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDingo8MyBaby Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 How does the pinion mesh with the flywheel? The diameter of the pinion can't just change if it still meshes with the flywheel. I would suspect more that the centerline of the shaft has changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carsport Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Does the mounting bracket need re-clocked? Or is that even possible? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James A Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Every time we install the starter, if we don't get the exact right shim washers between it and the bell housing as it cam out with it does not engage. We can get a exact match replacement starter and it will not engage. More often than not we have to install, test, re-shim, re-test more than once to get it right. I have found that our cars to be very sensitive how the starter is shimmed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultraslow Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 Problem solved, Bent motor mount, don't ask. Shifted mo=tor over and the pinion was missing the ring. Bizarre but true, Thanks for the input. I'd rather be lucky that good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Thx, I will add this to my growing list of odd-ball problems caused by Caterham's cr*p motor mounts. Seems to be an especial issue on pre year 2000 cars. As I have posted elsewhere, the mounts are good for abt 5000 miles, then time to be replaced, or at least alert to potential issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xcarguy Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Problem solved, Bent motor mount, don't ask. Shifted mo=tor over and the pinion was missing the ring. Bizarre but true, Thanks for the input. I'd rather be lucky that good. Been following this thread . . . very interesting resolve. :rofl: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffee break Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Thx, I will add this to my growing list of odd-ball problems caused by Caterham's cr*p motor mounts. Seems to be an especial issue on pre year 2000 cars. As I have posted elsewhere, the mounts are good for abt 5000 miles, then time to be replaced, or at least alert to potential issues. Are referring to the rubber assembly or the steel structure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Rubber mounts (wh/have a steel core). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xflow7 Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Problem solved, Bent motor mount, don't ask. Shifted mo=tor over and the pinion was missing the ring. Bizarre but true, Thanks for the input. I'd rather be lucky that good. I'm curious about this. When you say bad motor mount, do you mean one of the mounts for the starter motor itself to the bellhousing, or the engine mount? It's hard for me to see how an engine mount would have any effect on the pinion engagement given that the starter is rigidly mounted to the bellhousing which is rigidly mounted to the engine. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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