Rebuilding my starter...anyone else ever done it?

[Daveed]

I did a search and found a brief discussion on starters in december of 2003 but it didn't quite cover the subject in as much detail as I would have liked. Also, I didn't find starter rebuilds in the VFAQ. It if is there then please let me know and I'll get rid of this post or direct people to the VFAQ section.

Now on to the subject:
After finding out the cheapest place was $109 for a rebuilt starter I decided to pull it apart myself.
2 brushes were totally worn out and stuck. They were not touching the area they are supposed to ride on (armature?). One brush was stuck and looked brand new It hasn't been able to touch the armature in years. So basically only one brush was working properly.

It is amazing the starter still worked! Although it only worked in the care when you smacked it with a hammer (via a long punch). I had it tested at autozone and it would trip their breaker, then it would work, then it would trip the breaker, then it would work...you get the idea.

I took it home and cleaned and sanded down (240grit) the solenoid plunger to get rid of the roughness around the contact and the small ridge caused by 15 years of use. I also freed up the brushes that were stuck.
The bearing for the armature shaft is in good shape.
I cleaned all the oil and gunk out the case and hosed everything down with electric cleaner.

Put it back together to bench test it. It works but shuts itself off after about two seconds as the rpms get high, then as the rpms slow down it tries to come back on. I am guessing that the poor quality of the brushes (about 2 1/2 touching the armature) is the reason it appears to be starving for electricity.

As far as I can tell brushes are the only obvious thing that is wrong with it.
I'm trying to decide whether to just buy brushes for about $10 or to buy the entire brush assembly for $30. Rockauto has both online. Whataya think?

If you have any tips or something else for me to check on this starter feel free to let me know. TIA.
Daveed.

 

[project_tsi]

theres lots of places that will rebuild your current alternator, for pretty cheap too, check into that if you dont really know what your doing. you dont want to put a broke starter back in.

 

[Turbo Juice]

just buy a rebuilt one. it isnt that much money and it will save you a lot of time and stress.

 

[Daveed]

Decided I'm gonna risk $10 and replace the brushes. I'll have it tested again (at home first then at autozone) before I reinstall it. Decided I didn't want to risk the $30 for the whole brush assembly in case a field coil or part of the armature is shorted.

I've got the head off right now so it is really easy to remove...however when the head is back on

 

[Daveed]

Update: Replaced the brushes...turns out the dealer was the cheapest place to get them. It bench tested fine at home with a BIG battery charger. Still have the head off the motor so I'll update again when I get the car back together.

 

[Defiant]

I gave up on doing rebuilds when my time started costing more than another starter. And too often, the parts were just a bi*** to find. Interesting the dealer even knew what brushes were.

 

[Daveed]

Just another update: Got the car running and the starter works fine...so far.