6.9 - C6 - Flexplate - Ring Gear - aaarrrrrggghhhh

[idiabuse]

Wow... Flipping the gear and taking the chance seems like a huge risk that it wont work but... You tell us it works. So why is the starter side of the gear beveled anyway??? For the time costs and the expense of the gear I'm all in for replacing the gear. Now if money tells you there is no way to replace it then I'm all in for moving the used teeth to another location on the circumference of the wheel. So what made you try flipping the gear knowing there is so much discussion about it not working...

Everything I am told is usually a lie until I find out myself. Them retail guys will tell you anything to make their employer a buck. I kinda wish I took picks of the bad teeth on the gear facing the rear of my truck and the fresh teeth facing my starter. Never a KAAAARRRIIINNNGGGGG!!!! noise like the beveled side usually made, hell the flat side teeth seem to engage better if you actually try it.

 

[Knuckledragger]

If you need to fix it soon and cannot find a ring gear locally, it is just fine to ROTATE the ring 45 degrees. The engines stop at 4 locations, hence the wear spots. I do not recommend flipping the ring, because there is a bevel lead in on the ID of the gear to make installation easier. The factory beveled the gear teeth for a reason, it is courting trouble to flip the ring.

If you decide to rotate the ring, mark both the ring and flexplate before removing the ring. And don't use a sharpie (I did that, it wipes off real easy), scratch the mark on.

The rings wear out because of the initial engagement of the starter teeth to the ring. As the starter spins up, it also thrusts forward toward the ring (thanks the the solenoid and bendix device). Electric motors attain all of their torque as soon as they are energized, so there is a dramatic collision with the ring as well as enormous twisting effect, along with the bendix trying to fully engage the teeth. Well, the bendix generally loses this battle and you start your truck engaging only about 1/8 inch of the starter teeth. No problem with a healthy ring and starter, but when wear eventually shows, the worn and chipped teeth begin to slip out of engagement (remember all of that torque? the starter motor still has it), resulting in that familiar noise. It doesn't heal itself.

 

[idiabuse]

If you need to fix it soon and cannot find a ring gear locally, it is just fine to ROTATE the ring 45 degrees. The engines stop at 4 locations, hence the wear spots. I do not recommend flipping the ring, because there is a bevel lead in on the ID of the gear to make installation easier. The factory beveled the gear teeth for a reason, it is courting trouble to flip the ring.

If you decide to rotate the ring, mark both the ring and flexplate before removing the ring. And don't use a sharpie (I did that, it wipes off real easy), scratch the mark on.

The rings wear out because of the initial engagement of the starter teeth to the ring. As the starter spins up, it also thrusts forward toward the ring (thanks the the solenoid and bendix device). Electric motors attain all of their torque as soon as they are energized, so there is a dramatic collision with the ring as well as enormous twisting effect, along with the bendix trying to fully engage the teeth. Well, the bendix generally loses this battle and you start your truck engaging only about 1/8 inch of the starter teeth. No problem with a healthy ring and starter, but when wear eventually shows, the worn and chipped teeth begin to slip out of engagement (remember all of that torque? the starter motor still has it), resulting in that familiar noise. It doesn't heal itself.

Me never hiding from the truth will post any issues if I come across them with my flipped ring gear, so far so good with around 40,000 miles of daily abuse.