ALMOST got left stranded @ 1:30am..guess there's still good people in this world...
 

Shyeah. Took the truck out this morning @ 1:30am to go get some Taco Bell. My mom said she wanted to drive it, so I let her. On the way over to Taco Bell, she killed it. (I have the idle set a little on the low side, so off-idle it sorta stumbles, and it'll die if you dunno how to wok the throttle JUUUST right.) So anyway...I've been having problems with the starter lately, and I knew it was in need of being shimmed. Well, guess tonight was just that night. When she killed it, she went to fire it back up, and all I heard was the starter going "WHIIIIIIR". So, I knew it had finally hit the wrong spot on the flexplate. So, I pushed it to the side of the road (luckily, by a RR track, so there was a big open space right there.) Just then a cop came by...it was a female officer, and she asked what was wrong, and I tried to start it to show her. Then she's all "Pop your hood." and I"m like "What? Why?" and she's all "Pop your hood!" So, RELUCTANTLY (I say that because I have NO smog equipment on my truck.) I went over and popped it. As she started walking over to my truck, she's all "Yeah, I used to have a C10 that would do this all the time." So I was like "OHHHH, ok." (With a huge sigh of relief) She tried turning the fan, to make the flexplate move. (Which I knew wouldn't work, because my belts aren't THAT tight.) So, I tried to start it again. Still nothing. So she called for a tow truck (We have AAA+, so we get free 100 mile+ tows, but we were only like A mile away from the house.) So, she leaves. Then as we're waiting for the tow truck, a guy with a 70 Chevy LB pulls up. (I was thinking like, WTF because his truck actually looked worse than mine!) So a guy jumps out and he's all "Sounds like your starter needs to be shimmed. Wanna try to get the flexplate to move?" And I'm like "Uhh, sure." So the guy reaches in his toolbox in the bed and pulls out a thing and he's all "Here, lemme try my flexplate turner." So HE gets under the truck (No way in hell I was getting under there, because I know better...with a lowered truck + HOT headers = NO NO.) and he moves the flexplate, and yells try it. So I tried it and it ALMOST started, but went back to spinning. So he goes back to his toolbox and get a ratchet and he's all "Lemme see if I can adjust the starter to get it to grab." Few seconds later, he gets out from under it and tells me to try it again. VOILA! It started. He even told me a neat trick for shimming the starter JUUUST right. It was pretty amazing that someone would just randomly pull over to help someone, especially @ 1:30am! I guess since he owned an old chevy truck aswell it's all good. :D So, you know what I'll be doing all day 2moro. SHIMMING MY STARTER!

We wanna know the neat trick about shimming the starter :)

Theres no telling how many times people have stopped to help me, so i always try to help people that have broke down when i see them. so the next time you see someone broke down you should stop and see if you can help. besides it'll make you feel good about yourself when you see how grateful some people can be when you offer to help.
and yeah tell us the trick about the starter.

I'd like to know the trick too. I have a 89 Sub that I need to shim.
Thanks
Mike

i generally stop to help most people on the road i see stranded i figure but for the grace of god go i ( and not cause i have Fords in my stable either). Besides if it was my kid out there stuck like that id want someone to help so i might as well help someone elses kid.

You don't see folks like this much anymore. Everyone is afraid to stop to help. I can understand why though with all the killings going on.

Must of been a real nice guy.

Thats cool that someone stopped for you. And better yet that the person had a clue ;) Around here you can pull over to use your phone and people stop just to make sure your ok. Small towns are nice like that .

I dunno what trick he used to get the starter to hit. He said he was going to "adjust" it. Dunno what he did though. (He did it all without a flashlight though!) I'm about to get under the truck right now and add shims. I'll let you know how it looks.

My bad guys, you guys were wanting to know the trick to get the starter shimmed just right. Ok, here's what he said do.
He said to get a 1/8th" Allen Wrench, (preferrably a long T-handle type) and then stick it up between the flexplate teeth and the starter gear shaft. The distance between the shaft and the top of the teeth should be the width of that 1/8th" Allen wrench. I did this today, and come to find out my starter was WAAY off! It was about 1½ times the width of that 1/8th" Allen wrench. So, i took a shim and cut it in HALF and put it on the OUTSIDE mounting pad, then tightened everything back up. VOILA! PERFECT! Hopefully, this little trick will help yall. :flag:

BTW: If that 1/8th" Allen wrench won't FIT between the shaft and flexplate teeth, then you need to use a FULL shim, instead of a half. (A half shim mounted on the outside pad will make the starte get CLOSER to the flexplate.) :)
Mike,
You may wanna add this tech tip to your tech articles on your webpage. I'll even do a nice write-up if ya like. :bowtie:

a shim ?
What is a shim ?
I don't get it:(
I removed the starter on my 350 Oldsmobile powered C10 fifteen days ago , just had to unscrew 2 vertical bolts to get him off.
Kind of a weird mounting to me , if you ask me , as I was used to bolt my starters horizontally on my ( now sold ) 1964 VW beetle & other ricers I worked on...
Or does the Chevy starters bolt differently than the Old's ones?
BTW , I have sometimes that "WHIIIIRRR" sound too , just have to try to start again and the engine fires up normally...

The Baron
____________________________________________________
1979 C10 long bed , 350 Olds engine , stock
1977 Impala sedan 250ci , "Ye Old Reliable"
1960 Girl Friend ( frame still good , body has some dents ...)

A shim is a thin piece of metal that goes between the starter mounting pad and the engine block. Yeah, most Chevy/Buick/Olds Small blocks use the same type of starter.

Got it
 

Hi Timspeed ,
OK , I got it
Mine didn't have any shim I noticed , maybe was it sticken on the engine...
It was all covered with a thick greasy layer , anyway:D
Difficult to put my fatty fingers in there for connecting all the wires , used some F*** words to fix it , it helped a lot , hehe...

Thanks for the explanation.

The baron
____________________________________________________1979 C10 long bed , 350 Olds engine , stock
1977 Impala sedan 250ci , " Ye Old Reliable"
1960 Girl friend ( frame still good , body has some dents )

always try to help someone broke down is how i always tried to do because you never know when it will be you thats broke down-- funny it always is the guy with the old ratty rigs that know all the little tricks-- you think thats how they keep those rigs running--lol

:burnout: :burnout:

I would stop to help more often, just that I don't typically have any tools with me, so I won't be a lot of help to the person stranded. I am willing to go get gas or phone for help though, and I always stop if I see someone involved in a collision or something (like someone getting hit by a moose, or hitting a moose etc) We've been helped in the past many times before, and if I can help, I am willing to do so.

The last time I stopped by to help someone was on the Highway between Brussels & the german border , to help a gorgeous young woman who was in panic because her dad's 1962 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso she was driving broke down.
She was in sucha state that she didn't allow me to even open the hood .
She was afraid I would damage the car ( "you , peasant , stay away from this car !" ), she had already called daddy , AAA+ , etc...
I still have no clue what was the problem , no smell , no smoke...

1960's Ferraris are wonderful looking cars but they suck :D
Just give me an old rig as the one I own

The baron
____________________________________________________
1979 C10 long bed , stock , Oldsmobile 350 power
1977 Chevy Impala Sedan , 250ci , "Ye old Reliable"
1960 Girl Friend ( frame still good , body has some dents )