Full battery, wont turn over

[gchemist]

The neutral safety switch is located at lower steering column inside the cab. Next time, try starting in neutral. Wiggle the shifter. If it starts or cranks, the switch is out of adjustment. It's a common problem that occurs with tilt steering. Yes, if you tap the solenoid, the kickout part is getting stuck.

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by Skunksmash

Well it left me stranded. And you guys saying it was the starter, you must have been right.

Cause I grabbed a hammer and tapped on the starter a few times, and then turned the key again and it started right up. What is the issue? Can I fix this starter? Or do I have to buy a new one?

The solenoid is an electromagnet with a slightly loose fitting plunger inside that pushes a fork that drives the Bendix gear into engagement with the flyweel.
If tapping the starter gets it to work you have a worn sticky plunger or other malfunction in the solenoid. That or the brushes are worn to small stubs. It will eventually die completely.
Usually when the soleniod is spent the brushes bushings etc aren't far behind. Replacement starters for a smallblock Chevy are cheap. Or you could opt to get yours re-built locally by a trusted electric shop... Re-built generally consists of a thorough clean followed by replacing the Bendix (overrunning clutch), bushings, solenoid, and brushes as well as cleaning up and re-conditioning the commutator surfaces. They check to make sure the field windings and armature are in good shape with no delamination in the armature or other damage.
When I was young and broke I tried the DIY fix route but was not happy with my results. I had neither the experience or tooling to do it right so it didn't last.

If you're interested in trying a DIY fix or just how it works... Download the "GM_STG_16021_00_3_CHARGING_AND_STARTING" textbook (GM STG is GM Service Training Group) from the 1973-1991 Service Manuals thread in my Sig. Starter assemblies begin at PDF page 52 (booklet page 48).

[blazerkid]

you can try changing the solenoid but i had the same problem and that did not help had to get a new starter

[Skunksmash]

Sounds like its time to just get a new starter lol

That thing is pretty big. I'm used to honda starters. I'd like to downsize it, if possible. And if its not too awfully expensive. Anybody have any experience with those mini starters? Some people call them high performance starters.

Also, do I have the wrong starter? It only has two bolt holes, but there are 3 bolt holes in this pic. I looked and the third unused bolt hole is indeed threaded.

[hatzie]

The high torque gear reduction starters off the late 90's T400 chassis trucks with smallblock engines are tiny and they will fit the older smallblock engines.
New will be Asian built and the Diesel guys have mixed results with them. Unfortunately the re-built market has been poisoned with the cheesy Chinese cores so you really need to be careful. I dug through 4 before I found an American made unit.
Hang onto your old one. It's American made so the core components are not Chinese garbage. You may want to get it re-built locally eventually.

[Skunksmash]

Originally Posted by hatzie

The high torque gear reduction starters off the late 90's T400 chassis trucks with smallblock engines are tiny and they will fit the older smallblock engines.
New will be Asian built and the Diesel guys have mixed results with them. Unfortunately the re-built market has been poisoned with the cheesy Chinese cores so you really need to be careful. I dug through 4 before I found an American made unit.
Hang onto your old one. It's American made so the core components are not Chinese garbage. You may want to get it re-built locally eventually.

Yeah I was going to get it rebuilt locally.

But what about AC Delco brand, for a new one? I've always had good luck with AC Delco, because it has to be built to GM's standards. Supposedly. At the Chevy dealer the parts guy told me, that he was told by his boss that GM made sure that all the AC Delco parts were up to the original GM parts standards of quality. I do not know how much of this is actually true. But it does make sense, sort of. He said that some of them were even the same parts. Maybe someone here can say if all that is true or false

[Hubscrub]

If the starter is nice and quiet, i would get it rebuilt i always get my alternators and starters rebuilt at a local auto electric shop. New starters can be a pain to get shimmed correctly.