Quote:
How easy/hard is it to rebuild a starter?
Follow along with this description in your
factory service manual (the Peterson book in the linked thread also has an excellent pictorial on how to rebuild a Chrysler starter).
Disassembly
Loosen and withdraw through-bolts holding round field frame to pinion housing.
Grasp armature and pull rearward, taking care not to lose stack of metal and/or fibre washers surrounding rear shaft stub. Set armature aside.
Carefully pull field frame slightly rearward; rotate frame and pinion housing together until screwed-together connection comes into view. Remove screw. On 4-series starters, this is the only connection between the field windings and the brush plate. On 3-series/1-shunt starters (round field frames originally stamped 2095150, 2875560, or 3656650), there is another,
smaller-gauge wire connection between the shunt coil and the brush plate.
This passes
through the brush plate and is soldered to a post thereon;
removal requires desoldering.
Once the field windings have been separated from the brush plate, separate field frame assembly from pinion housing assembly.
Early-style pinion housing ('62-'69, casting # 2095219) with no externally-visible fasteners holding the brush plate to the pinion housing: Brush plate is
held by a single screw, accessible once the armature is removed.
Late-style pinion housing ('70-'87): Loosen and withdraw two through-bolts
holding plastic brush plate to aluminum pinion housing.
Separate brush plate assembly from pinion housing, taking care not to lose
4-arm washer that will be in pinion housing under brush plate, coaxial with armature shaft hole. (NOTE: Some early-production starters do not have a 4-arm washer. In that case, upon reassembly you must either install a 4-arm washer or make your own brush holdoff tools. This can be done with two 8" lengths of flat spring steel approx 1/8" wide. Simply bend each piece into a "V").
Grasp copper contact washer, stem and end spring assembly and withdraw
from solenoid winding. Set washer/stem/spring assembly aside.
Inspection, repair & reassembly
Inspect two round contacts on forward side of brush plate for pitting and
deformation.
Inspect four brushes for wear. New-brush thickness (from cable attachment
to wear surface) is ½".
If smaller of two round contacts is in acceptable condition and brushes are in acceptable condition but larger of two round contacts is not, use NAPA Echlin SM140 (=Chrysler 2275551) contact and washer package and place brush holder back in service.
If smaller of two round contacts is not in acceptable condition AND/OR brushes are not in acceptable condition AND/OR you do not possess a soldering iron and/or skills, replace brush plate assembly, NAPA Echlin STK24 (large-frame starter, field frame stamped 3755250, 4091950, 4111860 or 4145360) or STK16 (early small-frame starter, field frame stamped 2095150 or 2098500) or STK19 (all others, field frame stamped 2875560, 3656575, 3755900, 4091975, 4111855 or 4145359)
If above but you DO have an iron, high-temp solder and skills, replacement
brush set NAPA Echlin M503 (large-frame) or M501 (small-frame).
On washer/stem/spring assembly, inspect contact washer spring-side surface
for pitting and burning. If not excessive, washer may be returned to service. Washer is reversible; retainer clip can be removed from stem, spring and washer unstacked, washer flipped to expose fresh working surface, and spring-washer-clip stack reassembled. If contact washer is severely thinned by pitting, replace washer/stem/spring assembly, NAPA Echlin SM132.
Inspect commutator bars for excessive wear and burning, and entire
armature and winding assembly for signs of overheating.
Remove sheetmetal guard from pinion housing gear case. Inspect for signs
of abnormal wear, shredded or missing washers. There must be a fibre or leather "brake washer" between the driven gear and the pinion housing (when this is worn or missing, the starter takes forever to spin down after use). Do not allow oil or any other lubricant to come in contact with the brake washer.
Hold the starter drive body from turning, and use your other hand to
attempt to rotate and back-rotate the starter drive pinion through a full
revolution. The pinion should only ever turn in one direction with no backslop, and there should be a fair amount of resistance to its turning
in the one direction. If backslop is found or the pinion turns easily in
either direction, replace the starter drive. Grasp the driven shaft and
check for sideplay; if any perceptibly exists, bushing replacement is
indicated. Test-fit the armature assembly in the pinion housing and check
for sideplay. Test-fit the rear cover on the armature stub shaft and check
for sideplay. If any perceptibly exists, NAPA Echlin SM101 end plate
w/bushing assembly.
Apply 2 or 3 drops of quality lubricant (I usually use synth engine oil)
to each accessible shaft bearing, taking care not to oil the brake washer
(access that bearing from the motor side of the pinion housing). Apply a
small brushing of antiseize compound to the driven gear within the gear
case. Reinstall the sheetmetal cover.
The 4-arm washer has a specific purpose: It holds the brushes outward for
you pending installation of the armature. To use it, place it in the center among the four brushes, with each arm pointing towards the pinion housing side of the brush plate. Make sure each brush spring is properly bearing on each brush, then install the brush plate assembly with holdoff washer holding the brushes. Make sure the plate and gasket are seated correctly, then install the brush plate fixing screws to the pinion housing. Line up the field frame connection with the brush plate connection and assemble it. Push the field frame onto the pinion housing/brush plate assembly, taking note of the alignment pin (if present). Push the armature quickly and firmly through the field frame and into its pinion end seat (This will push the holdoff washer out from among the brushes just as the commutator bars take the washer's place). It sometimes help avoid hangups at this point if the armature is twisted a bit as it is pushed home.
Line up and install the end cover and the through bolts, tightening these
evenly and firmly.
Test the starter. If it doesn't work, you didn't stab the doll with the right pins in the right places.
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Cheap off-brand stuff like this is okay to buy if what you're trying to do is degrade one of the good Japanese-made starters into one of the cruddy Chinese-made ones. For the small amount of money involved, and the small additional effort, I think iit's worth it to buy real parts instead of toys. See 
