Starter...again...still..

[GMCjunkie]

The wire appears to go across the front of my truck(over the radiator) and into the firewall on the drivers side. Not sure on the meshing yet, hope to get clarity on that tomorrow.

[Z16]

Wow, you haven't had luck with this have you. That certainly does look like the main power feed, and the way you describe where it goes, sounds right, too. It does go on the Positive battery post. I'm sure it won't comfortably stretch to the negative side.

The grinding is going to require some shimming. Mostly trial and error

[GMCjunkie]

I did shims darlin, 1,2,3 , half shims, full shims, inside, out side... think Ive ruled out shims, lol

[GMCjunkie]

Hooked up that wire, didnt change anything. Tomorrows another day...

[ERASER5]

Originally Posted by GMCjunkie

I did shims darlin, 1,2,3 , half shims, full shims, inside, out side... think Ive ruled out shims, lol

Not to be snippy, but doing shims and measuring shim results are entirely different things. I presume you did measure the gaps, but you never said that you had.

[GMCjunkie]

Not to worry, I never take advice as snippy. No I havent measured gaps yet. Im hoping tomorrow to make more progress. Thanks for you help!

[Hubscrub]

You will get it don't worry we all have been there sometime or another the best thing i learned is to just walk away when you get flustered and come back later GOOD LUCK

[GMCjunkie]

Thanks! I think thats whats taking so long tho, I do more walking away than I do fixing the problem, lol. I just get sick of paying people to work on my truck, seems like every tme somone "fixes" something, they leave their mark with something cut, broken, scratched, dinged....seems like it never ends...

...Oh, then there was the time that I dropped her off for some repairs and got it back with over 200 miles on her.....yeah....

[Hubscrub]

Originally Posted by GMCjunkie

Thanks! I think thats whats taking so long tho, I do more walking away than I do fixing the problem, lol. I just get sick of paying people to work on my truck, seems like every tme somone "fixes" something, they leave their mark with something cut, broken, scratched, dinged....seems like it never ends...

...Oh, then there was the time that I dropped her off for some repairs and got it back with over 200 miles on her.....yeah....

that is why i do all i can on my own, people don't respect stuff anymore i get so mad sometimes at work when people say "i don't care it ain't mine".

[eightbanger]

...Oh, then there was the time that I dropped her off for some repairs and got it back with over 200 miles on her.....yeah....

That's out of control...!!

[GMCjunkie]

yep, once (or several) bitten, twice shy...

[k5hart]

I checked the engine I have in the garage and a 5/16 -18 bolt went right in the bracket hole. I wonder if yours has been messed up somehow.

When the truck turned over this last time, did it spin fast like it should or struggle, then bind?

[GMCjunkie]

It spun like it should for a few turns, then it bound up. I didnt want to push it and ruin another starter. Im at a loss now. Ive done all I can physically do, I cant drop the tranny to get to the fly wheel. A guy was supposed to come by and check on it for me, but to my utter surprise and dismay, he didnt show.... What a shocker. Anyways, just trying to be patient, the right person will come along or somehow Ill get it figured out. Its been sitting there, reckon it aint goin anywhere, lol.

[Alex Hayley]

Can you crawl under and check the distance from the starter gear to the flywheel gear when the starter gear is extended out to the flywheel. Use a 1/8" drill bit. This is the standard measurement and will tell you how to shim the starter.

[dadsworktruck]

"It spun like it should for a few turns, then it bound up"...Man this starter job has me about ready to go to fla myself and see if i can fix it, lol...if it is spinning over a few rounds then quits to me that sounds like a battery capacity problem rather than a misaligment issue...

[Zeke's Garage]

It sounds like the ring gear is out of round, or the flywheel/flexplate is warped. It's too close in one area, the too far away on the opposite side. You would need to get under it and turn it over by hand then check the starter engagement in several spots along the way... I'm thinking it would be pretty evident at that point.

[faribran]

looks like the tranny is gonna have to come out........... looks like ur about an hour west of Tally......

[GMCjunkie]

Zeke, what I dont understand is, how could it get out of round or even damaged? It started great before I sent it to the paint shop. It was started periodically for over 2 1/2 years, but never driven. The guys at the paint shop said that it started grinding there so they changed it. Wouldnt it have to have wear or something for something to damage it like that?
Also, the battery is brand new, quality and heavy duty, altho this last time I triedto start it, it acted like it was dying.

Its really frustrating for me to come on here after yall have taken your time and gone outof your way to give me advice and possible solutions, and then have to ask stupid questions like "how do you turn it over by hand?" and "how do I know if it is properly engaging or engaging all the way?". You guys that can just go and pop out a tranny , fix it, and stab it back in in an afternoon are my heroes.

Sorry yall, Ive just never had such issues with this truck in all the years Ive owned it. Just kinda disheartening. Ill get it eventually. Couldnt have come this far with out you. THANK YOU!

[eightbanger]

This sounds suspect to me.....

It was started periodically for over 2 1/2 years, but never driven. The guys at the paint shop said that it started grinding there so they changed it.

an awful lot can happen in 2 1/2 yrs, it would be a gradual thing it wouldn't just start grinding one day unless something happened to damage it, and how much do these "Paint Shop" guys know about swapping out flex plates and starters on classic burbs, the day they messed with it or damaged it is the day your probs started.
If you can, lay underneath and hold the flex at 8oclock and 4oclock (wear gloves the teeth will cut in a bit) and try to turn the FP left and right like a steering wheel, pull back and forth on it as well... just to see if it's loose in anyway, they may also have fitted it back to front...the balancing weight on the FP should be facing the engine.
This is were Shawn (Zeke's Garage) was talking about turning it by hand, if you're able you can rotate the FP a full 360 by hand and watch it as it passes the small cog on the starter to see it it moves closer to or further from it at any point...if it does then that would indicate a warped/bent FP.
You can bet that none of the guys on here give a dam about how many things you need to ask, it's what the forum is here for and why we're all members, it's how we learn.

[racer57]

This sounds like a problem I had once on a dirt car. The flexplate didn't get lined up properly. The dowel hole didn't get lined up and it was binding up so bad it was actually breaking the nose. If the fp has been replaced this may be something to check.

[Hart_Rod]

This has probably already been covered, but there are 2 differnt flexplates for small blocks.

http://www.summitracing.com/search/?...explates&dds=1

One has 168 teeth and the other has 153 teeth. I'm pretty sure each requires a different starter. Just thought I would toss this out there. Good luck.

[k5hart]

I hate to say it but it still sounds very similar to my problems when the bolt hole was cracked. Would explain why this has all of a sudden started happening. It took quite a while and a lot of grinding before it got bad enough to see the crack.

I do agree with checking the flywheel for looseness or correct installation if you really think the body shop would have messed with it.

[GMCjunkie]

Nigel, thanks for that, I appreciate it The flywheel wasnt changed, just the starter. I will get under there tomorrow if it dosent rain and turn it by hand. I did wiggle it side to side and to and fro and it seems solid. Its the same fly wheel thats been on it since before I put it in the shop, and, I think it was a newer one (as in not original when the truck was new) I think I had a new one put on years ago, but would have to go back thru all my recipts to be sure.

[hayhauler71]

Just my 2 cents but is it possable your bellhousing bolts are loose. I have seen this in our shop only once.

[GMCjunkie]

bellhousing bolts? How do I check for that?