This Delco starter, which looked like a rebuild from someone, came in because the customer complained that it was dragging really bad. I tested it on the bench and it for sure was dragging. It sounded like the bushings were worn out.
After taking it apart I found that the bushings were alright and it failed because the brushes were worn out all the way down to the metal brush holders and one had worn half way through the brush screw. The reason this starter failed is wrong brushes. They ended up using a smaller brush out of a later unit that didn't belong in this one. Either someone couldn't find the right brushes or purposely picked up the wrong ones. Either way, the starter prematurely failed.
Because this particular starter is a smaller diameter unit and has tight clearances, the longer standard brushes are too long and it takes a short but wide brush with offset screw holes to properly work. I Installed the correct brushes and trued up the armatures commutator, which was chewed up by the brush holders rubbing against it, and finally got it going again.
So this shows that if the right parts are used and someone watches their own workmanship to make sure everything is correct, you'll have a unit that lasts, instead of fails!
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