787 starter issues

[RG123]

Hi everyone. I just joined and seems like you have a great community here.

I need some help with the starter on my 96 GTX. I just bought these 2 skis from, knowing that one had some issues starting . It would start, but it would only crank 2 revolutions before the pinion would disengage, and the starter would just spin. I decided to rebuild the starter as is recommended here with the Ebay kit. I replaced the brushes, and cleaned the shaft and one way bearing. After I did all this, it seemed to work fine when bench tested. When the starter is energized, the bendix would raise up the pinion to the top of the shaft, and spin for a bit, before coming down. Torque seemed to be good from the starter.
However, now that I reinstalled the starter in the ski, the starter won't engage the flywheel. I hit the start button, and I can hear it spinning, but now it has a grinding noise like the pinion is rubbing, but not engaging the flywheel.
Starter is installed correctly AFAIK. Battery tests good, and turns the starter over no problems in the other ski. I cleaned the cable connections.
Any ideas? I plan to pull the starter out again and check it to make sure everything is still looking ok.

 

[TwoSmoker]

Have you taken a look at the flywheel? It could be missing some teeth and the starter seems like it isn't engaging, might try turning the engine by hand hand a bit to see if you are just on a bad spot on the flywheel. Or try to take a peek with a mirror and flashlight and see what it going on.

 

[POPPS]

Did your new bendix have the correct number of teeth?

 

[RG123]

Update: So pulled the starter and took pictures. I have 2 videos I took on my phone of what it sounds like in the ski, and a video of it's operation on the bench. I also got a picture of the flywheel. There are no missing teeth, but there is a worn spot at the front (starter) side of 3 or 4 of them right where the starter should engage. I think I messed something up rebuilding the bendix. :-(
The pinion has 9 teeth it looks like. The rebuild kit did not include anything for the bendix or a new pinion gear. Only used the brushes, and a few of the gaskets.
I'll post videos as soon as I figure out how to post .MOV files on the site

 

[RG123]

I need one more post to include a link. This is post #3

 

[RG123]

 

[RG123]

A few updates. I figured out that I installed the collar facing the wrong direction, and you can tell in the video above. I cleaned the bendix mechanism (shaft, one way bearing), and used a small amount of very light lithium grease on the shaft. I installed the starter and it worked perfectly. Then, after a few uses, it started to act up again. Same problem as before. Starter spins up, but makes a clunk (think it just hits the flywheel) and the starter spins. It occasionally will engage the flywheel and crank the engine for a short time. So I pulled the starter again, and found what I was suspecting: the one way gear is slipping again.

787 starter bearing slippage

It seems to slip too easily when I force it in the wrong direction.

Any way to get a new one? What can I do to fix this old one) I read you can soak them in mineral spirits (pure distillates supposedly won't hurt any rubber that might be in there).

 

[RG123]

Update: I cleaned the bendix mechanism again using paint thinner, and got a bunch more black stuff out of the bearing. I found a recommendation online from a aircraft engine manufacturer to use a silicone based lube on the threads and the shaft, after a good cleaning and blowing out with compressed air. Afterward, the Bendix seems to be working better. I installed it, and it seems to start just fine. I hope it stays that way!