Mystery Solved! Why do I have to keep replacing the pinion gear on my Briggs & Stratton starter?

Mystery Solved - Why do I have to keep replacing the plastic pinion gear on the Briggs & Stratton electric starter for my lawn tractor? I found the answer! Many KZbinrs are frustrated, wondering why they keep having to replace the plastic pinion gear on their starter. A popular comment is "I'm getting pretty good at removing and replacing the starter". This time I took the starter apart and found the problem - an elongated bronze bushing, that allows movement in the output shaft of the starter that holds the gear.

[@andrewselsam1515]

Wow, perfectly clear explanation and solution for a problem that affects so many B&S engines. Thanks, Doug for getting to the bottom of that mystery! You DA MAN!

[@dougselsam5393]

OK my local dealer sold me a used starter missing its lower end for ten bucks that I merged with my own to yield a working starter with a good upper bushing. I can't believe the difference! It works so smooth it is almost silent - silent, strong cranking, and the 19.5 hp horizontally-opposed twin engine on my tractor starts right up. I also ordered NEW top and bottom bronze bushings on Ebay for like six bucks with free shipping, so I have the parts on hand in case this starter goes bad. I was amazed to see how many people were experiencing the same problem I had of replacing that little plastic gear, over and over. I never knew how quiet this starter could be! I just thought it was naturally noisy! Nope, you can hardly hear it now. So if you have this problem, check that upper bushing! :)

[@RealManSkills]

Good find!

[@koaasst]

before watching i have to say that i have a bag with 20 bendix gears for my lawn mower starter because they keep getting chewed down.

[@dougselsam5393]

The problem is you have a worn bronze bushing at the upper end of your starter. That back-and-forth, side-to-side slop is what wears out your gears. The gear teeth are too far away to engage properly, so instead they get chewed up. Your starter needs a fresh upper bushing, at least from my experience. Totally fixed my problem.

[@koaasst]

@@dougselsam5393 thx for the prompt response. i have a box full of starters ill see about putting one together with the freshest bushing i can find. I watched several other bendix replace videos where i noticed no mention of the bushing so i left brief comments on them addressing the worn bushing in the cap so hopefully others can be alerted to a further repair to be made to save on more frequent time and money spent on bendix replacement. Youd figure this was more commonly diagnosed, but from my experience in buying the plastic gear in 10 packs, i can see why mention of bushing replacement is absent. Gotta make them bulk sales i guess. Oh well, glad you investigated and shared, as i was on the hunt for anything other than a replace the plastic gear remedy and wanted better reasoning for the dang thing chewing up my dollars. Saw your sky serpent crash and that looks pretty cool. ive been watching wind stuff on Robert Murry Smith channel and can imagine some of the configs hes been making up and down your shaft. they are small and light enough i wonder if they could be independent along a long ass tether setup like that feeding down the vein. his serpent coil generator is just a big ole hub that can slide down a shaft. anywho, cool stuff, the tinkerer in me wants to head out back to the junk pile and start picking. have a good one man

[@dougselsam5393]

Don't forget, you can get a brand new bronze bushing on Ebay for like 6 bucks. I also combined used parts to fix mine, but have a brand new bushing in reserve in case the latest bushing gets worn. I could not believe how silent the starter is with a better bushing. Yes, I agree that they would rather sell you more gears, or a new starter, than a single bushing that would solve the problem. @@koaasst