HELP!! changed my oil to synthetic....starter broke!

[damageplan]

1987 kawasaki zx 1000r ............after i changed my oil to synthetic, i couldn't get it started after 20 seconds or so and then the starter began spinning. now it'll turn over once or twice and then spin and grind. Is this related to to oil... i think it is... or am i going to have to rebuild or get a new starter? any help or advice will be greatly appreciated

[Cabanaboy]

Sounds like the battery is dead. left the lights on by any chance?

[damageplan]

I don't think it's the battery, i had it charged that day.......but it's possible, i will recharge and find out.....thanks, any other suggestions? ??

[Veefer97]

It is not the oil. The starter may have a clutch built inside like the 1980's yamahas. Those would spin and not turn the engine. You would have to add shims to starter. This may not apply to your starter.

[spongemonster]

This will sound silly but are you positive you put the proper amount of oil in after draining all of the old oil? (I'm just covering all the bases here)

[Choco]

does it sound like a case full of rocks?

[bobbo84]

sounds like the sprag clutch and/or associated gear(s) for your starter bit the dust, especially if your starter spins freely now without engaging anything properly. might wanna get some Team Green specific answers outta someone, but I'm betting thats what happened.

[silent_R1]

yup, I agree, nothing to do with the oil.

[damageplan]

thanks for all of the advice......i didn't change the oil filter when i switched to synthetic, so im sure thats not good on the engine but........i guess im going to change filter, and oil again. then take the starter somewhere to get fixed or replaced. any more suggestions???

[lownuff]

It has nothing to do with the oil.

If the battery is fully charged and everything else works fine... i'd pull the starter off... check everything, and put it back on. See if that helps, check all the cables. If everythings fine but its still not working, get a new starter or starter solenoid.

[bumblebee]

The oil has nothing to do with the starter

[Choco]

maybe this'll help illustrate what bobbo84 is talking about. this is my current project, an '85 XV700 (yamaha) which has a known fatal flaw with the starter clutch. the gear dont fully engage and here's what ya wind up with....

to the left of the flywheel you'll see a bearing and the starter shaft.


all parts disassembled.


missing tooth profile on the flywheel.


bad pic, but the shiny areas on the teeth are polished from grinding the flywheel. i had to recut the profile with a dremel.



so basically, where's the missing parts of the teeth??

A: in your case, in the form of fine metalic particles washing around your bearings. dont waste time to change the oil cause the oil is already toast, and will be again until you get the starter clutch repaired.