Starter kicks out when it try to engage flywheel

[tbonebrad]

I have a 1978 mercury 800 and I was cranking it for a long time the other day trying to get it started when all of a sudden the starter stopped engaging with the flywheel. It would come up to the flywheel and make a god awful noise as it kicked off and ground against the flywheel without turning it. I tried to bring the gear up and get it right in the teeth of the flywheel but when the starter turn it would just kick back out. I have no idea what to do here, I have a couple of pictures of the starter and a rusted bracket that's holding it in place. I took off that bracket and examined it and it kind of looks homemade so I'm not sure whats going on there. Also I have never had any problems with the starter on this motor, it has always engaged and done what it was supposed to do.

 

[tbonebrad]

Re: Starter kicks out when it try to engage flywheel

Ok so I have been thinking about this all night. I'm 99% sure the home-made rusty bracket is just not getting the job done anymore. I have no idea why it worked this whole time and just stopped working but I have a couple of questions on things I could possible do to fix it.

Could the rusty bracket thats holding the top of the starter be ground down a little at the points where it makes contact with the receiver bracket that has the screw holes to make the whole thing tighter?

Should I try to stick something in between the rubber collar and the bracket to make the bracket hold the starter tighter?

Can you buy a bracket to replace this home-made looking one?

 

[carholme]

Re: Starter kicks out when it try to engage flywheel

It looks like the proper mount has broken off and they modified it. The clamp that is around the starter looks like an exhaust clamp from a vehicle. What happened is that the starter may have come loose and rotated a bit, throwing the engagement out of line. Can you turn the starter with your hands? You might be able to get it back in line by rotating it a bit at a time until manually pulling up the gear allows the gear to engage the flywheel, then tightening up the clamps arrangement, making sure the starter does not rotate when you do it. If the gear connects with the flywheel after you have it tightened, go ahead and try to start it.

Gerry