12 replies to this topic

[Joe250]

Can anyone confirm for sure which ring gear type this is - pre-engaged or ineria?
 

 

Thanks.

 

[wile e coyote]

From pic - no .... but count the teeth - 107 is inertia.....

[Spider]

Looks inertia type to me.

[mikal]

why is it welded on?

[nicklouse]

They often are welded on lightened set ups as there is less contact surface

[Spider]

why is it welded on?

 

It's a good idea to weld them on to steel flywheels.

 

With the 'Inertia' type Starter Motors, they come in from the other side (as viewed in the photo above) and it's not uncommon for them to knock the ring gear clean off. It's happened to me.

 

It's probably not necessary with the Pre-engaged types as the come in from the side you can see in the photo.

[Joe250]

I was finally able to start my new engine last night. The starter motor would just spin up sometimes. Other times it would engage only briefly. Eventually the engine fired and ran but the starter made an awful, continuous crunching sound. I rushed to shut the engine off. When I removed the starter there was a small pile of metal shavings from the pinion gear. I am now pretty sure I have a mismatch between gears (an 11-tooth pre-engaged starter pinion with a 107-tooth ring gear).

 

The definite way to tell would be to count the number of teeth on the ring gear. Sadly, I don't have an easy way to rotate the engine at the moment. This may be a flawed method but using the "window" formed by removing the starter motor, there are 11 teeth visible. When I look at photos of other engine using an inertia ring gear (107 teeth), the same number of teeth are also visible. I'm going to go with my theory and order a 9-tooth inertia starter and see what happens.

 

Thanks all for commenting. I will report back in a few weeks.

Edited by Joe250, 20 December 2016 - 01:37 PM.

[nicklouse]

You say you don't have an easy way to rotate the engine.

So how did you do up the crank damper bolt?

And anyway as stated it looks inertia type.

[Joe250]

SC built it up for me. I was going to rotate the engine last night using the damper bolt but the radiator is in the way. The one I just filled with coolant. I could have drained it all and pulled the rad, but since I'm reasonably certain the ring gear is inertia type, I didn't bother with it all.

[GraemeC]

You could turn the engine easily with a prybar or similar gradually inching the flywheel round

[Spider]

 I am now pretty sure I have a mismatch between gears (an 11-tooth pre-engaged starter pinion

 

The Minis used a 9 tooth starter pinion.

[Joe250]

Just to follow-up, I found that there was a miscommunication between me and SC. Prior to the build I had specified a pre-engaged setup (11-tooth starter pinion gear + 129-tooth ring gear) and while waiting for the engine to arrive, I ordered a pre-engaged (11-tooth) starter. What actually arrived was an engine with a 107-tooth ring gear installed. They clearly marked it with a piece of tape across the starter motor hole in the clutch housing and the words "107 tooth" written across. Did I read it? Yes. Did it sink in? Nope. It wasn't until I tried turning the engine over that I realized my mistake. I ordered the correct 9-tooth inertia starter motor and everything worked fine.

 

Another complication is that the noise and metal shavings had nothing to do with the mismatched ring gear and starter. I had installed the RH engine mount with too long of a screw on the lowest hole. The bolt protruded far enough to contact the pressure plate. Fortunately the damage was merely cosmetic. A quick clean-up and the installation of a shorter bolt resolved the issue.

 

Thanks all for the assistance.

[INIM]

Tony,

 

I have sent you a couple of Private Messages now. You must register as a Trader on this forum and we also have rules regarding the adverting of items you wish to sell, that's in the classified section.

Refer to your private messages for more details.

Regards,
Chris

Edited by Spider, 10 July 2023 - 03:52 AM.