DB electrical 4 kw starter

[typ4]

So ,here is some new info on the 4kw Denso knock off starter.
Went to work last week, went to go home, truck no crank, just spinning the starter, gear clipping the flywheel randomly.
Crawled underneath and the bottom bolt was gone and top was loose. Now I love the 12 point head bolts BUT on the DB starter it only mounts with 2 bolts and the holes are bigger than 3/8. So the flange on the 12 pt bolt cuts into the aluminum starter housing and it gets loose, when you retighten it bottoms out on the trans case.

So I figured I would just tighten top bolt and put in a new bottom,,, nope,, broken off below flush of course. Took shop truck home to deal with another day.
So last friday I got under with some lefty drill bits to back it out, no go, it had rusted black because it was doing all the ground current. Had to drill and tap out the curls.
So reinstalled with gr8 hex head as the top is easy to get to on this starter, double flat washers and copious never seez, tighter than hell. Starter is super quiet now.
So if your starter changes sound even a tiny bit, get under there and check the bolts.
the best part was the metal that found my eyelid and got removed today at the eye doc

 

[riotwarrior]

Isnt that the fun part...ground bolts that stick and then ***** in eyes...its what we live for...right up there with a mouthfull gear oil...

 

[ironworker40]

http://www.amazon.com/Miller-Electric-Weld-Mask-AUto-Darkening-Welding/dp/B00U9PPYH0
well i onow this is steep but one of my guys bought one a month ago and he and everyone that tried it loves it. He uses it without the hat part sometimes. Yhis would be good for getting under vehicles. The only problem so far is the battery life is short but he was using it for 6-7 hours a day. There may be some cheap knock offs out there also.
All that said this is one reason i would not use a 2 bolt starter. If feel they put 3 in it for a reason.

 

[Shawn MacAnanny]

I got a DB electrical starter that had a random dead spot in it that would require the key to be cycled a dozen times to get it to catch. i broke off two exhaust studs replacing my up pipe. It took me about 1.5 hours each to drill them out and through bolt them. You can also hold a shop vac to the drill bit while you are drilling, this is what i do so i dont have to lay in metal when drilling under a vehicle.

 

[OLDBULL8]

Safety Glasses, not the kind like regular eye glasses, but the kind that completely cover your brow. Damn, those metal chips sure hurt in the eye.

 

[laserjock]

After my little ordeal a while back where I was actually wearing my good wrap around glasses and still got a shard in the eyeball, I switched to a full face shield. Works pretty good although sometimes its too in the way up under things.

 

[typ4]

Yeah, I have yet to find safety glasses to fit around my glasses.
Face shield head gear does not fit my fat head.
2 times in 37 years of wrenching with an eye issue, I can deal with that, .
There are times when all that stuff is not doable when laying on your back.

 

[typ4]

Safety Glasses, not the kind like regular eye glasses, but the kind that completely cover your brow. Damn, those metal chips sure hurt in the eye.

came in from the bottom soooo??

 

[laserjock]

Safety is about risk management. There is no such thing as zero accidents unless you are either not doing anything or you are a safety guy.

I feel ya Russ. I'd say twice is 37 years is a pretty good incident rate.

 

[icanfixall]

http://www.amazon.com/Miller-Electric-Weld-Mask-AUto-Darkening-Welding/dp/B00U9PPYH0
well i onow this is steep but one of my guys bought one a month ago and he and everyone that tried it loves it. He uses it without the hat part sometimes. Yhis would be good for getting under vehicles. The only problem so far is the battery life is short but he was using it for 6-7 hours a day. There may be some cheap knock offs out there also.
All that said this is one reason i would not use a 2 bolt starter. If feel they put 3 in it for a reason.

Yes.. That mask sure will protect the eyes from crap.

 

[The Warden]

Metal under the eyelid...no fun at all!!

Might be worth looking at something like this? http://www.framesdirect.com/landing/a/prescription-safety-glasses.html

I haven't done it yet (I want to get my eyes checked and get a new prescription first), but might be worth the time...

 

[crash-harris]

KW gives employees free prescription safety glasses with a valid/signed prescription. I'll be getting something like those this next time around (when they recall through June '14 hire dates).

 

[79jasper]

We use these. http://www.esseyepro.com/rx

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

 

[funnyman06]

Would you still recommend the 4KW starter even though it only mounts with 2 bolts? Im looking at ordering a new starter for my engine swap, but dont want to order something thats a problem.

 

[turbo elk]

I know exactly what you went through had the same thing happened while I was using a lathe 30 years ago... I was only going to take a little bit of metal off and didn't want to walk all the way across the shop to get my safety glasses on... Yeah felt great!