Bendix keyway?? (Starter motor part. 2)

I tore the starter down and found that the retaining nut on the end of the bendix had worked its way free. I was able to get it back on and the starter looks to be fixed, but it sure looks to me like that thing will just work its way back off with all the torque and impact. It looks like there's a keyway of sorts in the nut and in the bendix, but they don't look like the same size. Should there be some kind of key or retainer to hold the nut in place??

Thanks again,
Darren

If you have the old spring style drive, the Nut is generally held in place by disfiguring the threaded part of the shaft with a chisel. You want to bend part of the shaft outward which keeps the nut from backing off.I am not aware of any regular drives with keyways out on the end of the drive.

What tractor starter are you talking about? What number is your starter?

Thanks again,
Darren

After some more thought I just remembered what you may have been refering to as a keyway. An equal proportion of old style bendixes had the end "stop collar" held with a snapring in a groove at the end of the shaft rather than threads.Most likely it previously had the snapring but was re-manned and threads and a threaded stop collar added. You would think after rebuilding hundreds of starters over the years I would have that information at my quick disposal but I have found just the opposite. After seeing so many it sort of runs together in my head and I can't keep one thing straight from another.

One possible problem you may encounter if you don't get the stop collar the proper distance(generally flush with the end of the shaft) it will affect how the gear engages with the ringgear. I have even had brand new bendixes cause problems because they would not engage properly. Most times this can be fixed by adding or removing the washers bewtween the nose cone and the drive. Post back any problems, I'll try to help!