what kind of oil do you guys that have been around boats awhile use on your pull starts? I never used pull starts to much on trucks, used starter boxes. I know from experience though from helping others that the wrong oil is maybe jsut as bad as not oiling and letting it rust[&o] Once they start not engaging all the time its just down hill from there. I have seen where a shot of raw fuel dumped in the starter cord hole will make the one way bearing catch enough to start but eventually that fails also.

come on guys, plenty of you have had to get moisture in your pull start assembly and then find the one way bearing not working properly. Somebody has had to find an oil that protected without gumming up the system. Thats one fualt I have with OS engines that some of the others have a little better setup I think. OS pull starts have the oneway sort of external, its in the little unsealed plastic box the rope winds into. Other engines I have seen have the oneway behind the backplate, basically inside the engine getting the same lubrication as the piston, rod, and other bearings.

i don't really put oil in pull starter, actually i tried to limit the oil/fuel sipping to the starter that causes slippage by putting custom paper gasket between the engine and the starter...and not to pull it all the way.

One thing that has always worked for me was to take the starter off. Most of them the bearing will fall right out. Soak it in a little fuel and then also rough up the shaft just a little with some fine sand paper. Make sure to dry the bearing good before you put it back. That should help out.