The International Cessna^® 170 Association

54 B C-145 in Annual and starter gear is worn out. Thoughts/ discussion on replacing gear shaft vs. installing light weight starter?

Thanks,

Bob

Do you mean the gear on the starter MOTOR..? If so… the Assoc’n has several good-condition “spares” in my hangar I can ship for the postage. They are complete starter assys which had been removed for lightweight starter installations. (presumeably they were swapped-out purely for the starter mod…. the clutch was not failed…nor the starter “gear”… I can test the starter motor and gear before shipment should you wish to pursue this avenue.)

I’m wondering if you really-meant that your starter “clutch” is worn….the usual problem when they seem or sound to “grind” but not vigorously rotate the engine and prop. (The original clutches had 3 rollers in them… Niagara Air Parts mfr’d a 5-roller clutch which vastly improved the original system. In fact that’s what I installed in mine when I first bought it so as to avoid the common failure mode. That’s been 20+ years now with no problems.

Anyway…. Niagara recently announced they were suspending mfr’g that clutch due to low-demand (older and fewer airplanes staying with the OEM system)….so if you want one..get it while you can.

Otherwise… as stated…I’ll happily send you one of the donated, used starter/clutch assy’s if you’ll pay the freight.

Hi George,

Thank you. It is my understanding that the starter gear shaft teeth are worn down but I have not seen it myself. I will see if the shop has located the part yet.

Thanks as always for the information!

Bob

My starter gear had been slipping for some time before I replaced it with a new Niagara Gear. Problem solved. That's a shame to hear they are stopping production. It is a "no-brainer" fix for a failing gear.

The starter did leak, though. Repeated attempts at correcting it were unsuccessful and I finally decided to replace it with a new B&C starter. I had nothing against the old one (other than the leak)…it was simple and worked. The new starter is perfect, though. Cranks the engine with authority.

If you are curious about installing a B&C, here is the rest of my story...

Installing the new starter required removing part of the starter shaft which is in the motor. Scary! I made a leather sleeve that fits inside the cavity around the shaft to give my IA space to work while protecting engine components from scoring and metal shavings. Worked perfectly. Another option is to stuff a bunch of rags around the area and start cutting.

Here are some photos of my solution to the problem (in case you decide to go that route)…

Thanks Dustin! You had me at “scary”. My IA described the same process so we are planning to install a used gear shaft with new Fresno seal kit and see how it goes. I gave him Steve Grimsley’s tutorial so the wheel doesn’t have to be reinvented.

Bob

I haven't done the B&C install yet (I'm considering it), but I think they give you a plastic 'shield' now that fits the opening to catch the shavings for when you cut the starter shaft. I'm impressed with the leather one, though.

George I believe your suspicion is correct, see photo of worn clutch gear below. IA replaced the starter seals and brushes with the Fresno Air Parts kit and replaced the clutch gear, as well as adjusting the pull starter linkage.




Thanks,

Bob