Starter Questions

Well, I finally figured out how to start a new thread in 'tin'! (I think..)
The starter gear on my Cherokee 180 is dragging ever so slightly on the back
of the ring gear on the flywheel. With the engine running, you can hear a
'ding ding ding' sound, which is from the starter gear dinging the flywheel,
of course. I can duplicate the sound by tapping the ring gear with a
screwdriver. The starter is the standard Prestolite (Electrosystems
#MZ4222).

I took the starter out, took the drive end off the motor, and cleaned the
drive adaptor thoroughly. I lubed it up with silicon spray. I put it back
together, and reinstalled it. Same 'ding ding ding'.

Now I forgot to look at the thing before I left the airport tonight. How
far back into the starter housing is the drive supposed to retract? On
my unit, I can see the entire drive gear poking out, and it's really close
to the back of the flywheel - thus the 'ding ding ding'. I looked around,
and the only pictures I could find show the drive gear poking out about
as much as mine does. Of course, if you wind the gear out, it stays out,
so these pictures may not be telling the whole story.

Has anyone had success just replacing the drive unit? I see these for about
$50 online, while a reman starter is about $290. My starter works just fine,
except for the gear apparently not retracting enough, so the lower cost
option would be the one I would like to use!
--
Aaron Coolidge (N9376J)