Reply to Old Magnet:
By "unlatching" do you mean it disengages to soon or will not engage????
Most common source of problem is a bent pinion engagement arm (from holding/forcing pinion to stay engaged) Check end clearance, should only be about 1/8 in or so.
The manuals don't show anything on removal of engagement arm assembly but it is retained by the engagement lever and shaft.
To remove clutch/pinion engagement assembly you do not have to remove governor or pump.......just the back cover of the governor.....also remove the engine cover bolt closest to the assembly. Pinion needs to be engaged to shorten overall length for removal. Also remove the pony motor and reseal. The raise one end is a joke.
The other most common problem I have found is that the "stop" that the latches engage is not always indexed properly so the latches never have a chance of engaging correctly for very long.
D6 9U starter pinion shaft bent
"Most common source of problem is a bent pinion engagement arm (from holding/forcing pinion to stay engaged) Check end clearance, should only be about 1/8 in or so."
Hi, so glad I found this forum.
Yours is the closest posting on this forum to the problem I have... I always had to use force to engage it, and had to hold it in placed. While pulling on the engagement arm there was a grinding gears noise that worried me, (how normal is this?, it had been doing this forever so I assumed it was normal because more experienced people saw this and failed to mentioned it could be fixed with a simple clutch adjustment!!!), until one time nothing, no movement, and any amount of force on the engagement arm would stall the pony engine.
Editing post Sept 27 2011
[Found the answer to that question in another discussion, thanks here it is "If your startor pinion is grinding excessively your brake cluch work bad or too worn and for the cluch adjustement you need to remove the small plate and with a screw driver turne the cluch collar until the lock pin can be reach and angage the startor pinion and with your screw driver pry out the lock pin and tighten by turning the collar clockwise until the lock pine drops into the next hole."]
So thanks to this forum I managed to get it out and I took the pinion clutch to a Finning shop for repairs. They don't seem very experienced with this problem on an old model. The small friendly old timers shop closed doors a few years ago.
His 3 questions are:
1: What may have caused it to bend, is there another problem that needs to be addressed first? [Edit post Sept 28, the answer most likely is that the excessive grinding bent the shaft over time, need to fix the brake/clutch, any comments? I would feel better if that was confirmed]
2: Is it worth fixing rather than doing the electric start conversion, will parts be available?
3: It appears a part that would be at the end of the shaft is missing...? Did it fall down and would have to be retrieved ? [This question answered also, found the end part, but unsure about a missing broken bolt that may have been there, will it cause problems now that it may be down in the oil below, unsuccessful at magnet fishing anything else so far.]
Edit Sept 28
[My question is: Once I get the clutch fixed and put it back in there, and assuming I make sure it is adjusted to prevent that excessive grinding and use of force, are there other reasons that peoples know of that would cause it to bend again and therefore cause a big disappointment and loss of time and money? The diesel engine turns fine, I found out by pulling the fan belt...]
This D6 is/has been awesome for us to clear snow in the winter, without it we could not live on our isolated farm year round. I Live Terrace, British Columbia, and the fences get buried under wet snow, it's been an unexpected and rewarding challenge to learn about the D6... I am determined to keep it running as long as I can.
Denis