HELP

I have a 1993 350L and the starter is giving me problems... Actualy it is the starter drive gears... The starter turns fine but it does not engage and turn the motor over...

I have taken it appart and freed up the gears by soaking the thing in mineral spirits. It moves in and out easily by hand now... but it still will not engage into the flywheel... The Gears and teeth are fine... I do not want to replace the drive because it is $155.00 for just the gear set and there is no problems with the gears themself...

The shop manual I have said that the garter spring can be replaced on the starter drive... So could this be the problem? What does the garter spring do? (I remember seeing it but failed to understand it's function and it was not broken so I did not replace it... Could it be weak and cause this problem with it failing to engage...

So who understands these $155.00 gears???
Thanks

 

The gear unit you are refering to is called the starter bendix. They commonly go on polaris quads. There is a clip on the end of the bendix that you can take off. Then the cup washer and spring comes out. The spring may be rusted up and preventing the gear from engaging. Clean/replace it as well as the spiral threads really well. It is also possible that the battery is too low and not turning over the starter fast enough for the bendix to engage.

 

Thanks... I got it apart and the small gear has some sort of ratchet device that was slipping.

I tried cleaning it real good and soaked it in mineral spirits and brake parts cleaner for about ten minuts ... I got it to feel correct and put it all back together... it started twice and then started slipping again...

Do you know if their is any way to repair the slipping ratchet mechanisem... it looks like it is pressed on and then crimped... Is the small gear with the ratchet mechanisem available anywhere?

 

The ratchet usually doesn't wear out, it gets rust in it and sticks, which is why it doesn't grab. The ratchet only grabs when you hit the starter button, so if it isn't really free, it will slip. Try cleaning it up REALLY good, and go to your Polaris dealer and get some starter drive grease. Polaris realizes this is a problem on some models, and now makes a special grease to lubricate the starter drive mechanism and protect it from rust.
Good luck.
Don't get me wrong, the ratched (bendix) could be worn out & slipping, but it is MUCH more common to just be rusted.

 

Farmr

I used spray on brake parts cleaner and soaked it in mineral spirits afterwords, I also tried liquid wrench... how would you suggest cleaning it?

 

Sounds like you are on the right track. I usually soak it in diesel fuel overnight (kerosene or mineral spirits should work, I just use diesel because I have a big tank of it here on the farm). Take as much apart as you can, and wiggle all moving parts every now and again. Sometimes this takes a while to get it clean. You know you got it as clean as you can get it when the liquid that oozes out of it when you wiggle it no longer has rust in it.
After that, let it dry overnight on some rags, and grease it up good with the starter drive grease, and give it a try. Sometimes you can never get them to work right once they rust up, so don't feel like you failed if you can't get it to work. However, as much as they want for those things, I would try to get the old one to work if I could.