the one ONAN part you SHOULD carry as spare...

[boogiethecat]

Much to my surprise when my trusty Onan Marquis went "spin, spin" instead of starting on my last outing, I found that Onan's wise and
frugal engineers have decided to replace the gear on the starter motor with one made of PLASTIC and
the stupid thing had split in half and fallen off of the shaft.  No way to fix it other than replace it and I was CERTAINLY glad I wasn't
out in the boonies.  Who woulda thunk.  What an AMAZINGLY stupid design decision for such a crucial and highly stressed part.

Anyway, you should check your model and find out if your gear is plastic.  If so, I strongly recommend that you at least carry a spare gear, if not a whole spare motor, and whatever tools (at least) that it takes to do the job.
I easily got both from ebay, (seller is "mjay58", he carries all the parts) so I installed a new starter and repaired my old one, and kept it onboard for a spare.

The gear set for mine is part number 191-2187, and is used on the following starter numbers, 191-1667, 191-2158 and 191-2132, which is mine.  It is also used on the following applications.  NHE NHEL Emerald III NHD NHM BGD BGDL BGE BGEL Emerald and BGM.  Look your generator up, get the part.

It's scary to wonder what Onan was thinking....

[Ray D]

The last time I bought a gear, they offered it to me in steel or plastic.  The plastic gear was more that the steel gear.

Ray D

[Kristinsgrandpa]

I guess the advantage to plastic is that it doesn't chew up the ring gear.  Starter gears are probably easy to replace and ring gears aren't.

Onan was second, right under Generac, on my list of generators not to buy. I ended up with one, just to get a good C201 Isuzu diesel.

Ed

[TomC]

Gare- Is your starter the one with a solenoid on it, or without?  I have a new Onan starter from an older 6.5 that is the starter without the solenoid for a very cheap price.  Let me know.  Good Luck, TomC

[boogiethecat]

Tom, mine's the simple one, just a permanent magnet motor, no solenoid.  Thanks for the offer though!
I fixed my old motor so now I have a spare.

[DavidInWilmNC]

Starter?  I don't need no stinkin' starter!  My old Onan is one of the ones that uses a separate set of brushes on the armature (I think that's the part) and windings for starting.  It's kind of cool, in a way, but I'm sure there's some reason other manufacturers (including newer Onans) don't use this design.  For these old gens, I think a set of points and brushes would be the parts I'd want to carry.

David

[JackConrad]

David,
   Definately carry spare points & condenser (also spare spark plugs).  Make sure the generator is installed in such a way that you have easy access to adjust/replace points & condenser. (don't ask how I know this !!)  Jack

[busguy01]

The best part to carry for the ongoing use of an ONAN is a high limit credit card! Repairs are out of sight and parts arre about the same!