Hi everyone, I’ve just joined the forum, and as a possible help will give you my experience with starter motors for my 3.8litre Mk2. I purchased the car last September and the starter motor failed almost immediately, it was shorting to earth and started to melt the power cable to it! Having read how great the high torque geared starters, were, I purchased a Powerlite one. It was much lighter and easier to fit and at first seemed to be the answer to the maiden’s prayer, spinning the engine quickly and starting quickly.
After one month, when pressing the starter button, nothing happened apart from a whirring sound, as if the teeth were only just touching the ring gear and the solenoid was not moving far enough forward, So I gritted my teeth and removed it and contacted SNG Barret who asked me to return it. Three weeks went by, nothing heard, so I rang Powerlite up and they said that they didn’t have it and contacted SNG Barrets who upon urging eventually found it, ( great customer service ! ). It was tested by Powerlite who said that they could find nothing wrong with it, but they did send me a new one, so good marks there. I thought that I should take a second opinion, so I contacted Ken Jenkins, technical officer of the Jaguar enthusiasts club. Ken said that the problem with the Powerlite constant mesh type starters is that they engage the ring gear from the wrong side, i.e. the rear, where there is not a chamfer on the ring gear teeth to smoothly engage. I did notice though, that the Powerlite teeth are chamfered so that will probably help with the engagement, but will still be hitting a sharp edge. His advice was to get the old starter rebuilt and refit it. He named a small rebuilder and gave me their address ( which I can give anyone who contacts me ) and I returned the starter to them and they sent a rebuilt one by return, if my memory is correct it cost around £120. I fitted it and it has worked perfectly and I’m sure that it will do so for many years to come. One thing that I did notice when taking the motor off was the degradation of the power cable from the battery, which had been on the car since new, so I replaced that to ensure that max power was going to the starter, and also put a new earth lead from battery to body. I’ve kept the Powerlite as a spare, but hopefully I won’t be needing it for a long time. Before I close, one thing that Powerlite said to me was that the starter was probably working fine but was spinning the ring gear, because of the extra torque that it had. This worried me greatly as I had visions of taking the engine out. It was at this time I rang up Ken Jenkins for help. I told him about the ring gear spinning and he laughed, because if the original flywheel is in place the ring gear is cut into it and hardened. I hope that this may be of help.
Patrick
Add an extra grounding strap from the engine to the frame as you already have the ground from the battery . The extra ground can not hurt and will insure a good connection to avoid melting cables.
Gerard
I know nothing about the brand, Powerlite: the Gustafson in the Rover does that, i.e., engages into the non-chamfered front of the ring gear, rather than from the back, as original.
Smooth as buttah, never misses a crank, spins it WAY faster than the original Lucas.
I have a 1968 Mark 2 240 - an odd duck here in America with its right-hand drive. I am considering a reduction gear drive starter as my starter is trying to become one with my flywheel. Will the form factor of a reduction gear drive work with the late 2.4 engine, especially one with all the steering hardware on the right? Any gotchas? Many thanks!
I am not the biggest fan of gear reduction starters. However, I do have one on my RHD 3.4 litre Mk2. Any job on a Mk2 can be difficult and time consuming. Once you find the correct starter: meshing and offset (some need a spacer); and number of teeth for flywheel teeth you should be OK.
Give the original starter a bit of love and it will not let you down, or not fit, or otherwise act up for many years.
The power drill starters usually work but it’s a hassle and doesn’t improve anything that works fine already.
I still have the 1968 240 starter, it’s on the XJ6 Engine now , in the car !