Ok, so during my 914 race car rebuild, I decided to test my starter using a battery charger.
I knew that "not spinning fast enough" wasn't a show stopper, but when the solenoid popped out the gear, but it wouldn't pull back in (on it's own)... that was a problem.

So I decided to completely disassemble & re-grease/reassemble the whole thing.

Here are some pics after a MAJOR cleaning with a lot of Simple Green, & electrical cleaner (Trichloroethylene) it looks like this:

First pic shows all of the parts:
Rotor (spinny thing with associated gear and clutch).
Stator (housing with red plastic coils inside)
housing (mounts to the engine & holds the solenoid lever)
End cap (houses the brushes that provide the commutation)
Solenoid Lever & associated hardware
Dead Spider ..... to keep my grand-kids from messing with it...




Second Pic:
This shows the alignment of the solenoid with the rotor actuator lever when it is installed.
You see the lever that "actuates" the starter when it is engaged.
When I disassembled this area it showed the problem.... the grease covered this whole area and was getting old and "crusty".




Third picture shows where the rotor spins inside the housing with no stator installed yet.



Fourth picture shows the clean housing with nothing installed yet:



Fifth picture shows the Stator installed onto the housing so that the rotor can slip in.





So Now the question for the experts:
When I took this assembly apart, the lower end ( with the lever and gears) was covered in a nasty old grease that had turned "sticky" and prevented the solenoid from disengaging.
I now have perfectly clean parts. Do I re-grease with a Moly- grease and fill the housing cavity & lever area with grease?
Or do I go easy with the electrical lubricant shown in the pic?

I have to put all the lube in first with the lever before I reassemble, so this is critical to avoid making a huge mess.

Stu

So which grease do I use?
I have Molydisulfide, old fashioned wheel bearing grease (tan colored), and a new "fancy" wheel bearing grease that is bluish or caliper grease.

Or I have electrical spray lubricant from CRC.

Suggestions?

Stu

Bump because I'm curious as to an answer

1/16th thick, painted on teh moving part area only. a small globb in teh pivot. bearing grease. something that will stay in place and non conductive

I have also heard DONT lube the solenoid plunger and I have heard that a "light oil" is OK.



I plan on using the caliper grease where the lever engages the "bendix" mechanism and the pivot at the solenoid.

Any oil or grease in the bearing area where it inserts into the housing?

Stu

On every starter I worked on, the wishbone like piece had the pins worn pretty bad. FWIW, if you clean the commutator do not use emery paper! This will leave a residue imbedded in the copper and it will eat the brushes in a hurry.

[, non conductive

Thats the key word! when lube n electric motors ...otherwise you pay later..no way to lube that bearing either i would replace it JMO.It appears to be a sealed bearing hence no way to grease ,seal bearings have a service life of ten years ..Nice work
MikeC