Teeth on Starter Motor Which is better, 8 or 10 ??

[Donewright]

Greetings,

I have a 1978 V6 150hp black max. The starter seems kind of sluggish. I have a 1989 V6 150hp donor engine that has a starter that appears to be the same size. The difference is the number of teeth on each starter.
The manuals indicate that both starters have the same "no load amp draw" and "normal amp draw" of 40/175

1989: 50-79472 8 teeth
1978: 50-79467 10 teeth


Will I gain more torque by installing the smaller diameter 8 tooth gear? or am I just pissing in the wind here?

thanks

 

[faztbullet]

Install the 89 model starter and flywheel.....

 

[Donewright]

Can you tell me what the difference will be? Will it start easier with the 89 starter and flywheel?

thanks

 

[faztbullet]

About 50 rpm faster

 

[Donewright]

I grabbed the 89 flywheel out of the parts pile and compared it to the 78 version. They are indeed the same diameter but it appears that the teeth on the 89 version are lower than the 78 version. When I hold it up and compare it to the 78 flywheel that is currently mounted to the engine, it appears that the alignment of the 89 flywheel will keep it engaged with the starter gear. I don't think that is a good idea to keep those two gears meshed while running, and I don't see a height adjustment on the starter to lower it.

I'll go back out and investigate some more, I did just take a quick look before work this morning, so perhaps I missed something.

 

[Docksidemarineservices]

You have to replace the starter with the same starter(Same number of teeth)

 

[Donewright]

ok, thanks for the information.

 

[Donewright]

Starter died on the lake this morning. Brought it home and put the 10 tooth gear onto the 1989 starter and installed in the boat. Turns over nice and strong now.

 

[Donewright]

I got to test the engine on the muffs today. The old black max fired up in less than 5 seconds. It was definitely a starter issue.


Thanks for the responses.

 

[Donewright]

That is exactly what I plan to do. Here is the engine starting up: http://youtu.be/JmerEsV6M34

 

[Donewright]

Thanks for the advice. I'm always willing to learn!

 

[Donewright]

I rebuilt the water pump and replaced the gear oil too. So those items should be good to go. I've only had the engine on the lake once to open it up and that is when I determined I was only on 3 cylinders. I've verified that all six are firing now. I did have to adjust the idle, it was idling at 1000-1100 rpms. I turned it down to 800 and readjusted the control cable. It should be ready to get out on the lake.

 

[Donewright]

Thanks for the additional info.

 

[MikDee]

8 Teeth on the starter is better then 10! There is more mechanical advantage for the starter. Same as if you start off in 1st gear on a car, instead of 3rd gear.