OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions On Victa Two Stroke Engines Zip Starters - Alignment

Dear Masters,
I do a lot of units but have always wondered about this difficulty I have with the zip starters. Lets say I have a restoration and the zip starter is not the problem but after a complete service and clean up of the engine the zip starter slips no matter what I do to it. I know you will say to restore the fibre washers/cup/pawls etc, but that is not taking into account the fact that the zip starters are not slipping before I disassemble. I am guessing it is alignment? Am I right? How do I do it?

Hi Christo, can't help you with this problem but I have also had this problem but I thought it was just the way they were.

You will need to replace either the starter cup or the starter pawls. Here is a link to the cup [b][color:#FF0000]CLICK HERE[/color][/b]

The starter pawls are no longer available.

The annoying thing is everything looks to be fine with them, they just don't work

I presume you are describing the 1970s Victa starting " system ".
They are weird in that mostly, they are drama free but you get the occasional one that doesn't want to play ball. And once they start to slip, the cup starts to get metal filings at the bottom from the pawls chewing away as the slipping occurs.
Maybe try rubbing the ends of the pawls on a grinding stone just enough to make the end corners sharp again.

G'day all
The friction washers (23) do glaze-up over time.
Buffing them, or replacing them does make a big difference.



-----------------
Jack

Glad I bought a pair twenty years ago now! Still sitting in the shed.

Thanks for all the comments. I confess that I still can not understand how some of them don't need the critical parts replaced before I remove the starter from the engine. Never mind if it must be done it will be done. Cheers all. You are appreciated.

G'day folks,
There are a couple of points to note, regarding these early series Zip Starters.
One is that the pawls are end-for-end reversible, when one end has worn and is no longer sharp-edged. Or just flip the pawl assembly over, for the same result.

It may also be worth trying stoning the worn edge as Mowerfreak mentions, but this may not last long, if the pawls are only case-hardened.

It's also a good idea to degrease inside the starter cup with brake cleaner or acetone, to eliminate a potential cause for slippage.

There are still a few aftermarket NOS pawl sets available through FleaBay etc; Victa P/No ST12050S finds these.