Starters
Over the years we’ve overhauled just about every brand of starter made.
Each overhaul is certified and guaranteed to perform to manufacturer’s new specifications. If your starter is starting to show its age, bring it to us and let us give it a whole new lease on life.
The above batch of starters is awaiting overhaul. By the time we're done with them, they'll be good as new.
Starter Care and Maintenance
As an owner, there's not a whole lot you can do to maintain your starter. They're generally pretty reliable devices and usually give lots of warning before they fail entirely.
If you find you have to bump your starter with the ignition switch a couple of times before it will start your starter is definitely ready for overhaul. When a starter reaches this stage, it can fail at any time. Have it overhauled ASAP to avoid finding yourself AOG at some remote airport where there is not an AME on the field.
Lycoming Starter Bendix Gear Problems and Solutions
Starters on Lycoming engines use a bendix gear to engage the ring gear. This gear rides on a shaft and it is prone to sticking, causing the bendix to either not engage - you hear the starter motor turning, but the prop doesn't move - or worse, to not disengage, which means your starter will be turning at many times engine speed for the duration of your flight.
A starter that fails to disengage is a very dangerous situation and you should learn to listen for the sound of your starter immediately after engine startup. If you listen carefully, you'll hear if it doesn't disengage. When that happens, shut down the engine immediately.
The best defense against a sticking bendix is to carry a can of dry silicone spray. If you find your bendix is getting sticky give all exposed moving parts a good blast with the silicone spray. If you'd like us to show you how to do this, drop by the maintenance shop and ask Hardy for a quick lesson.
Continental Starter Clutches and Adapters
We are well experienced with every curve ball Continental starters are known to throw. If your Continental starter is giving you problems and other shops have not been able to repair it, gives a call. We'll make it work.
Lightweight Starters
On average, lightweight starters weigh about 10 pounds less than the old style starters they're replacing. Generally, they give good service but we do see them fail more often than the old heavyweights. The worst thing you can do to a lighweight is to crank it for too long.
Heavyweight starters use their mass for cooling so you rarely see them overheat. Lightweights on the other hand, have so little mass that they heat up very quickly, especially when cranking a cold engine with heavy oil.
If you want your lightweight starter to last, keep your cranking times to a minimum and allow ample time for cool down between attempted starts. Follow the manufacturers maximum crank time recommendations very carefully.