Starter gear stripped off on my 65 40hp Bigtwin

[evinrudebigtwin]

2 yrs ago this spring I put a new starter in it from a place that has a very good rep and have been in the alternator and starter business for 50+ yrs and have never steered me wrong before....anyway last fall when I went to winterize it "I hadnt started it since July" I turned the key and the battery was fine and it was spinning the motor over fine and then I tried again and all of a sudden the gear on the starter stripped to the point where it wouldnt catch the ring gear anymore....what caused that to strip off like that...to me it seems like that gear should be taller or something....could it be that my ring gear is that wore down???...Thanks in advance

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Starter gear stripped off on my 65 40hp Bigtwin

Sounds like it may have been the incorrect starter gear, perhaps the throw on it was not correct and it was not engaging properly, if the gear is not engaging fully it will cause a side load that it was not designed for and can cause this, I have never had it happen on a boat, but have a couple of times on cars.. But that said, you should be able to replace the starter gear and the ring gear on the motor for not much money...

 

[F_R]

Re: Starter gear stripped off on my 65 40hp Bigtwin

Take a good look at that ring gear. Yes, they do wear and could be the root of the problem. And no, the pinion does not go "all the way up" onto the ring gear. Just in case you are thinking about flipping the ring gear over, that doesn't work. The teeth have a special entrance guide shape on the bottom.

 

[evinrudebigtwin]

Re: Starter gear stripped off on my 65 40hp Bigtwin

OK Thanks guys, well FR sounds like you know your stuff...makes perfect sense to me...ya probably is the ring gear then...where would be a good place to find one and what am I looking at for cost...and MT you might be correct also...can you just buy the gear for the starter?...Being a machinist and all I was going to see about making one out of 303 stainless or something a little harder than the brass one or would I would that be a bad idea? Heck maybe even a ring gear?

 

[F_R]

Re: Starter gear stripped off on my 65 40hp Bigtwin

So the pinion is made of brass??? That's unusual. I suppose it is possible with an aftermarket starter, however the originals on the Johnson were hardened steel gears.

Which makes the other question hard to answer. The original Johnson gears were replaceable. Don't know about the aftermarket. I guess you need to check back in with the shop where you bought it.