Mini-starters

Mine bolted up without a fuss also......getting kinda ticked at this point.

It's starting to look inevitable that I'm just going to pull the engine and go to a 97 tooth flywheel from the parts pile.

I know this is the proper fix but was just trying to get around doing it......(damn it)

I have a couple of questions,

And you should have a 97 tooth ring gear. I’ve been really pleased with my new starter.

Would anyone have the wiring diagram for the wiring options of a mini starter. Mine show up today but didn't have any instructions for installing the thing.

I wondered if you could help me , I am over in the UK buying and selling willys jeeps, I see on your website that you fit a direct drive pre enguaged starter onto your cj 2  jeeps, over here in the UK people are switching from the old slow 6 volt starting to 12 volt using the same 6 volt starter but this is an old school inertia starter and the cog hits the ring gear at twice the speed and torque causing eventual teeth wear on the ring gear and the starter sounds crude and rough in operation , I see you have discovered that a toyota standard direct drive pre enguaged starter will fit your cj2 jeeps, i am hoping the ww2 mb and the ford gpw would have the same ring gear and trying to find the serial numbers or model of toyota your starters have come from so we vcan start fitting them over here in the UK, any help with this would be so usefull , I write a regular column in the Classic militarty vehicle magazine so would be glad to promote anyone who can help with this  regards robert U'Ren www.willysjeepuk.co.uk ;

If you have a 129 tooth flywheel and the late CJ3A bellhousing you can use the Starter from a 4.2L Toyota Landcruiser 6cyl. All you have to do is open up the top bolt hole some. If you have a 97 tooth ring gear and a bushing style Bellhousing I know of no other modern starter then the Hi torque ones being sold.

All original WWII Jeeps had 6 volt batteries and 6 volt starters. This system worked adequately while the Jeeps were so new and compression was good, but the cranking was slow. After the war, Jeeps went into civilian use. The mileage went up over the years, the engines lost a little compression, and the slow-cranking 6 volt starters just didn’t have the extra speed needed for a quick and efficient start-up.

Many Jeeps were later converted to 12 volt batteries, but the 6 volt starter motors remained. This would crank the engines over at a faster pace, resulting in a higher compression and a quick easy start-up. The voltage regulators were also changed for 12 volt units, sourced from old cars of the period. Hooters and bulbs were changed to 12 volts, and all went well for a time. The original 6 volt starter motor will tolerate the extra voltage with no problem, but unfortunately the engagement part of the starter motor doesn’t tolerate the higher power and the increase in speed. This causes the two springs on the mechanism to break over time, and results in a starter motor jam up (see picture 1).

The faster spinning cog also damages the flywheel gears because it is already spinning when it engages. Over time, this rounds off the teeth on the flywheel, eventually causing that horrible slipping and grating noise. When this starts to happen, if caught in time it can be fixed, but often it’s ignored and will go on grating until several inches of the flywheel has been worn away beyond repair. 

What about this starter from Walck’s ?

Edited by Michaeltru - 17 Mar. 2022 at 10:13am