starter motor problems (again) and maybe a flywheel problem?

Ok fellow midget drivers, I need your help again. I bolted on my new gear reduction starter motor, turned the key and......nothing but spinning. It doesnt seem to be engaging the flywheel.

The old starter was a rebuilt lucas, and it didnt engage the flywheel either, no matter how much i whacked it, greased up the shaft, etc. I assumed it was faulty, but since the new gear reduction starter isnt engaging the flywheel either I am at an utter loss as to what the problem is.

Please, if you have any ideas let me know!

Thanks

Have you determined that the solenoid is throwing the drive gear out into the ring gear ? You can easily check this with the starter out of the car.
Also, the original starter engages the ring gear from the back, and the teeth have a small bevel on them to facilitate engagement. I am not sure what happens when you install a starter that engages the front edge of the ring gear where the bevels do not exist .
Bill

To test you should put the car in 4th gear and push it forward (with the ignition OFF) about a foot and try the starter again. If it starts now then odds are that you have a bad ring gear, if it doesn't start then you should continue to suspect the starter motor.
Bill

Ok the Lucas and gear reduction starter drive wrok totlaly opposite, on the Lucas starrter it sit beyone the backside of the ring gear, and when activated goes forward to the ring gear to start the car, the gear reduction start drive sits in front of the fornt of the flywheel and when activated goes out to the ring gear.

Have you inspected the ring gear with the starter out, any damage to ring gear that you noticed, there could be the remote chance the ring gear is spinning on the flywheel, although I never saw this happen on a stock flywheel, I seen this happen a few times on a aluminum flywheel. The starter is fully guaranteed against any defects, and I haven't had any with thier products, however there is a first for everything, we just need to make sure what the problem is or a another starter may not do us any good, if the problem is something else. As mentioned above you can bench test the starter easy enough, I test them in the shop with a battery charger, what you should see is the drive gear pop out about a inch or so and spin.

Well, Im embarassed but not totally surprised to say that I found the problem and it was.....me.

I forgot to do up the bottom bolt on the starter, so it swiveled out a bit to the right, and the ring gear was completly missing the flywheel.

Hap, the starter works great! Im very happy with it.

Thanks!

Just so ya know.. the ring gear is the one on the flywheel....
Thanks for posting your discovery. I think it helps all when someone shares the results.
Bill

Good deal Noah, glad you got it going. :)

I find, more often than not, that I am my own worst enemy when it comes to not seeing the obvious.