I recently purchased this nice M5, it turns over by hand but the starter wont engage. The starter spins but wont engage. What do I need to do to get the starter to engage? -It spins (makes that dreaded whir sound) but wont kick in? I tried holding the starter button in. -on old Ford's, if you hold the button in for a moment, it seems to free up some of the old hard grease and will engage on the next try but holding in the button doesn't seem to help the starter engage or 'warm up' on this Stude. -----What will I need to do to get the starter to engage and where will I find the parts to rebuild the starter -if that indeed is the problem, and I suspect it is. Any advise or pics of starter rebuilds and Studebaker service bulletins would help. Thanks, moe .
Good question, My other 2 studebakers have the linkage and floor operated starter button but this one must have been converted to a button on the dash as some time in it's life. Still, the starter will whiz but wont engage into the flywheel ..
Sounds like the starter drive may be "sticking" on the starter shaft. If the spiral splines that move it out when the starter spins, are dirty, they could be casuing enough drag on the drive unit to keep it from full travel. Remove the starter and spray WD-40 or similar into the drive around the armature shaft bore and work the drive unit back and forth. Ray
Needs loosening, lube and possibly a full battery charge. Sometimes not enough voltage will allow it to spin, but not engage. FYI, it's not really a Studebaker specific problem. Nothing really unique to Studebaker about them.
Sounds like the starter bendix. I had one go bad on my Studebaker V8. I found one but when I went to change it I found a steel strap had broken allowing the gear to move and not engage. I bent it back in place and welded it up. I kept it just in case. Pull the starter and see what you find. I found mine locally with a bunch of dust on it when he pulled it.
Thanks guys for the input. The temps in the driveway just came up to above zero degrees so it's about time I get under it and pull the starter. I may have an extra starter or 2 but both are attached to trucks right now. If my numbers are correct, this may be an Autolite starter with the bendex as Tommy described it. My other M5 should have the Autolite starter but I suspect my M17's starter is different which in a way is good because I don't want to disable that truck if I don't have to. ...Thanks again for the input, Now I better get my azz in gear as the forecast calls for 10 inches of snow in the next 48 hours. moe .
Yes, the starter in the M5 will be different than the M17. The M5 has the little Champ motor and if stock, the M17 should have the Commander. I'm pretty sure are not interchangeable. Heck, a lot of times, stuff off the same type of motors aren't interchangeable for some minor reason or another. Studebaker had a bad habit of making very minor changes to things for no apparent reason on parts that at first would seem like they would be identical. But, of course when you go to swap them you find out they aren't exactly for some minor, but unfortunately critical reason. Good thing though is there are still plenty of good sources for parts and rebuilds to help with pretty much anything you might need. Best of luck with it.
Bring the question over to the Stude Truck Farmers message board: http://www.network54.com/Forum/23885/ I have an M5 but I converted it to a V8. Our salt racer, running a Stude V8 has a similar problem that always happens about a month after we get back from Bonneville. The bendex locks up and the starter just spins until we take it off and clean it up. You can always try gently tapping the body of the starter with a mallet while someone presses the button. Just make sure it isn't in gear!!!!
. Reverborama, thanks for the link. I will check it out. A little update..... I took the starter apart last Saturday and cleaned it up. The starter itself shows only slight wear on the bendex teeth. The armature and brushes are in decent shape/useable. Last thing before remounting the starter was a quick wire brush of all mating flanges... I squirted oil down the carb and into the spark plug holes and spun it over for awhile. Checked the oil and it seems amazingly clean. Even the oil pan (gaskets/seals) seem to be relatively clean. I aimed the camera into the open hole where the starter mounts and the ring gear is in very nice shape. Next step is a ignition service. Due to time restrictions I was forced to put the plugs back in the holes without cleaning or gaping them (they were relatively clean). -Saturday afternoon was very nice with temps around 40 degrees but a storm blew in as I was working on the old girl and by Sunday morn we had 6" of blowing snow. Well at least I got to put the new John Deere Snow Blower to work, 18 Horse Power Oh Yeah! I have Sunday off so if luck (and the weather) is with me, I'll give a try at starting it. One thing that does bother me though is that the starter or motor condition? seems to drag the starter down on ever 4th revolution. Clearly further investigation is needed. Of course it might just be a little tight until the oil I squirted in loosens things up and/or it runs. Time will tell. .
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