The starter motor bushing is likely a oil-impregnated sintered bronze bushing (eg. OilLite) . The correct lubricant is .. nothing .. .or if you really need to snake-oil it up, you need the "Samba favorite", Marvel Mystery Oil. Or 3 in 1 or some engine oil, or just rely on splash lubrication off the flyweel courtesy of the crank seal like most of us.
Ok. After bench testing the starter, it was really intermittent in turning. Also, it never turned at speed, or ‘whirred’, like it should. I connected that ‘contact’ to the backing plate, and nothing happened apart from smoke came out of it. I disconnected it, ant the motor fired up but again, it was really slow with no power.
In the end, I bit the bullet and bought a new one. Havnt tried it yet, going for me jab. ( The old little copper bush was a feker to get out...)
Most people just screw a tap into the bush to remove it without drilling. Don’t bench test a single bearing starter motor, it flails around and if it wasn’t knackered before the test, it probably would be after.
Believe me, there was no ‘flailing about’, with it. When it was ‘spinning’, you could see every individual tooth as they went around. And thanks for the tap advice
A sort of whining on starting,and a high pitched noise,but only every now and again. I slackened the fan belt off a bit,still the same. A mate of mine says it could be the fan,but I’m not sure...