I have had the car for over 25 years and never broken a Bendix bolt. At the time I removed the hardware I checked the Bendix but did not change any hardware. The loose hardware was there when I bought the car so I have no real idea how the previous owner started the car. I've read posts here suggesting that the modern Bendix drive is not without its problems. I see from your experience that my problem is not an isolated event. The stripping wasn't caused by rubbing against anything after the bolt came loose, because I didn't run the engine after the starter went kaput. Then a bolt simply came loose and had stripped threads. So Jerry, what is happening to the Bendix drive that causes such stress on the spring bolts? A bolt on mine was sheared off many moons ago and had a happy resting spot on the bottom of the flywheel housing. Thanks to you all for the great assistance. However, there were no spring bolt clips that I understand were service items added in the early 30's. So, looks like a prior owner did some work on the Bendix drive. My Tudor is a 1930 yet the spring bolts were 5/16. The spring bolt that came loose recently had stripped threads. The funny part of this is that after snagging the spring bolt and special washer that had fallen off inside by using the two magnets, I snagged a second spring bolt that must have been sitting on the bottom of the flywheel housing for many decades. The second magnet was knocked off inside the housing! Yikes! So, I adjusted the first magnet, turned the hand crank, and after a few revolutions picked up the fallen magnet. I added a second magnet to the back of the first and tried again. I had some old screen door magnets (cylindrical in shape but flat on two sides) and attached one to the back of the starter ring. Then I tried Greg's idea of attaching a magnet to the starter ring. I tried the telescopic magnet without success. Well, the suggestion by Great Lakes Greg was spot on. I know from my own bitter experience that trying to use 5/16 bolts with the 3/8 spring (even with new lock washers, Loctite and the add-on clips which reduce the spring 'rock' and twist) resulted in failure within about 20 or 30 starts. I had bought a new bendix spring but note that the larger suppliers like Mac's only do the 3/8 size. The 3/8 doesn't sound like much but in your hand they are much more sturdy. Note that the bolts changed from 5/16 to 3/8 after 1929 - why? Someone will tell us I'm sure. I too thought (in my late night desperation) of drilling out the drainage hole - but it really should not be necessary. Then gently, slowly rotate back up and gently slowly retrieve the bits and then the magnet from the hole - Hallelujah ! You can hear the lost parts clicking on to the magnet. Spark plugs out - and gently rotate the engine so the magnet goes down to 6 o'clock. I got a strong magnet about 1 1/2 diameter (quite chunky), tied a string to it (in case it drops !) and placed it throught the starter motor hole and clunked it onto the smooth flywheel wall beyond the ring gear. ![]() The flexible rod with magnet head might well work. I had a telescopic rod magnet set with adjustable angle heads - that did not work. There is good thread but I don't have time to link to it now. I have recently been in your exact situation. Any other suggestions on improving my Bendix drive? I saw on other posts here that the modern design starter drive has caused problems for many. I'll order those along with new bolts and washers. I also noticed when examining the Bendix drive that there were no spring clips that I've seen in various Model A parts catalogs. My theory of how the bolt came loose is that the washer fatigued, failed, and allowed the bolt to gradually back out Do I need to worry about removing them? If so, how best to get at them with the least amount of work? I can only assume that they now reside in the flywheel housing. I removed the starter today and found that the spring bolt and special washer on the Bendix drive next to the gear end (not the drive head end) were missing. My starter motor runs but doesn't crank the engine. This is my first post (well, really the second, but the first doesn't count because I unintentionally posted this message to the Swap Forum) and I want to thank the participants here for the incredibly helpful advice I've found while reading old posts and replies.
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