Starter Worked 6(!!) Times Before Dying - AGAIN!

[ssullivan]

Does anyone have any clue on this starter issue I have?

I have a Perkins 4.108. When I bought this boat 2 yrs ago, it had a new starter put in by the previous owner. It was a Delco Remy. The starter worked maybe once, then would whir (spin without making contact with the flywheel) until you let go of the starter button. Next, it would go "clunk" as the bendix engaged the flywheel upon spin-down of the starter motor.

I started the boat by hitting the starter switch very quickly after the "clunk", taking advantage of the fact that the flywheel and pinion were in contact for that brief moment. Under load, they stayed in contact for a few seconds, which was long enough for me to get the Perkins up and running. I started the boat probably 50 times last season in this fashion.

At the end of the season, the starter stopped "clunking" and just "whirred", not engaging the flywheel at all.

I went through a complete electrical diagnostic and have excellent juice at the starter terminal posts. Since that was the case, I brought the old Delco Remy in for a re-build, which was really a swap. They took the old starter and gave me a new one off the shelf, charging about $200, I think. The guy working the counter took one glance at the starter and say "yup... this thing is hosed. The bendix is broken."

I installed the new starter and have used it 6(!!!!!) damn times and now it's doing the same as the old. It already ate through the f'in bendix!!! I hear clunking and rattling when the Perkins is running, and it sound like the benix is not disengaging from the flywheel, EXCEPT when you press the starter button.

I am LOST. Why would these Delco Remy starters be going so quickly? What's eating up the bendix? (flywheel teeth all look like new)

Could it be that these cheap (probably Chinese) replacement starters are made this poorly or the specification has changed just enough to chew through the bendixes?

I have the Perkins shop manual, which specifies the following starter:

Lucas MG45 or 2M113, 900A and 10 teeth on the pinion.

Where can I buy a REAL one of these that might last more than 6 starts?

Anyone want to sell me one?

Also, do any of you diesel jockeys know what would cause an engine to chew up starter bendixes like this?

I'm at my wit's end here. Sure wish the old Perkins had some kind of hand cranking system I could use. The engine runs PERFECTLY and is in excellent shape. The starters I keep getting however....

Thanks in advance to anyone who has any insight here.