Starter Bendix

johnr9q@yahoo.com

johnr9q@yahoo.com

Senior Member
I am assembling my Bendix and I'm not sure what things are. In my photo , the top arrow is a small spring, what is that for? The bottom arrow is a notch on a part, why is that notch there?
 

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The small spring provides a little tension, a little friction, for when the gear is fully retracted. Parked. To keep it back there, away from the flywheel ring gear.

The notch makes the gear heavier on one side than on the other, so that when the starter motor shaft spins, the heavy side of the gear tends to stay down and make the gear NOT turn with the shaft, until the teeth engage in the ring gear and the gear has spun all the way in on the spiral. Then the gear turns with the shaft and turns the flywheel.
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Jim, You are right about the unbalance in the gear but I think he may be pointing to something else. The photo is not clear enough to see the actual notch. A better photo would help.
 
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It provides tension but if you look at the shaft there is a slightly necked down area for that spring plunger to rest in when gear is fully retracted. That keeps the gear from wandering out of place when starter is not being used. Say what you will about these Bendix drives but they are clever.
 
Flathead said:
It provides tension but if you look at the shaft there is a slightly necked down area for that spring plunger to rest in when gear is fully retracted. That keeps the gear from wandering out of place when starter is not being used. Say what you will about these Bendix drives but they are clever.
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You are correct, there is also a very shallow groove back there for the tip of that fine spring plunger to rest down in. That's another way it helps hold the gear back.

While the engine is running, due to vibration, there is a tendency for the gear to walk out from the parked position. It has to do it against gravity, where the heavy side of the gear would want to hang down, but I guess Bendix had some gears do it and they added this little plunger to hold it back.

I think the Bendix design is brilliant, and I suppose Ford did too, or else they would not have purchased an outside solution, they would have designed their own. Patents probably limited what Henry could do on his own to some extent.
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