Starter failed

[Blackwolf]

Hi everyone, I am new on the forum. I own a 1960 CJ5, and now I was working on its electrical stuff.
I need a new starter, as what is there seems to be re-worked several times before. And now, it rotates on random basis, and to start my CJ I have to try 3-5 times, which sucks...
Now, I wanted to ask you folks, what are the starter brands, that you guys tried, and that you folks know are good?
The ones that are in my list are Omixada, ACdelco, Crown, Standard. Maybe there are some others, I don't know.
So I'd appreciate your comments on these or any other good starter brands.
Thanks.

[LarrBeard]

It's not the solenoid is it?

[gmwillys]

The solenoid is a good possibility, as with a sticking bendix. Being that the starter does not engage until several tries have been attempted, I would lean towards the solenoid hanging up. To answer your question, I would go with an autolite starter, just like the original. Kaiser Willys sells new replacement starters, but they are proud of them. EBay has several advertised on their site, at a range of prices. I would trust an AC Delco branded starter before a crown or omix, because they are mostly Chinese knock offs. The mounting holes sometimes don't line up perfectly. I have run into that on both of their offerings on replacement wheel cylinders. From that point on, I look for name brand replacement parts.

[Boodogboo]

NEW, AC Delco

[Blackwolf]

NEW, AC Delco
I was wondering, if the starter drive only will do that? Here's the one (https://www.carid.com/1960-jeep-cj-charging-starting/acdelco-professional-starter-drive-604280203.html) I was looking at, also ACDelco

[gmwillys]

Being that you stated that it takes 5 or 6 attempts to start the engine, that leads me to believe that the solenoid is the culprit. If you turn the key and the starter only clicks, then the solenoid is hanging up. You can remove the solenoid and use WD-40 to loosen up the action of the solenoid. If the starter spins, but does not engage the flywheel, then I would look at the Bendix (drive gear) first. Most of the time, some simple penetrating oil will loosen up the Bendix enough to work for a long time. The Bendix works on centrifugal force, so if it is gummed up by old clutch dust or any other foreign object debris (FOD) it will not travel out on the shaft to engage the flywheel. While the starter is out, inspect the flywheel itself to ensure that there is no missing or damaged teeth. If it were the flywheel, then the starter would grind against the flywheel. The sound would be distinct.

[pelago]

i used to have a '35 ford pickup where the bendix would stick, and i would crawl underneath and pull the damn thing out and reset it,, pain in the ***. sitting at a rest area in wisconsin it happened and i was under neath the truck and a farmer pulled up in a old 49 ford pickemup truck. said Son, what are you doing>>> told him what i was doing and he chuckled and said "youngsters" got out of truck and said put the truck in reverse, now push it forward a bit, rock it some, i did and damn if the damned bendix did not go back where it belonged, when i got home took starter out and cleaned hell out of it, and lubed the bendix after wire brushing it and it never failed after that...... where it me, i would exhaust all options with starter, clean lubricate hook to battery and work solenoid they do go bad faster than the simple motor starter

[gmwillys]

Years ago, I would ride with guy to work. He would drive one week, then me the next. He had a ragged out Dodge Dakota, that had several teeth missing on the fly wheel. He kept a breaker bar with a socket to fit the crank pulley bolt. We were like a NASCAR pit crew in terms on how fast I could jump out, pop the hood, and turn the engine over to where the starter would engage some serviceable teeth. It may take a few tries to get the engine started before the missing teeth came around again. The truck wasn't worth dumping any money into, so the hand crank method worked well.

[pelago]

Sounds like a old charlie chaplin movie

[gmwillys]

True. Some times the Three Stooges or Laurel and Hardy, all wrapped up in one. Growing up we had an Allis Chalmers B tractor. We were too cheap to buy a battery for it, (6 volt) because the tractor supply battery only lasted a season if you were lucky. It was a chore to push the tractor over to the hill to dump the clutch and start it, so I came across a hand crank that would fit it. That was a real juggling match to crank, then run around to work the choke when it would pop off.