I just removed the starter, took it apart and I'm pretty sure its the problem. The brushes are not completely worn out, but this starter was definitely not waterproof. I took the OEM apart and it was nothing like this mess inside. Took some pics in the process of disassembly. Have a look and see if you agree.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/912ftnw9n...BbY76wbFa?dl=0

 

Yes, that starter has had water in it for a long time. I would still clean the rust off and try it. The point of pulling the plug out was, if the engine then started to turn over fast and a jet of fuel shot out, you would have found that was the fault. Taking a starter off an LT80 is a pig of a job so it is worth checking the cylinder hasn't locked with fuel first.

 

I tried cleaning it up best I could and bench-testing it. It does turn, but just as slowly as it did while it was in the ATV. No doubt the armature is toast, because it didn't clean up very well. I may take it back apart, grab my multimeter and test the armature. I could swap the brushes from the Chinese starter into the OEM starter, but I have a feeling the dealer will call me tomorrow and tell me the new brushes are in. Plus, it's a PITA to get these starters back together, LOL! Yeah I know you were thinking it may have been hydrolocked with gas, but I forgot to mention the other thing I discovered in my last post. The carb had to come off when I pulled the starter, so I checked it out and it was clean. However, I pulled the reed valve out and I'm pretty sure it was causing the no-start. One of the reeds had a piece of dirt holding it open about 1mm, no doubt letting too much fuel/air into the intake. I took it apart, gave it a good cleaning, re-assembled and did a visual light check, looks good now. I had researched the removal of the starter beforehand, and it did sound like quite a task. However, compared to changing the timing belt in my '98 Toyota Sienna, removing the starter was easy, especially with the bike standing on its end. 10-15 min job, is about all it took. I've been wrenching on my own vehicles since I started driving 22 years ago, and bicycles before that, so I am quite confident in my own mechanical ability.

 

Sure seems like a bunch of whoop-la for a old junk starter...I'd be ordering another china starter.

 

LT80, I think I'll take my chances with a new brush set in the OEM Mitsuma starter. If I wanted a Chinese ATV, I would have bought her a Gio or a Zstar, but then I'd constantly be fixing it. The brush set is only $35 + dealer install, I already know what might happen to another Ebay Chinese starter, and I'm not wasting my money on another one, nor is my daughter willing to wait up to 2 weeks for it to get here! See why I'm looking for a pull starter? Don't get me wrong, I still appreciate both of your help though!

 

I understand your points.
Did you measure the armature to see if it is in specs?
FYI: I've had good luck with the china starters. Got them in 3 days.
Maybe a border/customs issue eh? LOL

 

https://atvconnection.com/forums/suz...pull-cord.html

 

My biggest issue with another Chinese starter is, is it going to look the same as the pics I posted after a few months of use? I bought the ATV with the Chinese starter installed last August, and the OEM was in a parts box, so AFAIK that Chinese starter is less than a year old. Now maybe certain Chinese starters are better than others in quality, but I can tell you from taking the OEM apart, all it needs is a brush set. The inside of it was clean, aside from some carbon dust from the brushes.

Yes, there would be import fees into Canada, I searched Ebay and there are none listed in Canada. That and the up to two weeks wait; I don't mind waiting, but my 9 year old daughter has been waiting all winter to drive her ATV!

Thanks for the link for the pull start. I have checked a few links and found some cheaper OEMs in the US, but some of those retailers don't ship to Canada. So far, BikeBandit.com seems to be the cheapest that will ship to Canada, but I'll keep looking. Thanks again!

 

So I disassembled the Chinese starter again, thinking maybe I could build one starter out of the two and discovered a couple of things in the process; 1-The Chinese starter is fairly bigger VS the OEM, the armature, brush cup and magnet/case are fairly bigger than the OEM starter; 2-When I pulled the armature out of the magnet, I noticed one of the brush springs stuck to the magnet, meaning that one of the brushes wasn't doing its job, and more than likely causing the motor to spin slowly when I bench tested it. So this time, I'm going to test the armature while its out and try reassembling it again if it tests ok. I'm sure you guys know its a bitch to get the brushes over the armature while reassembling, and there's no doubt in my mind that it fell out on my last attempt to rebuild it.

I'll test the armature and give it one more go, and post the results. If it doesn't work this time, I'll just wait for a phone call from the dealer LOL! Let them rebuild the OEM.

 

LT80, is there a specific Chinese starter or Ebay user that you would recommend? I went to the dealer and picked up both of those starters. They put a new brush set in the OEM, but they wern't able to do anything with the Chinese starter. I think mainly because he didn't have parts to rebuild it because the armature is so much bigger.

I re-installed the OEM, and it worked about half a dozen times, but now I can hear the armature spinning but not engaging the bendix gear. I noticed when I had it on the bench, the bendix did not work as smooth as the one in the Chinese starter. It would spin out, but sometimes not retract. I gave it a few squirts of silicone lube, but it only helped moderately. If the two bendixs were the same, I would simply swap them, but the gear on the motor end is not the same, and I don't know if I am able to remove this gear from either armature.

I did order a recoil starter and UPS says it should be here thursday. But if there is a reasonably priced Chinese starter that you know from personal use should be decent, I will order it just to have it for backup. Oh, BTW, when the starter did work, I did manage to get the ATV running for about 3 minutes. It was smoking my garage up, and when I pushed it outside to let it warm up, it died . But hey, at least it did start up again, so that's a good sign!