Starter ring gear

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A starter ring gear, sometimes just called starter ring or even ring gear, is a steel ring with teeth that is fitted on the periphery of a flexplate or flywheel of an internal combustion engine, mostly for automotive applications.

The teeth of the starter ring are driven by the smaller gear (the pinion) of the starter motor. The primary function of the starter ring is to transfer torque from the starter motor pinion to the flywheel or flexplate to rotate the engine to begin the cycle.

The starter ring gear is most commonly made by forming a length of steel into a circle and welding the ends together. There then follow various heat-treatment and machining operations, including the machining of the teeth and finally a heat-treatment operation. The teeth of the starter ring need to be hardened in order to increase their strength and resist wear. The body of the ring is generally left soft.

Engines with manual transmission usually have a heavy flywheel, typically 5 to 10 kg of cast iron, with the starter ring gear shrunk onto the outside. This is done by heating the ring to around 200 °C to expand the ring which is then placed onto the flywheel and allowed to cool. The starter ring is thereby firmly attached to the flywheel.

Engines with automatic transmissions instead have a pressed steel plate with the starter ring gear usually welded onto the outside of the plate.