So disappointing. Go out to fly this morning and the starter give one crank and essentially dies. Well it least it happened at home base. Push the beast back in the hanger and drop the starter. Lycoming now uses the newish Sky-Tec flyweight starters. They are indeed light and rather simple to remove. I do my usual starter drill, take it apart and look over the brushes. Sure enough, worn to the limits. Clean everything off and go home to source a new set of brushes. Well either I am a complete idiot, or you can't find them (both conditions are possible). Has the state of maintenance come we only swap units and don't fix anything?

Sadly it looks as if I may just have to order another. Overhaul would be fine, and somewhat cheaper, but I actually need the aircraft this week, to do, you know, the flying thing. I really find it hard to believe that the brushes are un-obtainium. On PT6's we swap them out almost every 3-600 hours. So is my use of the internet so bad that I am asking the wrong question, or are they truly not available?

I wonder if tge Skytec starters utilize standard, generic brushes etc. In the past, I've had a local automotive electrics shop go through starters generators & alternators for me. Only once did they have to get some aviation-specific part, and it was a seal for an O300 alternator.

^^^^^This.

I've done this, and walked out with a set of brushes for under $20 from AutoZone when the OEM was ~$160. Someone else in town got a set at the farm store and dressed them with a file to fit with similar success.

I did look at Autozone's brushes. They had some similar assemblies, but the stores don't stock them, order online. Kind of need them in hand to compare. It is a plastic assembly holding 4 brushes in paired units set to a special tabs. Not that I couldn't solder them onto the tabs. Out here in the Kuntry, we don't have an auto electric place. We just got electricity.

The overhaul is $349 and a new one is $439. Leads me to believe they just toss the motor and re-use the casting. Lots of plastic in there to age and crack. I just thought it odd, that after searching online, I couldn't find any reference to somebody saying "I just went to Autozone and got a XXX." Dispassionately short lifespan on the unit. It did sit a while and nothing likes to sit. Also one pair was defiantly at minimum, the other 50%, kind of weird.

I'm surprised you had one last long enough to wear a set of brushes... I do like the high speed starters when they're working though

Seems the Skytec warranty is better now since Hartzell bought them. I've just had two new 149NL-EC's fall apart where the motor bolts to the housing. Hartzell replaced them both under warranty, no questions asked, and they even said scrap the originals on site. Good service!

lesuther wrote:….I've done this, and walked out with a set of brushes for under $20 from AutoZone when the OEM was ~$160. Someone else in town got a set at the farm store and dressed them with a file to fit with similar success.

At least one of the local hardware stores (Ace, Do-It-Right,?) has brushes in the nuts / bolts / drawer pulls section.