aftermarket gear reduction starter failure

[King_of_England]

Hi,
My buddy races a 67 spitfire and his aftermarket gear reduction starter keeps cracking at the top flange. (3 to date) Others he has talked to also are experiencing the same problems. Has anyone found a cure for this? Seem that if the housing were machined out of steel the problem would be solved.
Thanks
Gary Maue

 

[tdskip]

All one brand that failed, or a variety of sources Gary?

 

[Geo Hahn]

Don't have one and probably never will but -- a 'cure' may depend on where the crack occurs. If it is from the bolt hole to the edge then perhaps a large washer under the bolt head (or nut if it uses a stud) would spread the load better.

 

[BobbyD]

The first person I'd call would be Ted Schumacher at TSI. He's been supplying these starters for years and is very knowledgeable about them. And if it's one of his that's cracking, I'm sure he'd want to hear about it.

 

[tomshobby]

100%

 

[TR3driver]

I took the liberty of forwarding the information to Ted; haven't heard back from him yet. He may have taken refuge in a warmer climate or something.

 

[DNK]

Been getting e mail from him

 

[prb51]

Lots of guys here use them without any issue. I've one.
My early ring gear was chewed up by the old bomb starter and thought I'd have to replace it...it works fine with the Htorque unit

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Had one on the TR3. Definite improvement, but mine did have an issue: The long bolts holding the case together decided to loosen, and it almost self-destructed. Pulled the starter and put the bolts back in with Loctite. Don't know if mine was unique, but did give me pause...

 

[prb51]

Thanks Mickey, I'll check mine for tightness.

 

[TR3driver]

Been getting e mail from him

Yup, I got a reply as well. Nothing worth repeating, except that it's a rare problem, and he would like more information.

My question would be whether there are flat washers and lock washers on the bolts. I'm not familiar with the Spit starter mounting, but on the TRs & Stags there is a round protrusion that sticks into the hole and takes the lateral force. The bolts mostly just support the weight of the starter, so aluminum should be perfectly adequate. But if one of the bolts comes loose, the starter could start bouncing up and down and eventually break off the mounting flange.