stryped fired this volley in news:23518acd-
:
I can turn the gear by hand as well as up to engage the flywheel.
What
exactly do you mean by "Bendix" Is that the shaft assembly with the
gear on it?


C'mon, Stryped. Do some thinking for yourself. Check out the term
you were given, and get some drawings in hand to understand the (dead
simple) mechanism.

Despite the fact that you can manually move the pinion, that may not
mean it's free enough to do it on its own. The pinion on a Bendix
starter must move up the helix by its own inertia when the motor
starts (rapidly). If the motor starts "soft", or there's ANY stiction
between pinion and shaft, it won't make it far enough up to engage the
ring gear.

LLoyd