Foot Starter Alignment

I'm having trouble with my starter foot plunger being out of alignment and being too far from the starter lever. When the plunger is completely compressed it's more than an inch short of the lever and it isn't lining up to the top of the lever.

Background. It's a 24 volt M38A1. I took the starter off and removed the solenoid to clean it up and check it out. Nothing seems amiss.

The plunger has been off for several years as I pulled the tub to have the hat channels on the bottom of the tub replaced. I have small puck spacers on the body mounts. Without the spacers the tub would sit a little lower which would put it even more out of alignment.

About 10 years ago I had to move the plunger mounting holes a little after a rough trail ride that caused a slight alignment problem but nothing as severe as it is now.

If I raise the tub a little more it might help the angle of the plunger but the distance between the plunger and starter lever will still be a problem.

Any thoughts?

 

More background. I've also swapped the T90 with a T98A. That included a different bell housing. I think it was the same dimensions but even if it was different the starter to flywheel dimensions wouldn't have changed. Yes?

 

Bell housing was another F134 just not military. Had to use the adapter.

The mounts are in good condiion but that's a good thought. I'll check the cross member height.

 

I vaguely remember using shims when I put the cross member on. Can't remember why or how thick. If the rear of the tranny can be raised that might be enough to line the lever up properly. It will definitely affect my tranny cover. Not sure how much of the distance between the plunger and lever will be corrected. Won't be back out there until the weekend.

 

I think, or at least hope, that is what is changing the starter alignment.

 

I had it shimmed 3/4” as shown in the first picture. If I drop it to about 2” total (2nd picture) I end up with what's in the 3rd picture. Still not enough and more of a drop than I'm comfortable with. I haven't checked yet what it does to the drive shaft angle.

Any thoughts?

 

I'm running out of ideas as to what is causing the problem. I'm starting to understand what motivates the Bubba living inside us. Options I see are:

1. Extending the foot plunger. This seems really awkward.
2. Having the starter lever modified so it's closer to the plunger. I dont weld so I'm not sure how to go about this.
3. Change the solenoid so it is wired to the ignition switch. I'm far from interested in this. I like the foot starter. It's a low tech anti-theft system.