Possible starter motor ?

[MT94]

Hi all the cold weather is here and so is my first issue when I start my car I get a strange noise that last barely 2 seconds I believe it is the starter motor not releasing quick enough is there a fix to this or do I need a new one I read somewhere about greasing the motor to help it disengage properly but I’m not 100% sure what to do any help as always is appreciated.
Matt.

 

[Smartbear]

Hi, some people have had success removing & cleaning the starter motor-I think they get gummed up with dust from the clutch so it’s probably not a great idea to grease it as it will be like fly paper then!
Rob

 

[MT94]

Hi rob yeah probably not a good idea to grease then if i clean it up and hopefully its fixed my issue now i just have to work out how to get it off and ill give it ago hope i dont break anything in the process.
Cheers Matt.

 

[David]

Hi Matt, I’ve just stripped, cleaned and regreased my starter motor. Nice autonomous job really! Any questions feel free to ask! I tackled mine while the manifold was out, as I was occasionally experiencing the same problem as you.

I’ve yet to put it back in the car, but see no reason why this won’t cure the problem. My starter was filthy.

 

[GuidoK]

^done the same more than once.
The strange sound on release is in the freewheeling bearing in the drive gear.

And the starters suffer from chronic brush wear.
The brushes on the picture above still look relatively decent but you can replace them for cheap. You can buy the complete brush bridge (not at bmw obviously)
Buying seperate brushes (without the bridge) is also possibe but soldering them on is not really an option (tin creeps way to fast in the leads, they need to be spot welded)

 

[MT94]

Thanks for the replies they are really helpful, thanks for the pictures David they help give me an idea of what to expect I will try mine in the next couple of week what did you use to clean it I was thinking of getting a couple of cans of carb cleaner and is this do able with the standard tool kit or is there any special sockets required.
Thanks again for the replies.
Matt.