Too much slop in starter on 1969 4HP Lightwin

[Good Trout To You Sir]

Pull cord condition, recoil function, idler (start) gear condition all seem good. But arm idler gear (part #43) -- the outer cup housing -- wobbles more than I would expect. The "sandwich" of the assembly is not tight enough for pieces to meet for starting, so I must apply pressure on the outer cup housing (part #43) to cause the starter gear to pop up into position to meet the flywheel.
Starter bushing and shoulder screw appear positioned properly. I have torqued shoulder screw to 12 foot-lbs.
How to diagnose issue without creating a spring-winding exercise unnecessarily?

 

[racerone]

Is the washer item #40 in place ?----Are the 3 bushings item #50 in place ?

 

[F_R]

You do know it is adjustable, right? Rotate the cup and stop assy, #47 for proper gear engagement.

 

[Good Trout To You Sir]

Shoulder screw makes contact with something that I assume is bushing head.
Since motor is new to me, how can I look deeper into assembly so as to answer your question and at the same time prevent an assembly unwind? Thanks.

 

[Good Trout To You Sir]

F_R.....No, did not know that. I will try to rotate this evening and report. Thanks.

 

[Good Trout To You Sir]

F_R....Believe we are speaking of different adjustments. Part #47 is properly positioned for perfect alignment with starter gear engagement with flywheel.....on the occasions when the arm lifts starter gear.
My issue is mechanism causing starter gear lift. About 50% of the time, teeth inside part #44 (pulley starter) miss engagement with part#43 (arm idler gear). The other 50% of the time the mechanism functions flawlessly.
Just a hair of pressure from the exterior of part#43 causes correct engagement with part #44 and arm lifts every time.
Goal is to correct this issue without disassembly of starter.
Maybe I could consider a very thin piece of metal (e.g. split washer) as shim between the shoulder screw and the outside of part#43? Anything else I may be missing? Thank you!

 

[F_R]

Sorry, I have never experienced that problem, so don't know what to say about it. The starter is simple enough if you want to get into it.

 

[Good Trout To You Sir]

F_R: Thanks for your time and interest.Perhaps I must disassemble the starter to determine the issue.
To others: If you have experienced same issue or have thoughts on a hack, please do chime in!

 

[hardwater fisherman]

I had a different problem with my 1978 4hp and I replaced the spring and rope...But if you are worried about rewinding the spring, I think it is not that hard to do.. Following my manual I just locked the idler gear onto the flywheel and turned the flywheel to wind the spring..There is a tool to lock the gear to the flywheel part number 383967 but I used the lower electric starter sleeve support from a 1975 40hp johnson with a bolt.....You can use anything you want just as long as the starter gear stays locked to the flywheel as you wind the spring... My friend made one from a piece of plywood.. It just sits in the groove of the belly pan...EDIT It is best to read up on full procedure as it is quite long to type out... I tried to rewind that spring by hand and put it in the cup but as you can see the spring is just as wide as the cup and it is not easy to put it in under tension..

 

[boobie]

Edit.....

 

[Crosbyman]

see section on how to ….fix the starter

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/eng...hnson-4hp-replacing-the-starter-recoil-spring