Starter Help

[wayne petty]

a pic of the starter through and through

if the wire is stuck on the stud... and the nut just spins... the studs on some starters are different sizes... this might be why you are having problems...

[msuguydon]

Sometimes starters test good with no load and when you put the load of trying to start the engine they do not respond

I think I have found the problem....      



Soooo... I got my wiring figured out.. hit the old key and boom... pieces on the driveway....sooooo... either I did not install the starter correctly or.... I had a problem... can the plunger.. over travel.. was that the boom I was hearing?  anyway.... roll back is coming tomorrow.. my mechanic is on call.. got to get it fixed before I leave for tampa.. so it can sit in storage.. fixed...     I am such a gold chainer...

I wonder if I can be captain of Team Smart.

Thanks guys for all your help, I mean that... two years ago I would have never pulled a starter and reinstalled.. I have come a long way.. much at the expense of this board....

Ohhh welll.. live and learn...

[phat46]

Sometimes starters test good with no load and when you put the load of trying to start the engine they do not respond

I think I have found the problem....      



Soooo... I got my wiring figured out.. hit the old key and boom... pieces on the driveway....sooooo... either I did not install the starter correctly or.... I had a problem... can the plunger.. over travel.. was that the boom I was hearing?  anyway.... roll back is coming tomorrow.. my mechanic is on call.. got to get it fixed before I leave for tampa.. so it can sit in storage.. fixed...     I am such a gold chainer...

I wonder if I can be captain of Team Smart.

Thanks guys for all your help, I mean that... two years ago I would have never pulled a starter and reinstalled.. I have come a long way.. much at the expense of this board....

Ohhh welll.. live and learn...

Hey i have an extra one of those if you need it, maybe two if i look way back under the workbench where I threw one years ago.  When you get a new starter make sure it's the right one. I found out the hard way there's more than one starter for a SBC..... :oops:

[EMSjunkie]

I see the problem......your using Budweiser on your starter......they need Coors to operate properly    

darn "Chainers"

Vance

[wayne petty]

the starter noses are available...at most starter rebuilders....


some of the heavy duty truck electric shops  will also have them....

they usually sell for 20 bucks...

or get a whole starter....

i wish i had bought a bunch of those before the independant  starter parts place got put out of business by the multinational who requires you to get 3 letters from your closest competetors that you are not stepping on their toes...

[enjenjo]

I am guessing that there is not a starter Brace on your car because " everyone knows you don't need it" Get one at the dealer, under $5, and have your mechanic put it on. It prevents the starter nose breaking off.

I think it was probably cracked when you took it off before, but no one saw it.

[wayne petty]

so today just as the earthquake went off here... and yes it was rocking and a rolling...

i was working on the boat captains starter... on his 73 C20 crewcab 350..

he had been having problems with his truck eating starters for a long time...

he even went as far installing a dual batterys .. with those cheep plastic key switches to turn each one off...

he pulled out a spare starter that had previously  been on this truck... but the nose was cracked... i carefully scraped out a tiny bit of mica/? out from between the commutator segments. then lightly sanded it to get it smooth.. touched up the brushes...  lightly greased it up... swapped the nose off the low torque unit from the truck... i then took the front off the solenoid... cleaned the contact disc...  the studs.. greased the disc plunger shaft... lightly...  reassembled the solenoid.. used some sil glide trailer ball lube on the big plunger sides...  wire brushing the pair of leads that come up out of the case on both sides... wire brushing the ends of the spacer and screw... then assembling the unit...  i then ran it with my booster box.. first the motor only... then the solenoid only.. then both...

i then put it in...  you would not believe how nice it starts..

now... how to tell if you have a high torque starter... the little tabs that stick up out of the back of the case... if it is one layer thick... it is low torque... if it is 2 layers thick it is a high torque...

the high torque cases have the leads sticking out within an inch of the brush end...  the low torque cases have the lead sticking up  out of the larger diameter section..  up the step.....

if someone trys to sell you a 3508 starter... ask for a 3510...  unless you have a straight 6 it will fit...

the low torque starters also have armatures that are almost 3/4" smaller in diameter..  you cannot tell from the outside.. except for the amount of power leads/tabs sticking out..


there is a difference in a 3510 and a 3510M   M is for metric... i dont know what year they did it.. but some small block chevys use metric bolts to hold the starter to the block... look to see if the starter bolts have 6 hash marks on the head.   or numbers like 10.9 or 12.9.,. the numbered are metric..  10mmx1.5 pitch...  warning.. warning... warning...  if you try to put metric bolts into a block threaded SAE ... you will split the block..  and ruin it... forever.. unless you like cobbled...

the 3510M starter motors are also drilled for 10mm... so it you use a 3/8" bolt ... they will slide around...  and never be right...

what else... if your starter uses 5/16 inch nuts on the S and R terminals.. use them...  it will annoy the next guy except it might be you.. and then you can just use your 4 way screwdriver with the large tip removed...

also dorman  motormite makes a starter shield for gm starter solenoids...
#45629    Solve hot start problems on GM vehicles by shielding starter solenoid from exhaust heat

i think that you need longer 1/4-20 screws to properly install these..  i did not get one on this truck...

oh... and the low torque starter that i took off.. when i opened it... the commutator segments had melted and smeared till one touched the next and the next.. so all the windings were getting power at the same time...

this must of made the magnetic fields from the armature insane..  pulling so much current and pulling in all directions at the same time..

what else... i hope this post helps someone.....

[phat rat]

I don't remember but is this motor a 283 or a 350? If 350 quit monkeying around with the old type starter and buy a GM mini starter. They cost a bit more depending on where you get it.  Sometimes a bit over $200, but they hold up and don't heat sink