Why did my starter break?
 

With just a few hundered miles on it, my new high torque starter broke -- the solenoid works, but some of the internal parts for the starter itself were broken when I pulled the case off.

From that and from the wear pattern on the gears that engage the flywheel, it's clear that the starter hung up and did not disengage from the flywheel.

I'd like to make sure this doesn't happen again... any ideas?

the bendix teeth can hang up in previously chewed up ring gear teeth. theyre probably chewed up now if the bendix teeth are. the engine tends to stop in three different positions, and the ring gear teeth are always worn more in those areas. you can see and feel the teeth thru the starter hole. full rotation to find any bad areas is a must.

Hi Randy:

What brand of starter is it?

Could it have been the wrong starter(different teeth, insufficient gear travel, etc)? The the starter bolts flywheel warped/loose(if it is possible)? Too low a voltage to the starter to keep the bendix out while turning?
Just some other misc ideas.

Randy's starter thread from 2/18

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/207184-starter-failure.html