D6 Pony Motor Pinion Issue

[quote="sheddcanyon"]HFinally, when I removed the assembly, there was some matted, fibrous material sticking to it. Looks like steel wool or shredded wheat but feels like some kind of fabric. Old shop rag? Are there any gaskets or surfaced pressure plates that would spin off something like that?
[/quote]

Could be the links on the main clutch. They were originally canvas but later versions they used plastic of some form. I would check all the links on the clutch to make sure they have been replaced.
Usually any thing that drops in the clutch will be thrown away from the clutch. If it is big enough then it can punch holes in the housing. There is a fair bit of clearance under neath the clutch and housing but I would still check with a torch to see if you can find anything. If you are really worried then it does not take too long to pull the top half of the clutch housing out.
The small bolts do have a habit of falling out. One of my D6's had home made locking plates to help hold them in.

What's the s/n of this 4R?

[quote="sheddcanyon"]HFinally, when I removed the assembly, there was some matted, fibrous material sticking to it. Looks like steel wool or shredded wheat but feels like some kind of fabric. Old shop rag? Are there any gaskets or surfaced pressure plates that would spin off something like that?
[/quote]

Could be the links on the main clutch. They were originally canvas but later versions they used plastic of some form. I would check all the links on the clutch to make sure they have been replaced.
Usually any thing that drops in the clutch will be thrown away from the clutch. If it is big enough then it can punch holes in the housing. There is a fair bit of clearance under neath the clutch and housing but I would still check with a torch to see if you can find anything. If you are really worried then it does not take too long to pull the top half of the clutch housing out.
The small bolts do have a habit of falling out. One of my D6's had home made locking plates to help hold them in.

I just talked to our retired mechanic and he confirmed he replaced the clutch links. Mystery solved. Thanks for your feedback.

Looking at the parts book for that s/n the starter pinion started out with neither lock wire or retainer on the cap screws so it's probably been through a few evolution changes. Unfortunately they are all doomed to fail due to the beating the sleeve, pinion, cap screws and locks get during operation. When they come apart it usually means the threads which are minimal at best are stripped and the sleeve holes hogged out meaning recovery is unlikely. A lot of them wind up resting in the flywheel clutch housing which doesn't seem to hurt anything although best removed.
If you have to have pony start then renewal of the parts including original shoulder cap screws, lock tabs and permanent loc-tite are about all you can do and hope for the best.

[quote="Old Magnet"]Looking at the parts book for that s/n the starter pinion started out with neither lock wire or retainer on the cap screws so it's probably been through a few evolution changes. Unfortunately they are all doomed to fail due to the beating the sleeve, pinion, cap screws and locks get during operation. When they come apart it usually means the threads which are minimal at best are stripped and the sleeve holes hogged out meaning recovery is unlikely. A lot of them wind up resting in the flywheel clutch housing which doesn't seem to hurt anything although best removed.
If you have to have pony start then renewal of the parts including original shoulder cap screws, lock tabs and permanent loc-tite are about all you can do and hope for the best.[/quote]

Is it typical for the pinion gear to get chewed up as well? This one definitely needs replacing. I'm trying to figure out how to post pictures here. I'm a little slow on this technology... not that I'm much faster on the old technology.

A chewed up pinion gear and matching chewed up flywheel ring gear is usually the result of improper operation of the pony motor by not reducing rpm during engagement along with use of the pinion brake to avoid grinding of the gears. An overall smooth working system gives the engagement mechanism best chances of survival.

[quote="Old Magnet"]Looking at the parts book for that s/n the starter pinion started out with neither lock wire or retainer on the cap screws so it's probably been through a few evolution changes. Unfortunately they are all doomed to fail due to the beating the sleeve, pinion, cap screws and locks get during operation. When they come apart it usually means the threads which are minimal at best are stripped and the sleeve holes hogged out meaning recovery is unlikely. A lot of them wind up resting in the flywheel clutch housing which doesn't seem to hurt anything although best removed.
If you have to have pony start then renewal of the parts including original shoulder cap screws, lock tabs and permanent loc-tite are about all you can do and hope for the best.[/quote]

Is it typical for the pinion gear to get chewed up as well? This one definitely needs replacing. I'm trying to figure out how to post pictures here. I'm a little slow on this technology... not that I'm much faster on the old technology.

A chewed up pinion gear and matching chewed up flywheel ring gear is usually the result of improper operation of the pony motor by not reducing rpm during engagement along with use of the pinion brake to avoid grinding of the gears. An overall smooth working system gives the engagement mechanism best chances of survival.