international i-4/h starter problem

[dennis vanpopering]

i have an i-4 and when i bought it in june,the starter would spin but i had to keep doing it till it caught and started.then in aug i bought a starter on e-bay new it said but it never even started it broke.i took it apart and the spring was wound around the drive.i put my old spring in the new starter it worked.then i was sent a replcement starter.i put it on and took the spring out of the 1st new starter and sent it back.then yesterday the second one did it too.so i put my original spring in it well itr works.then i was told only certain starters fit on a h.well i have an i-4.the nose cone is differnt looking.and both these starters were built in mexico.can i just buy the part i need,without the whole starter?my starter is on thew side,an h is on the top.the flywheel is in excellent shape.am i missing something here or did i get junk starters?a little help please.thank you much

 

[John M]

The starter on my I4 came from an H, so it sounds like you got the wrong starter from Mexico to start with. If i recall, the number is 1107448 or 427, but that may be the M starter, although I dont know what the difference is, Ive pulled M starters and put on Hs that have the 2 bolt mount, and vice versa

 

[dennis vanpopering]

i have did some checking and the teeth on the ring gear are good.i have noticed on some sellers on e-bay they state in their ads will not fit h model.but then againsome dont.the thing that goes wrong is the spring,it gets all wound around the shaft and the starter does not come all the way away from the ring gear.also i compared the end housing,the part that goes in the housing are way diffent.it seems its larger inside on the origianal one.thank you

 

[Owen Aaland]

The difference between the H and M starter is that the M starter has a center bearing located between the armature windings and the starter drive while the H originally did not. I've only seen a few starters that did not have this extra support and I always add it so that they can be used on either model.