Oil In Starter

Energy One

sewell49

Member
My starter is shot! Took it to get rebuilt and the armature said it was full of oil...... JUst wandering what caused it... The bushing and armiture was damged they said they could still fix it ... just seeing what caused it so it doesnt happen again....
 

Shane

Active Member
If you spin this starter over to long without allowing it to cool down I think that seal suffers....then leaks...

Dont ask how I know this.....:D:D:D
 

woodbutcher

Mr. Old Fart member #145
Staff member
that is not part of the starter.it goes in upon installation of the starter into the bike.
 

Raywood

The Pirate
Staff member
Calendar Participant
Troop Supporter
My starter is shot! Took it to get rebuilt and the armature said it was full of oil...... JUst wandering what caused it... The bushing and armiture was damged they said they could still fix it ... just seeing what caused it so it doesnt happen again....
It would be nice to know what year of bike you have!!!! Update your profile. There were many issues with the new design that baker/bdm came out with in late 04 and one of them was the starter design.
One of the fixes was to dremal out a portion of the casing that mates up to the inner primary.

There are to many posts on this subject already so search it out and you will find it.

Also, when you pull the starter motor (armature) off go up one step on the o-ring every one is referring to for a better seal to keep the water and oil out of it.
Kaptn124 just recently posted about this. Mine is being done tomorrow.

:cheers:
:cheers:
 

woodbutcher

Mr. Old Fart member #145
Staff member
Sorry Wood!
I beg to differ. It is part of the starter, it's the "shaft seal"! It's not the "O-Ring", or "nose seal", as some call it.

Tell the rebuilder to look at it and he'll find that the rubber part of the seal is cracked up, thus causing your leak.
He, or you, may need to take it to a bearing and seal supplier and match it up if ones not readily available.

Known Issue!

The armature usually only needs to be cleaned, if it's not shorted or open anywhere.

Good Luck! :2thumbs:

dead :cheers:
i stand corrected. :2thumbs:
 
It would be nice to know what year of bike you have!!!! Update your profile. There were many issues with the new design that baker/bdm came out with in late 04 and one of them was the starter design.
One of the fixes was to dremal out a portion of the casing that mates up to the inner primary.

There are to many posts on this subject already so search it out and you will find it.

Also, when you pull the starter motor (armature) off go up one step on the o-ring every one is referring to for a better seal to keep the water and oil out of it.
Kaptn124 just recently posted about this. Mine is being done tomorrow.

:cheers:
:cheers:
This is the o ring I was referring too:



if you find water corrosion inside your starter motor and on the brush plate holder this is the culprit. Its about .050 in thickness. I went to a .070 and a little dielectric grease and she sealed up water tight. Also look closely at the rubber grommet wire coating coming out of the back of the motor. If that is cracked and rotten pull it off to the grommet and put dual thickness glue lined shrink tube on it. Push the shrink tube down into the grommet as far as you can. After you shrink the tubing and the starter is in place and will not be moved again seal the grommet to the shrink tube with some good clear/black, your choice, silicone. If you don't do this step as well then the o ring is useless because water will just enter from this opening.
 

nine lives

Active Member
It's not the o-ring, if there is oil caked in the starter, it's the seal around the shaft. I had the same problem. I found that not only was the seal bad but the shaft size was out of speck (few thousands smaller then it should have been), Maybe the real reson for so many bikes having the same problem. I repalced the shaft it's self, seal, bearings, armature and brushes. I also milled a slot in the cast, as explained on the forum. No more leaks. You maybe able to get by with just the seal, but you probably tore up you armature and brushes. Look for a starter alternator shop that does re-builds. They should be able to help.
 

Throttle

Member
Mine just started to leak last weekend, I had the seal replaced and the slot was milled. 15,000 miles before this one showed up!
 

nine lives

Active Member
Undersized shaft. Shafts were probably made in China, out of speck, will never seal. Not that hard to change out the shaft, get one that is in speck. Maybe I should start re-building these starters, could probably make some cash.
 

big dog jr

New Member
Toyota starter shafts is what I've used. .022 larger dimater. They seal up real good. The BDM starter shafts are made too small.
 
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