I think I got these right.
I replaced the Bendix Spring on my TT Limo about a year ago and did not bend the tabs on the washers. Yesterday was a beautiful day, so I decided to pull the cover off the Bendix Spring and recheck my work. Notice that the Bendix Spring ends no longer align. The Spring was new about a year ago and has had lots of starts because a year is probably 500 miles of driving, five miles at a time, plus numerous shorter trips around parking lots etc. I use 12 volts, so maybe that is a factor too.
The new washers for a Bendix Spring have two tabs, one is bent to 90*, the other is flat with the washer and needs to be bent. If you look closely at the first picture you will see that when I installed the washers a year ago I had the bent portion of the washer next to the head of the bolt. This worked fine and there were no problems. BUT, I removed the bolts, put the bent portion of the washer over the spring, tightened the bolts, and then bent the straight tabs up by the bolts.
I hope this is the correct method because I really don’t like putting that Bendix cover on…
Not exactly right. The tab you bend down to the spring goes in the gap between the spring eye end and the spring, (see pic for the area I’m describing), while the other tab goes up onto a bolt head flat.
And yes, 12V did that to your spring.
So will it hold the way I have it, or do I need to go back and do it right?
One of the first things I ever did to my TT was pull the starter to see
what could be done to make it work. I quickly encountered the Bendix
cover pleasure and thus began the problem solving process.
The cover can be removed and replaced with one screw still in place.
It takes a little angling to get the cover in, and the screw must be backed
out to just the right point, but it is not too tough to make it work. And
it sure makes the rest of the installation easier. Naturally, I leave the
upper-inner one in, and use it to locate and hold the cover for the other
two screws.
The other trick I use, is to employ a LONG screwdriver, that reaches
way back in that impossible to get at screw to cinch it down or back it
off. I think this thing is 18-24 inches long, and allows easy twisting of
the screws, especially the top ones.
I found it easiest to hold the screw in position with needlenose pliers with one hand, and push it while turning with a screwdriver in the other hand.