84 Silverado 305 starting issues

[benscool1]

My 84 has been giving me trouble lately. When I first start it after its been sitting a day or two it cranks over just fine but doesn't get fuel, like it lost its prime. You have to put a little gas down the carb and then it fires right up and runs good other than being a little cold-blooded. The fuel pump is new and the lines look good but the original quadrajet was pretty worn out so I slapped on a new 1406 Edelbrock I had sitting on the shelf last night. I'll find out if I solved that problem when I get home tonight.

My other problem is when I start it after the truck it is warmed up the starter cranks VERY slowly, almost like the battery is going dead. Its got a brand new battery, all cables and connections have been cleaned and checked, and the alternator is showing that its charging. I've heard "heat sink" I think its called, can cause a seemingly good starter to not work properly after the engine is hot. Could my starter be going bad?

Any insight or advice would be great, I don't really have any spare cash to be throwing at this thing right now if I don't need to.
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[TDS-MN]

I've read of Quadrajets leaking fuel out of the float bowl, thus emptying the carb, and causing the symptoms you describe. I have not had the issue with mine, unless I let the truck sit for 4-5 days between starts. You might very well have eliminated the issue with the carb swap, time will tell I guess.

i think "heat soak" is the term you are thinking of. Are you running headers on the 305? stock manifolds shouldn't have the pipes close enough to cause any issues, but otherwise you could be getting the starter hot while running. I have heard of smaller-body starters to help get some more clearance, but have no experience with this condition, even back when I had a truck with long-tube headers. There may be some heat shield or something that is available, I don't know. . . . I would guess that continued heat cycles could be causing long- term damage to the starter.

[motornut]

I'd check over the lines
bought a car off a friends uncle
said he had been starting it like that,
got it home dropped the tank found a rusted out sender

[Shyguy]

This kind of a problem has been discussed a lot on the '67-'72 side of the forum.

Q-jets have to have a leak problem underneath the bottom of the carb where there are some plugs.

Edelbrocks also have a problem with fuel boiling out of the carb because of heat. A phenolic heat isolator installed under it usually fixes the problem.

The starter turning over slowly after the engine gets hot is a symptom of starter heat soak. A heat shield can be installed over the starter, sometimes this helps. Also a mini-high torque starter usally solves the problem.

Many people will suggest checking and making sure all connections are good on the positive and negative wires. I had wires from the battery that had corrosion on the inside of the insulation causing a problem.

[Sodell]

For my experience, you have the beginning of a bad starter or you have a bad battery.

[benscool1]

The new Edelbrock seems to have taken care of that problem.

I dropped the starter after work today and the bolts holding the case together were loose. I think that might have been causing it to bind a bit. But I took it down and inspected and cleaned everything then lubed it. It's like I put a brand new starter on, night and day difference.

Thanks for the advice guys. Between the new exhaust I put on Saturday, the new carb and fixing the starter problem it's like a different truck.
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