At 03:21 AM 6/14/2011, Scott Daniel - Turbovans wrote:
>that's interesting about the Bendix.
>You cleaned it internally ? ..

Just being picky here...modern starters have an overrunning clutch
and direct solenoid engagement of the pinion, *not* a Bendix
drive.  You're talking here about the overrunning clutch.

The Bendix drive is a thoroughly ingenious device which uses the
inertia of the pinion to drive it up a helical channel on the motor
shaft and force it into engagement on the ring gear; when the engine
fires it kicks the pinion back down the motor shaft (and if you
simply stop cranking there's a spring that pulls it out of
engagement).  Not used on cars in a long time.  Starters employing a
Bendix drive use a separate contactor (commonly called "the
solenoid") to control the electrical feed to the starter
motor.  They're a bit finicky and won't engage properly if they get
sticky or dirty.

There's a good image of a Bendix drive here:
http://www.marxparts.com/repro%20chevy_starter.htm

Yrs,
d