1100 Starter Rebuild

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mcgovern61

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Location
Kingsport, Tennessee
My Bike Models
Former '82 GL1100 "The Slug"
For my '82 1100 Standard, my current starter is working like a champ. BUT, you never know how long it will last (currently pushing 35 years). The engine is actually an '83 and it only had 53K miles on it when installed into my bike. I have read many stories on here about hot engines and slow starters with the slow starter being either bad connection or worn out starter.

I have 2 spare starters lying around. One is the original starter that was in our '82 engine which only had 23K miles on it (but sat out in the weather for 12 years rusting) and the leftover '81 starter from the '81 diesel (sounding) knocking engine. The '81 engine had well over 167k miles before being pulled so I thought it fair to assume everything was original.

The '82 starter turns very slow and heats up when I put battery power to it. The '81 starter spins quicker, but I have no idea of the internal condition. Knowing the '82 unit needs work, I decided the '81 starter was the better candidate for a renewal project.
 
Start off with a basic 1100 starter:

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Simple enough since it is off the bike and sitting on a shelf. :hihihi:

Way back in the wire harness project, I came across an 1100 starter rebuild kit that was on sale and seemed to have everything.

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First step is to remove the 3 long bolts holding the case together. Next, separate the ends.

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Lots of carbon in this end:

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A bit dirty, but the grease was still pliable:

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A good look at the brushes and I am under the opinion this starter may already have been rebuilt in the past or at least got new brushes.

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I opened up the '82 starter to compare and it also had good brushes. Of course, the '82 starter only had 23K mile on it.

Start cleaning!

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Getting the drive end out was a bit tricky! The unit needs to be driven out of the gear housing, but the plate on the end that holds the smaller gears is on the same plane as the face of the housing. Not having a work bench or a vice presented real issues getting this out! I had to lay the housing across a piece of wood while tapping down on the shaft. It was a pain, but I got it.

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The next big issue was getting that bearing off! No bearing puller here so a good old fashioned wedge system was used behind the bearing while I worked it up the shaft (not for the faint of heart!). For those that attempt to change out this bearing, be aware that you do not scratch the shaft! :shock:
 
To pull the main rotor out, you have to gently (and I mean gently!) pull the main wire back enough to push the unit out. Clean up with electrical cleaner and steel wool. Shot with electrical cleaner again and I went over it with a magnet to be sure no steel wool particles remain.

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Bearings, seals and bushings out, new bearings seal and bushing in!

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Referring back to this picture, see that bushing in the housing end? I have no puller and anything else will damage the housing if I pry to hard.

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On YouTube, I saw a trick where you can use hydraulic pressure to remove the bushing! :shock: YEP!

First, fill the cavity with grease:

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Then, find a bolt or shaft that is the same size as the inside diameter of the bushing. Next, tap that unit it and it will seal the bushing while pushing the grease under the bushing, hence, forcing the bushing out!

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Yep, it works!! :yahoo:

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Following the kit and the parts as laid out on the table, I greased the bearings, greased the spline, replaced the bushings on both ends, replaced both drive gear bearings, new brush plate and brushes, new gaskets on the end plate for the drive end, new o-rings on the end caps as well as the drive end that fits into the engine.

Spun the unit by hand first (have to use pliers, it does not turn easy nor should it). Ran test leads from the battery and that sucker spun right up!! :yahoo: :party:

Now clean up and perhaps paint to match the Iron color, but otherwise I have a newly rebuilt starter ready for install at a moments notice! :yes:
 
Excellent write up. As slabghost mentions, like the grease trick for the bushing.

Bike must be working well - you're looking for projects to do!! :music:

Did you finish the wiring project you were working on?

Cheers
 
After re-reading the thread, I feel bad that I did not take more pictures for each step. Having the '82 starter also available, I broke it down for some more shots. Granted, it is not cleaned yet, but should help with the visual process. So here are pictures of some of the process. I mentioned early on about moving the main wire out of the way to pull the rotor, here are some pics of how that looks.

Here you can see how the wire blocks the front of the rotor:

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Gently bend the wire back a bit. Just enough to get the rotor out:

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Rotor sliding out:

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One more end view so the uninitiated have a good idea what it should look like when pulling the rotor. It is real tight!

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With the rotor out, turn the case around to the other end (gear end) and you should see a large gasket in place (which was behind the plate). Be sure to remove and replace this gasket. No sealant needed on it. On the other side of the plate is another gasket that is the full outside diameter, but has a larger inside diameter. Both gasket should be in the kit.

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Here are a series of shots in order showing an exploded view of the parts as they are in the starter. This should make for a good reference when you might be rebuilding and forget which part goes on which end:

This shot shows the bushing out of the end plate and the 4 washers that fit on the brush end. The washers should be 1 thin, 1 thick and then 2 thin.

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In this shot, you see 3 washers that go up against the plate. From the inside out, it is 2 thin and then 1 thick. The plate is shown with the bushing still in it since I didn't take this one apart. But the old bushing from the '81 starter is shown. Both the large and small gaskets that go on the plate are shown.

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In this shot is the drive end. I did not go through and pull the bearing off the shaft for the picture, but it gets replaced with this kit. It is hard to tell, but that black item inside the large o-ring is a drive seal that goes inside the drive end.

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Nice job Gerry. The washers that you mention are different thickness shims ( and possibly one end washer) which are used to set the end float in the armature against the bush.
 
Very nice write up!!! :yes: Love the old grease trick, :good: making do with what is laying around seems to be a LOST ART to so many. :roll:
 
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