yeah you can, or at least you used to be able to, but to be honest it's an absolute sod of a job to fit it, you need to heat up the new ring gear with an acetelene torch then, but it's difficult getting even heat all around it..

i think nowadays they just sell the flywheels on exchange basis

I think it can be done by heating the gear in an oven, but that sounds like a lot of fiddling: I'd get an exchange or s/h flywheel.

The single small wire engages the solenoid and allows the starter to turn, so if the starter is turning there is no fault in the small wire circuit its just the solenoid not throwing to engage the gear so the fault must be in the starter.

Most modern starters are pre-engaged, so the starter shouldn't spin until the solenoid has engaged it.

Hi guys, just an update here...

the car has been starting a lot better than it ever has. even on cold starts. still not 100% but such an improvement. nearly always starts ont he first time now but has choked a couple of times.

bought some fotre injector cleaner( fuel type) today to run thorugh as an extra measure.

ont hw whole, the lucas motor seems to have done the trick, or that and the cleaning operation.

I was talking to a guy in a car shop today. told me lucas were the best i could ahve got, but they are not made any more. is this true?

so what is the story on the oil then? is 15/40 part synthetic halfords own brand okay ?

tyhanks for all the help guys! seriously! I think it's fixed but no doubt it will rear it's head again.

Rick

RBC, 15W/40 oil is ok, but if the engine spins better on the starter in Summer than in Winter I'd think about using 10W/40, at least in Winter.

Regarding the question about valve stem seals, do you get some oil consumption, and blue smoke at any or all of:-

1) Start up

2) Full throttle acceleration at lowish revs

3) When you come off over-run after descending a hill?

If those are all nos, then I think we can discount oil seal issues.

Separate strand - Great Moments in the History of Electricity*

1600 - Alexander Volta invents the accumulator

1900 - Thomas Edison invents the light bulb

1920 - Joe Lucas invents the short circuit!

Enough said?

* Dates may not be accurate.

I was talking to a guy in a car shop today. told me lucas were the best i could ahve got, but they are not made any more. is this true?

Lucas electrics were famed for failing. One of the contributory factors in British cars breaking down at the slightest sign of water.

Well Gent's it's back to it's old tricks. It didnt take long before it only starts on the 5th attemp. sometimes the revs stick at 2000, bla bla bla...

I've ran a bottle of Forte injector cleaner through it with no effect. (second time in a year :/)

i'll get a new video of it as it is even worse now.

with regards to those problems, I'll look out for them. I'll have to get someone to watch the back end for me. My mate pointed out some smoke coming out when i started it the other day.

what do you mean by this though?

3) When you come off over-run after descending a hill?

Separate strand - Great Moments in the History of Electricity*

1600 - Alexander Volta invents the accumulator

1900 - Thomas Edison invents the light bulb

1920 - Joe Lucas invents the short circuit!

Enough said?

* Dates may not be accurate.

Lucas electrics were famed for failing. One of the contributory factors in British cars breaking down at the slightest sign of water.

oh dont tell me that! lol

what do you mean by this though?

Quote:

3) When you come off over-run after descending a hill?

I think this was me. If you descend a hill on a closed throttle using engine braking to hold the speed, does the car puff smoke then you open the throttle again at the foot?

I'd also suggest Change the oil to a good quality semi or fully synthetic 10w-40 oil. The semi should be fine, but some people prefer fully synthetic in their cars.

I'd then let them deal with replacing the starter FOC yet again. If the starters are failing then either the thing is having to work too hard, there is a quality issue or they are just a symptom of a problem elsewhere.

Check that the right starter is on the car. As some point the wrong starter may have been fitted and keeps getting replaced with the wrong starter.

A large capacity battery can cause problems!

A car battery is not a perfect source like the national grid. With a weedy little battery, the voltage may drop to 7V on starting. A much larger capacity battery may only drop to 10.5V on starting. Should be no problem as the starter is rated at 12V but this rating is marginal at best.

If there is another problem that makes turning the engine more difficult, the bigger battery may provide enough current to overload the starter, causing it fail. Given the example voltages above, the larger battery can supply 2.25 times the power.