Starters

[Kloth, Gerald]

With 350K on my B-14, you know that I have gone through several
starters.  I have never had one fail, but they all developed the
"squeal".  I always purchased used OEM until the last time when I
ordered "new" from eBay.  It came from China, but looked no different
than any of the others.  They all had the outboard support for the
pinion. That was 2 years ago and, so far, no problems.  Of course, I
don't drive it as much now (once or twice per week).
I took apart two of the old starters that squealed.  The end of the
armature opposite the pinion is supported in a bronze Oilite bushing.
In both of these starters, the bushing was cracked and separated.  I
believe the squeal occurs when the bushing cracks and the armature
starts vibrating around as it rotates.  If I get desperate, I'll try
replacing the bushing and brushes and see what happens.

Jerry Kloth
(Old guy on the forums)