So today i had my starter stop engaging to the primary gear..So looking to replace the starter instead of fixing parts. BUT...i have a 1989 FLHTCU with a 97 Evo motor in it...SO, do i buy a starter for the 97 year or do i buy for 89?...Not sure if primary was replaced with the motor..Is there a way to match #'s between motor and primary to tell what year it is? ..or will the 2 diff years bolt up with eachother?..Or is there possibly a # on the starter that would tell me what one i need?....Sorry if this is a newb question, but never had to replace parts based off 2 diff years.

Thanks for any info you guys can offer

 

First off, check that the cables on the battery are tight and the ground cable on the starter is also. If you're just getting a "click", remove the ground cable on the battery and do this. Take the three screws and cover from the starter solenoid. There's a plunger inside, pull it out. Take a file and clean the corrosion off of the brass surface and reinstall it. If your bike has what they call the "dreaded click", this will take care of it. Do these checks before you replace the starter, replacement is not always necessary.

 

i have checked all cables..also has a new battery..but have not checked plunger..seems starter and sylonoid all work as they should, but the little gear that engages, sumtimes just spins when interlocked with ring gear..or it will just engage and jump ontop of the ring gear and shave the top of the teeth off..if i manually position the gears together, i can get it to start some of the time..im kinda lost as to what needs to be done from here..

 

If you want to replace the starter instead of buying parts, get a starter for a 89 model. The transmission and primary are probably stock. You need to make sure the teeth on the clutch hub sprocket are still good before you ruin the teeth on the new starter output shaft.

 

the303hooligan,

What is holding the starter in?
My bolts are out but it won't pull out!

WAYNES WORLD

 

Check the part numbers inside the primary and the cover. That will tell you if you have the old or new primary.

 

Don`t go out and buy a new starter...

Replacement of the entire starter is almost never needed.

Do you know for a fact that the pinion gear is not engaging the ring gear?

You probably have a starter clutch failure, very common, or possibly the starter jackshaft bolt came loose or broke.

If you have a starter shop in your area, they will be able to rebuild your starter. These starters are very common units, used in many auto applications. I just had the starter in my `89 Softail rebuilt, it cost 85 bucks.

Now to your question. You have removed the two bolts that secure the starter to the inner primary cover. You still need to remove the bolt holding the jackshaft.

Can you post a picture of your clutch once you have the outer primary cover removed, that way we can tell you what year clutch you have.

Hint: Don`t post your question in more than one section on the forum, it makes it very difficult to figure out what is going on....