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TR2/3/3A Has anyone put in a Hi Torque Starter from Moss?

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M

Momikey

Senior Member
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I think my starter is going out. Has anyone put in a Hi Torque Starter from Moss? They don't have the rebuilt starters for my TR3a model anymore. I'm sure I can find one somewhere or have mine rebuilt I think but I thought I would just get the Hi Torque starter if it's any good. Any thoughts?
 
Well, you've 'pulled the trigger' so that's that - but the original Lucas is easily serviced and very durable & reliable. Good luck with the upgrade.
 
Geo Hahn said:
Well, you've 'pulled the trigger' so that's that - but the original Lucas is easily serviced and very durable & reliable. Good luck with the upgrade.
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I will keep the original and have it rebuilt. I keep all the original parts I have replaced.
 
Before installing the high torque starter you put some thread locker on the bolts that hold the motor to the mounting flange. Other wise you will be stuck a motor falling off or about to.

Don
 
Dumb question, but why upgrade the starter? I've not gotten far enough into my rebuild to decide what I will do. But it seems those that have love it, for example Bill says "the change from the old starter is amazing...highly recommended!" And Geo and Momikey state "the original Lucas is easily serviced and very durable & reliable"

What's the benefit of the upgrade? Weight, and ability to start a cranky engine?
 
Popeye said:
Dumb question, but why upgrade the starter? I've not gotten far enough into my rebuild to decide what I will do. But it seems those that have love it, for example Bill says "the change from the old starter is amazing...highly recommended!" And Geo and Momikey state "the original Lucas is easily serviced and very durable & reliable"

What's the benefit of the upgrade? Weight, and ability to start a cranky engine?
Click to expand...
Well in my case I'm not good at rebuilding starters and really don't know the first thing about it. So my starter is bad so to have it rebuilt would cost me more money at first to get it done then the new one cost and it might take awhile to get it rebuilt since I'm not to sure where to take it any way. Quick fix get the better starter now and have the original starter rebuilt later. :encouragement:
 
Popeye said:
...What's the benefit of the upgrade? Weight, and ability to start a cranky engine?
Click to expand...

I think the performance improvement may be a somewhat misleading perception as in many cases a failing Lucas starter is being replaced with a new or freshly rebuilt hi-torque unit. In that situation one would expect a dramatic improvement.

The bog heavy Lucas starter may not be for everyone, but I find the common problems that the Lucas starter suffers from after 'only' a half-century of use are often just worn brushes, deteriorating field coil wraps and worn bushings. All things I can deal with.

If the engine is in good nick the starter has a pretty easy job - shoot, I can crank start the engine by hand so that big bomb of a starter should be able to also. Once any issues are addressed the Lucas starter starts the car. I think of it as what psychologists call a hygiene factor... once it can do it's task (start the car) it cannot get better. IOW, a different starter will not start the car twice as well.

The hi-torque versions are lighter and easier to deal with once any fitment issues are resolved but (for me at least) they address a problem I don't have.
 
The high torque starter is easier to replace on the car.

Don
 
donbmw said:
Before installing the high torque starter you put some thread locker on the bolts that hold the motor to the mounting flange. Other wise you will be stuck a motor falling off or about to.

Don
Click to expand...

Yep - that happened to the one I had a while back.
 
On an engine that takes the early-style (pre-TS50000 "bomb shaped") starter, replacing the starter with one of the gear-reduction modern ones will allow greater room for installing a set of headers on the car, and will provide much better clearance for changing the starter after the headers are in place.

With the original starter, even if the header pipes clear the starter, having exhaust-temperature heat right near the end of the starter is not the sort of thing that's good for any electrical component.

The bomb-shaped starter also does have a bit of a weak point in the rubber coupling that's part of the drive: it can slip if the rubber bonded inside it breaks loose from the metal. I vividly remember pulling the TR3 starter on below-zero New Hampshire mornings to jam small pieces of wood in the starter drive coupling to get it to transmit enough power to get the car running. Too young, inexperienced, and impecunious to just get another rubber coupling back in the dark days before parts became more available for the early cars.
 
Assuming both are in good condition... does a gear-reduction starter spin the engine faster or slower than a stock starter (I really don't know)?

I do recall that when hand-cranking the engine a fast pull on the crank seems to be more effective than a slower pull. More like a 'yank' than a 'crank'.
 
Well I put the new hi torque starter in today an I also hooked it up using the attached solenoid not only did the grinding noise go away but the car starts right up. I like it.
 
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