ELECTRICAL REBUILDER’S ASSOCIATION — Auto Electric Corner 2018_03 www.electricalrebuilders.org AUTO ELECTRIC CORNER — Drive Doctor, Drives…and Ford Diesel Starters…! good number of the calls on the ERA’s Hotline concern unique parts, either old or new, and are inquiries as where to find them. As you well know, most parts and units are available through various industry suppliers but there are some parts that must be looked for, called for, posted on the ERA website or EBay searched for. With persistance and a little luck, a suitable replacement does usually show up. One of the areas that a long drawn out search is not necessary is starter drives. A very capable ERA member company “The Drive Doctor” has managed to handle every oddball, new, or old drive that I have needed, and he has been coming through for me repeatedly with flying colors. One example is an older Onan stand-by generator that was equipped with the Prestolite MEO-6003 starter for which we needed a drive. Going with the more economical version of the drive, The Drive Doctor shipped us this very reasonably priced new P1818 starter drive that worked out just fine (Figure-1). Another example was the drive assembly for a 6696 Ford starter for the 6.7L diesel engine that I could not find a breakdown anywhere. This one was rebuilt and returned. It looked great and worked just fine. Without sounding like a commercial, I am a firm believer that these sorts of companies who try to keep us going deserve our support. Speaking of Ford starters for diesel trucks (F250 thru F550), the common 6669 starter that was used extensively on 7.3L engine was superseded (not by application, but usage) by 6670 used on their not-so popular 6.0L Diesels. The later diesel engines like 6.4L use a similar starter numbered 6675, and their latest, 6.7L engine uses the 6696 starter, which looks very similar to the former but with a little difference. Figure-2 shows the 6675 and 6696 starter side by side. Notice the third mounting hole of the 6675 has a 10mm x 1.5 thread, whereas the 6696 starter has an 8mm x 1.25 thread, but otherwise they look similar. Due to labor time and the fact that these starters (6675 and 6696) are not easiest ones to change, I have not tried to Figure 1 – The old Prestolite drive and the replacement from “The Drive Doctor” 10mm x 1.5 Figure 2 – 6675 and 6696 starters and their threaded mounting hole difference experiment with them to see if they interchange with the use of appropriate hardware, thus I only warn you of the differences of their mounting bolts. These two starters use very similar drive assemblies. The replacement drives are listed and available for the 6675 but none is listed for the 6696. I do not know the reason, but to be on the safe side, I had ours rebuilt as I mentioned above. Corrosion and Poor Connections…! It seems that poor connections are a major cause of many failed starters that we encounter. Given starters require very high in-rush currents in 100’s or 1000’s of amps (depending on the application), then the importance of the clean and solid connections needs to be of utmost importance. In many units this is not the case! The natural wear and tear, and deterioration due to age are common and to be expected. The additional deterioration that is specific to weather, the sprayed salt on the road, and issues such as partial flood or water damage all contributes to additional problems (mostly corrosion) that can disable a starter in a very short time. There are many examples but a recurrent one, much to my surprise, is the little 17593 Valeo starter that is mostly used on later models Kia Souls and Hyundai Accent with 1.6L engine. These are not very common cars but since we still supply a few repair shops, we do get calls for them. Their problem is usually a poor and rusted connection on the battery and motor posts of the solenoid. Excessive build-up of corrosion completely insulates it. (Figure-3). The solenoid is just too small and unique to be rebuilt, but luckily replacements (WAI 66-9464 and J&N’s 245-40029) are available at minimal prices. I have added a complete starter to my stock for quick turn-around for the next time. Most part stores do not have one in their inventory. The build-up of corrosion and rust is not exclusive to above mentioned starter and its solenoids. We see many industrial units which seem clean, but once the solenoid gets opened, all sorts of surprises show up. We had a clean Bosch 18949 starter for inspection and repair that only had the brush lead to the motor post burned off. The brush-holder assembly (J&N 151-24026 or WAI 69-9129) was all that was needed to fix it. On a whim, I decided An ERA Publication. ©2018, Electrical Rebuilder’s Association. All rights reserved. No portion of the guide may be reproduced in Page 1 any way, or stored in any electronic retrieval system without the prior written consent of the Electrical Rebuilder’s Association.