post war flathead

[kevin powles]

hi all, had a bit of an accident on tuesday, went to hospital in an ambulance.

i was attempting to remove the starter motor on a post war flathead in my carrier, not done this job before. looked pretty straight forward. there appears to be 3 bolts which attach it to the bellhousing. the one at the rear is an almost imposible job to remove (not looking forward to putting it back in). With the three bolts removed the starter is loosened, but wont withdraw out, what do you do?, i know use a screwdriver to lever it out, grab the nearest one to hand, hey, got a bigger one in the tool box but i have to jump out the carrier so this one will do.

boy do i regret it know.

the screwdriver snapped and resulted in a blunt impact to the left eye (typing this with left eye closed).

still got blurred vision and the eye specialist told me i was incredibly lucky not to be blined.

i know now why all mammels have two eyes, if you lose one you still have a second chance.

be warned always use a podger with eye protection with a heavy cloth drapped over the top.

Can anyone tell me why i cant get the starter out?. do i have to remove the cast cap from the other end to gain access to remove the engagement gear first?

help please. need cheering up...................a week lost before the 6th of june....ohhh noooo.

[cantankrs]

Hi Kevin,

Sorry to hear about your injury - hope your eye mends well and soon!
I don't know the answer to your starter motor query but am interested in learning the answer too.

Regards

Alex

[Ledsel]

I am interested in knowing where you got a flathead with three bolts holding the starter. They have two, the same two that hold the starter together. You just unscrew them part way, and then you do have to play with it a little but there should be just enough room to get it out. Taking the cover off isn't necessary.

[Jordan Baker]

HI Kevin

Hope your eye heals well and quickly.

As for your starter removal. Ive only ever heard of 2 bolt ones. I just checked some online Flathead sites and they all show 2 bolts also. These should be two that run the entier length of the starter. You don't need to remove them completly. I found when taking my starter out of the engine while still in the UC required to come out on an angle. I wonder is the little gear is somehow jammed in behind the flywheel gear.

Yes it is a pain to reinstall but its easy to do. I just used my fingers to get the bolts started then they hold the weight of the starter itself. Not to sure why you would need to pry with a tool. To me that says a bolt is still holding it in.

[RichardT10829]

Kevin your not going to like this but i whole heartidly advise you pull the engine out, i have been down this road with rally x engines and you always end up A) breaking something B) hurting yourself.

for what it takes i would hoist her out matey that way you can get up close to the engine and have a good look.

out of curiosity why are you pulling the starter out ? this may have some bearing on why it wont let go ?

hope you get her sortid matey.


Rich

[Keith Webb]

Originally Posted by Jordan Baker

HI Kevin

Hope your eye heals well and quickly.

As for your starter removal. Ive only ever heard of 2 bolt ones. I just checked some online Flathead sites and they all show 2 bolts also. These should be two that run the entier length of the starter. You don't need to remove them completly. I found when taking my starter out of the engine while still in the UC required to come out on an angle. I wonder is the little gear is somehow jammed in behind the flywheel gear.

Yes it is a pain to reinstall but its easy to do. I just used my fingers to get the bolts started then they hold the weight of the starter itself. Not to sure why you would need to pry with a tool. To me that says a bolt is still holding it in.

The bolts of course run through the length of the starter motor. There is also a tab on the upper one which is secured to the engine with one of the sump bolts, so that's possibly the third attachment Kevin mentions.

[Ledsel]

Yes that could be it. I is hard to notice if your not familiar with it.