A starter motor I was checking out is missing the light spring around the shaft. This is from a 1952 truck motor. I assume it helps ensure the bendix disengages. so I checked another of the same vintage. Also missing the spring. So then I rounded up an older one (40's) from my parts collection. It has the spring. Is it possible Ford eliminated it? My parts manuals only go to 1948. Any help here?

 

I can't recall seeing anything but the big spring on 8BA-era starter motors. But they would have been rebuilt a couple times by now. It does appear to show a spring in the Parts CD.

 

Most of the older drives I have seen do not have the light spring you speak of. I have only seen it on some of the reproduction units I purchased. I assumed it was an improvement to the original but not a necessity. The spring sits between the front collar and the drive pinion and helps push the drive pinion back on disengagement.

 

It would seem better to have the spring! Maybe I'll rob one out of another starter. Thanks for the input. Tom

 

If the big spring doesn't pull it back, the little one sure won't

 

I'm with Ross, I don't remember ever seeing a smaller spring on the later Flat-8 engine.

Are you talking about the one in the first picture below? Mine (second picture) has the grooves that engage the rifling in the drive gear. There is no place for a spring there.

Granted, mine is a '53, but I don't think there is a difference in the starters from '49-'53.

 

I have one of each and that little spring is pretty wimpy. Couldn't see it doing much good when the temps are low. Maybe in the warmer climes.

 

Effie trucker, Interesting. I located a starter today that looks exactly like yours on the right, and it has the spring, and of course there is room for it. In fact I am going to swap the spring to my other starter. If Ford eliminated it at some point, and it appears they did I don't know why. What would keep the starter gear from coasting into the flywheel when going down a grade?
As to a previous poster's comment, the large spring is a shock absorber and has no ability to move the gear either direction.

 

Here's mine. It's a 51 with a 226 I6 Flathead. Wimpy spring...

 

I think the idea of the little spring is just to make sure the drive pinion doesn't slide back towards the flywheel after it disengages. It doesn't need to be strong for that. The faster motion of the flywheel after the engine starts and you de-energize the starter pushes the pinion back.

 

You're right, I was thinking in terms of the bendix as a whole, not the pinion. I would guess the angle of the spiral threads is steep enough to keep the pinion from coasting into the flywheel. And as I recall, the starters are angled slightly down to the rear (look at the angle of the mounting surface).

 

I don't have one apart to show you, but there is actually a very small spring loaded pin that catches the gear and holds it in place.

The starter in the picture is installed on the engine or I would pull the gear back and take a picture.

 

Effie, Yes, you are correct once again! I have been so consumed with this project I did not pay attention to certain details. I looked at the respective starters again and realized the helix on the shaft is toward the starter on the newer starter and toward the large spring on the older one. And yes, I know of the small pin. The bottom line is that the newer ones never had the light spring, it just took a bit of convincing.
I have been working on this stuff for over 50 years when I bought my first car in 1957 when I was 17. A '41 Mercury coupe that I wish I still had of course. Maybe I began to think I knew more than I did. By the way, the current project is a '52 8RT into a '49 8N tractor.

Thanks as well to ALBUQ F1 for his perspective with the level.