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Ruined Starter Motor

alon

New member
I have in 2 separate instances

I have in 2 separate instances recently taken water into my engine compartment and flooded the starter motor with sea water.

In both instances the boat would not start and the mechanics replaced the starter at a cost of 800USD each!

Does this sound right.

Is it throw away stuff if your starter gets exposed to sea salt?

It is a 5.0 MPI motor.
 
WOW! Is that $800.00? The ma

WOW! Is that $800.00? The marinas here charge over $80.00/hr for labor. Then add the cost of the starter. Salt water corosion may be the cause of your dead battery problem too.
 
"Other than launching your boa

"Other than launching your boat thru the notorious C'town surf, how did you manage to get seawater in your boat at that level???"
 
"salt water is death to a star

"salt water is death to a starter. 800 is really high to replace. unless it requires an engine pull, or something like that. I think that starter gos for about 190 here in the u.s. I also think an automatic bilge pump (a good one) may be a worthwhile investment. unless of course your marine repair shop wants thousands for it. if so, let me know where you are and I'll bring you one. and a starter too. a vacation would be nice."
 
just read your other post. add

just read your other post. add a battery switch. never been to s. africa. I will check out smuggling penalties next week.
 
"[b]"Is it throw away stuf

""Is it throw away stuff if your starter gets exposed to sea salt?"

Ayuh,....

About Anything, Especially electrical Dies when exposed to Saltwater....

What ever gave you the impression that Starters are Submersible,..??"
 
I wish I could figure that one

I wish I could figure that one out. I'd be one rich man. make Hefners women look like dogs.
 
"You Guys in the USA are spoil

"You Guys in the USA are spoilt. New parts at one tenth the price we have to pay in remote parts of the world. If a starter goes under here, just strip it down, soak in hot fresh water, dry it out, maybe replace bearings, and reinstall. $10 max. Same for alternators too."
 
"Sounds like a business opport

"Sounds like a business opportunity to me; rebuilding starters and alternators in C'town. Importer of Merc. parts. Hmmmmmmmmm!
light_bulb.gif
"
 
"Chris.... Parts may be 1/10 w

"Chris.... Parts may be 1/10 what you pay, but labor !!!! Here in the USA you won't get most mechanics to set foot on your boat for $10. My local HONDA dealer has a sign in their shop.. $130/hour labor rate. Here in the USA it is almost ALWAYS cheaper to buy a "rebuilt" than pay the shop to open anything up and do ANYTHING... Also many mechanics are well schooled in the "box" method of fixing anything, i.e., open the box and install a new one, no matter how trivial the problem is. Once had a car dealer try to sell me a new windshield wiper motor when the only problem was the connector was loose... ("But, I had my BEST guy trouble shoot your car and he said the wiper moter was bad!)"
 
"Ouch Robert. actually you hav

"Ouch Robert. actually you have a valid point. nobody does fix anything anymore. the labor rates make it cheaper to just replace. this of course does not apply to your wiper motor, which was just a bad diagnosis. it happens. I use a rebuilder on occasion, but then there's time to drop it off, and pick it up. kind of a catch 22. frankly, it's usually cheaper to replace."
 
I ran a car garage several yea

I ran a car garage several years ago. There are a lot of parts that are technically servicable... but it doesn't pay to do so as the customer will be back frustrated. With that hot water trick... You've spent more time on it and that starter WILL to come back.
 
"Chris is right. Take apart -

"Chris is right. Take apart - easy - rinse out, dry good, a little grease on bearings then reassemble. There is nothing in a starter to retain salt. Field windings are lacquer coated. Will work as new. Done it several times. Mine is 25 years old. Changed brushes twice."
 
"One additional note about put

"One additional note about putting on rebuilt parts. I rebuild what I can for myself knowing that if it fails again, i can fix it again. But for cust. if you put on a part from a rebuilder, and it fails, the cust gets another new one under warranty from the rebuilder. Put a new one on for the cust and I'll they'll be better off in the long run. I don't want to have to give warranty on old parts. Trying to save a few $$ is why everyone on this forum tries to fix it themselves (and thats a good thing)

Wrench"
 
"So will I... as a matter of f

"So will I... as a matter of fact just "earned" $60/hr tax free repairing a failed, out of warranty, joystick switch for my Bennett trim tabs."
 
just wondering have a 7.4 merc

just wondering have a 7.4 mercrusier "454" and the starters have plastic gears in the drive...can i replace it with a regular metal gear starter...I've asked and they told me the only difference was the original starter was sealed....well if it goes under even the orginal starter will get wet...so can i replace it with a regular GM starter...thx
 
"[b]"so can i replace it w

""so can i replace it with a regular GM starter"

Nope,..

Marine starters are Electically Sealed...
Not sealed against Water...

Automotive starters are an Explosion Hazard..."
 
hum bondo..i see your a mancan

hum bondo..i see your a mancanic then do you know where i get another ring gear in the starter...this makes two i have put in...if the engine kicks back even just once the starter is toast....is there anywhere i can buy the ring gear in the starter that you know about..thx
 
hum thx guy but i did the firs

hum thx guy but i did the first time and they couldn't do nothing with it said they didn't make access to the parts you had to buy the whole starter....he looked for a week to see if he could order the parts but no luck.. said they haven't made them available seperate yet..if somebody could come up with one made out of aluminum i think they could get rich in less than a yr...lol....cause that is the only thing that strips is the ring gear since it is plastic..but oh well might have to send the idea to mercrusier....
 
"Ayuh,...

It's called t


"Ayuh,...

It's called the Bendix Drive,...
And,..
I've never seen 1 made outa Plastic...
Every 1 I've ever seen was Steel geared...

The Ring Gear is mounted to the flywheel..."
 
on a mercrusier starter it is

on a mercrusier starter it is a gear deduction starter and it has a ring gear inside and it has three smaller gears just like a transmission in the plantitary gear set......and the outer ring is made of plastic....i've gone thru two and the starter shop here in my town has tried to order just the ring but i guess the maker will not release the pat....so it can be reproduced... but if you take a 7.4 marine starter apart you will find three smaller gears that rotate inside a ring gear made of plastic.....that is in the starter houseing.. and then you have the bendix in the nose of the starter...
 
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