Hi Rich

How easily does the gear move?

If you haven't already, wash the spiral grooves well with solvent, working the gear back and forth, to remove all traces of old grease or oil and dirt.

Put a small amount of light oil on the spirals and test again.

Unless a burr or something in the grooves is catching, it should work.

Also, make sure you are holding the starter solid during the test.

If the body of the starter is allowed to jump back when it starts turning, it won't transfer the sudden twist to the drive mechanism necessary to take advantage of the inertia of the gear and spin it out.

Hello Stovebolt 6,

It appears that the same starter and same bendix assembly are used for 29 thru 32. See pages 102 and 103 in the 1929-32 Chevrolet Six Cylinder Master Parts Price List. Starter assembly 342793.

@ole-olson I took it all apart and cleaned thoroughly. I oiled lightly and the gear moves pretty smoothly by hand. It still wont move when the starter is energized. I think I need a new bendix. I know the filling station has them. I have a video of the starter running but I can’t post it here for some reason. vid

@harry-truppner thanks Harry, I know that the filling station carries an upgraded bendix assembly that fits this starter.

So here’s an update. A guy on line told me that testing with jumpers is not sufficient. So I hooked up the battery via the new 00 gauge cables I just got and bolted them directly to the starter. Push the button and the bendix works fine. Just for future reference…I never thought this would make a difference. But It seems to work great with the right set up.

I’m still glad I took it all apart and cleaned it up. It was really dirty inside. The stator and the brushes were all black with carbon buildup and the field coils had grit on them. Hopefully, it will be in service a long time. 

Hi Rich

Glad to see you've got it all worked out.  🙂

Your starter looks great and your work looks great.  👍

The jumper cables we use at the farm for testing are the same gauge as 12 volt battery cables, so I've never had a problem there.

As you can see, a bendix drive is all about the inertia of the gear and the starter shaft starting quickly enough to make use of that inertia.

Great work!