John Deere 318 mower starter drive failing

[Cas]

I have owned my JD 318 since it was new. The problem I am having is the starter drive chewing off the top of the ring gear. Bought a new ring gear and starter drive and put them in. Left the shroud off and engaged just the solenoid. The
teeth on the flywheel and starter drive do not seem to mesh into each other enough. The gears just engage each other by about an 1/8 of an inch. It is one of the P series engines. Anybody have any ideas?
 

[joe csuti]

Several things can cause problem you have.

1-worn crankshaft bearings.

2-worn bearings in starter

3-sol,plunger or drive fork mech worn/damaged.


Best thing to do is replace starter & take it from there,new aftermarket starters start at about $75 on ebay.