Starter motor brushes!

[Nick1911]

Starter motor brushes.  Naturally, they would fail at 5:00pm, Friday in the parking lot at work. 

Luckily, $16 buys new brushes.  Now to deal with the two bolts that hold the casing together that miraculously snapped off.

I mean, a 6-23 threaded fastener that is over 7 inches long?  That doesn't scream 'bad idea'...


I think it's about time to replace the Talon.  :|  If I can keep it rolling for another 9-10 months, I'll have 4K to shop for another used car with the present budget.

[Desertdog]

KIS - buy a new starter and save time and trouble.

[zahc]

At least you know it was the started. I'm in a similar "stuck between trying to keep and old car running and just buying a new used one" situation. I have a 95 cavalier that my wife drives that has been known to run right. If I even knew what was wrong with it, it would make decision making easier. I'm about fed up with american-made small cars.

[Nick1911]

KIS - buy a new starter and save time and trouble.

I have more time then money.  The $63 saved buys a fair amount of food/ammo/fuel etc.

Besides, I already resurfaced the commutator on the lathe. 

[Leatherneck]

Junkyards are you friends. You should be able to buy a starter off a junker and keep it for parts like the case screws.

TC

[mtnbkr]

I have more time then money.  The $63 saved buys a fair amount of food/ammo/fuel etc.

Besides, I already resurfaced the commutator on the lathe. 

Plus, it doesn't take much longer to replace the brushes than it does the entire starter.  I replaced the brushes and other small parts on my 4Runner's starter a couple years ago and it's still going strong.  It was a fraction of the cost of a rebuilt starter.

Chris

[Nick1911]

The motor is back together.

Bench test seemed good - won't know for sure till it's back in the car though.

Instead of messing around with deep hole drilling and tapping, I opted to just MIG the cover back on. 

[digitalandanalog]

Did I miss something?

My 93 Mazda starts every time I turn the key. I really doubt that will have to replace the starter any time soon.

Did the Japanese do starters better than Americans did?

[Leatherneck]

I opted to just MIG the cover back on.

That's gonna make the next repair---difficult. Good luck.

TC

[Nick1911]

That's gonna make the next repair---difficult. Good luck.

TC

I agree.  But:

• With new brushes, the next thing likely to break is the amatur windings themselves.  In that case, a rebuilt starter would be a better option.
• I only plan to keep this car for under a year.  I've done pretty good for $300, and I'm interested in minimizing the money I'm putting into it at this point.
• It's only tack welded here and there - the cover don't experience much pressure on it.  As such, the welds could easily be removed via dremel, or by chucking the whole thing in the lathe and taking a light cut along that circumference.

The other option was to deep hole drill (4-5 inches) the old steel bolt out of the aluminum front casing.  Lacking EDM, I decided that it was simply too risky, and could also contaminate the permanent magnets with steel filings.

Maybe not the best general practice to get into, but considering the circumstances, I believe it was the best option in this case.