Stater won't engage

[inspectorudy]

I have an 1811 with the 18 hp engine which has the starter on the lower left side of the engine. I am getting a lot of starter motor running but no Bendix gear engagement. Is this a dirty Bendix or is there another problem? I remember reading the tip on removing this starter without removing the engine and hope that I can find it again. Any tips to try BEFORE I have to go to the bigger job of removing the starter? Thanks

[_DX3_]

Sounds like dirt. It was me talking about removing the starter with a ratchet and 2 six inch extensions and a deep well socket. First try removing the tin bolts on the left side of the engine. You will have to kind of work with it to see which ones you need to remove. Once loose enough you can move the tin forward towards the muffler to have some access to the starter bendix. I was able to use a long thing straight slot screw drive to slide the bendix towards the flywheel and spray some lube into it. My starter did not have the gear that was removable to clean and relube so removing the starter after the initial time was a waste for me to do. If you need to remove the starter, remove your deck and sub frame. With the extensions you should be able to slide the ratchet and extensions up from underneath the tractor just in front of the lift rockshaft. It will reach the bottom nut very easily to remove it. Of course at this point you will have had to remove all the tin work anyway to gain access to the starter. It really is not as bad as it sounds, just a bit time consuming.

[inspectorudy]

Thanks for the info. How can I find out if my starter can be disassembled
or not? I'll go for the lube first anyway but it would be nice to know for the future.

[_DX3_]

There will be a nut on the end of the shaft you can remove to pull the gear and spring off and clean and rebuild. If no nut, it can't be removed.