D7-3T starter

hello greyhead,i can see your proplem ,you have you hang on better so you dont slip off the dozer arm,😄 ,hope your not hurt to bad ,bruce oz

Only thing I can ad to this is the adjustment of the pinion latch screws.
There is a spring in between both screws, if you turn each screw 1 half turn CLOCKWISE, it will increase the pinion release speed by 100-150 r.p.m.'s. You obviously do not want to over do that, subtle adjustment, or you could overspeed the starting engine.

Mine just started doing that, then when removing the flywheel clutch, I found the latch spring at the bottom of the bell housing, in-tact but not in the pinion. I never realized that sucker could launch you, I had been holding mine in, sometimes I would engage it first, use the clutch to operate it as sometimes it would be a pain to get engaged while running, but it used to stay engaged, then started to release sooner, no doubt about the maintenance and adjustments on these, have to do em, they don't get better on their own.


I'm not completely sure, but the upper bellhousing of the flywheel clutch compartment would seem to be easier to remove than the starting engine, to gain access to just the pinion itself I know that the starting engine to diesel gasket can be fun to keep straight when re-installing. Hopefully you can get a look in there first and see if you can spot any problems beyond just doing the adjustment, the serviceman's reference book and parts catalog would be good to have for reference on this.

A serial number would be helpful to get to specifics.....also whether dry clutch or oil type.

ser.# 3t15138 Dry clutch Thanks guys. more freezing tonight😠 I'll stay in the barn😄 😄

That model has the access plug in the clutch cover. You can observe the latches while engaging and bump one of the ends to disengage and get some lube/penetrant in there.....also adjust if needed. (real fun). Yes you can get access by removing the clutch top cover but it is a bit of a chore to access the bolt locks and undo the bolts to get the latch assembly off. Unscrewing the stop then allows the pinion to slide off the shaft.
If any other parts of the pony/clutch/trans need attention (bearings & seals etc.) it would make sense to pull the whole thing for service.

I removed the floor panel to see what I was in for😕 O.M. I took the access plug out ,is it safe to say that the pinion dogs should be sharp and not rounded.
You said to remove pinion housing to service or did you mean pony unit as a whole?
And to ask two more questions,Is a direct start made for this engine (if i pull whole pony unit, might as well do a rebuild on it as it was the only thing we didn't work on last year) Where is the best spot to put a block heater? Thanks for all the replys.