# Flyweel or starter?



## gator (Jul 12, 2011)

Hi everyone. I'm new here and hope you guys can help me and vice versa.

I have a Walker finish mower, 25 HP with a 54" deck. It has a Kohler Command Pro 25 engine. Sometimes, when I attempt to start the engine, it makes a loud grinding noise, without the engine turning over. One time it would not turn the engine at all. 

So I removed the starter, and the small gear on the end looked perfect. When I tested it, the starter ran fine and the gear popped out perfect. The flywheel was hard to see, but looked like it was OK. I turn the engine over and checked the whole flywheel. There was a small amount of wear on some of the teeth, but didn't look like it was bad enough to stop it from turning over. 

So I re-installed the starter after putting a little gear lube on the gear and it was fine for about a week, then the grinding has started again.

Do I need to replace the flywheel?

Thanks,
Tom


----------



## Country Boy (Mar 18, 2010)

If you have a triangular file, you could file between the teeth to see if there are any burrs that could be causing the starter gear to not engage in the flywheel. If any of those worn spots have a burr, an the burr stops where the starter will engage, it could cause it to not mesh when you engage the starter. As for the Bendix drive on the stater (the spiral that the gear slides up), I prefer to clean them with brake cleaner, let them dry, and then spray them with silicone or teflon based sprays. Something that just leaves a dry film is the best. That way you won't be attracting dirt to the area which will wear the drive out and cause it to jam.


----------



## Mickey (Aug 14, 2010)

It would help to know what kind of starter you have on this engine. There are 2 typs in use. One uses a bendix drive where inertia is used to engage the starter teeth into the flywheel. The other design has the solenoid attached to the starter and the solenoid mechanically engages the teeth. Oh, is this a vert or horiz shaft engine?

I'd advise against using any grease as it serves as a dirt magnet and before long you have grinding compound.


----------



## gator (Jul 12, 2011)

Thanks for the feedback. I'm sure it's a solenoid type starter since it has a large hump on the side where I would guess the solenoid is. It is a horizontal shaft engine. 

Should I take off the solenoid to verify it is pushing the gear out? When I tested the starter, it throws the gear out quite hard. But I only ran it twice on the bench when testing.


----------



## Mickey (Aug 14, 2010)

OK, for the starter you have, the first action when the starter receives power is for the solenoid to extend the starter gear and engage with the flywheel. Only when the gears are engaged does the starter motor receive power.

The solenoid is so easy to remove it never hurts to remove starter and then the solenoid for a close inspection. When the solenoid is removed you'll see a "shift fork" attached to the starter and its function is to reverse the solenoid motion and engage the starter gear with the flywheel. You could give a close look to see if it all looks right and nothing bent, cracked or broken.

If possible, I'd also give consideration to removing the fan shroud so you can get a good look at the action when the starter is engaged. Nothing like really seeing what is going on.


----------

