Caging starter brushes

guido

Well-known Member
Hello

Most of the times I can use a toothpick or wire. The starter I am working,Briggs&Stratton 18 h.p.engine, has no holes to cage the 4 springs and brushes. I can put a pin or wire in front of the brush, but nothing on the other side to keep the pin straight, and the brush and spring caged. What trick or fix you guys use?. Two more hands may work on a big starter, this one is for a small one. Any tricks out there?

GUIDO.
 
(quoted from post at 22:35:08 03/08/17) Hello

Most of the times I can use a toothpick or wire. The starter I am working,Briggs&Stratton 18 h.p.engine, has no holes to cage the 4 springs and brushes. I can put a pin or wire in front of the brush, but nothing on the other side to keep the pin straight, and the brush and spring caged. What trick or fix you guys use?. Two more hands may work on a big starter, this one is for a small one. Any tricks out there?

GUIDO.
ental floss?
 
What you need is a Briggs manual for one of the older models.

They used to have a drawing of a tool you could make from recoil starter spring that would hold the brushes in place. Kinda C-shaped with an extra something on one end. It took 4 of them, one per brush.

There was also another drawing for a Piece of recoil starter spring about 5 inches long and bent in a U-Shape.
 
Having a shop wench with long, dexterous fingers can be a great help.

Just say'in!
 
I take the drive and end off the armature. Put the end with the brushes on 1st. You have to wiggle & jiggle them in one at a time. I clamp the end plate down too. Then put the center section on holding the armature so the magnets don't pull it from the brushes. Then the drive end plate & drive last. New bushings if it needs them.
 
On a lot of starters you can shove the brushes up farther in the holder and the spring with now hold them in on the side. Then once started you can poke them down into place. Not sure how yours is made ? some had brushes coming straight in from the end and those a couple of hacksaw blades seemed to work to hold them up enough to get the end cap started on.
 
Hello Mike M,

The brushes are too long to get them in that far. Maybe I will try a very small tie wrap,

Guido.
 
Hello teddy52food,

I only have the brush end plate off, thought I could get it done this way. May have to do what you said, lot more work and the little retaining C clip may fly off into space, or break on the way out,




Guido.
 
I just redid the brushes in 2 Ford generators. I too saw no cage holes. However, I accidentally realized that the stator housing (outer case) slips right off (haven't been into a starter or gen in many many years....little rusty) so you can load up the armature-brushes and then slide it into the rest of it. Kinda tight but room to work.
 
Come on There,,, dental floss. Strong an smells minty. Paper clips and also strips of card stock. Playing cards.
 
Opps.. with the dental floss you run it from top to under the brush and go all of the way around wraping them in to the holders. when you get it together just cut the floss loose and wiggle it out.
 
It may seem to take a little longer, but if it doesn't work out otherwise, it will be done sooner with less aggravation.
 
Just did a B&S, same issue, had to separate the whole canister and slide the magnets and drive end over top the armature as mentioned previously.
 

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