I fixed the starter today and look what top it is. It turned out it had a missing fibre washer. Fortunately I had a spare in my container of parts and now it's gripping well despite one of the fibre washer's backing plates being detached. I used brake cleaner to remove any traces of lubricant. I now know what I'm doing thanks to you maxwestern explaining how they operate.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
