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Starter grinding


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I just replaced my rear main seal on my 350 Magnum. Everything went back together without any problems. Flywheel, damper plate, bell housing and tranny all torqued down to specs. Cranked it up last night for the first time and my starter is not engaging properly. It is grinding. My shop manual says there are shims on some of the starters, I don't remember one when I took it off. Is it possible that the starter is just not seated properly? I did not have time last night to pull it off and re-install it. Anyone had similar problems. I never had starter problems before. I can't imagine there being a problem with the flywheel, although I did not measure the run out when I re-installed it, I did not see the need since I did not fool with the crank.

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I'd start by pulling the starter and checking for fresh witness marks, to see where it's contacting the flywheel. That should give you a pretty good clue about it's alignment...

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That sounds good. The way the starter mounts, it seems like there is room for error. I hope it is something as simple as that.

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Loosen the bolts and move the starter around and re-tighten. Give it a try. If it still grinds, STOP.

The starter should not be engaging until the drive gear is extended into the flywheel (i.e. the solenoid contact is made). Unless the gear is stopping and the spring is taking the impact allowing the motor to engage. Hmmmm....

Get some shims from your local auto supply and start adding them until it gets quite.

Since not parts were replaced other than the seal, you should be able to get it back into the same position without shims.

You did put the flywheel correct side out, right? ;)

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You did put the flywheel correct side out, right?

That's a good question.

Another good thing for you shady tree types is to index the flywheel before you remove it. This would go for any application. It means to mark the flywheel so that it goes back on the exact same bolt hole pattern as it came off.

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You did put the flywheel correct side out, right?

That's a good question.

Another good thing for you shady tree types is to index the flywheel before you remove it. This would go for any application. It means to mark the flywheel so that it goes back on the exact same bolt hole pattern as it came off.

PP, Isn't there an indexing pin on the crank? I can't remember exactly, but I thought there was. Dontknow.gif

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You did put the flywheel correct side out, right?

That's a good question.

Another good thing for you shady tree types is to index the flywheel before you remove it. This would go for any application. It means to mark the flywheel so that it goes back on the exact same bolt hole pattern as it came off.

PP, Isn't there an indexing pin on the crank? I can't remember exactly, but I thought there was. Dontknow.gif

The index pin, if there, would still allow for the flywheel to be installed

inside out. which would change the distance between the starter & the flywheel.

This may be a silly question, but is the voltage good ? real low voltage could let the starter spin & the gear kick out, but not hard enough to engage the

flywheel & just grind against it. Just a thought

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If this is a GM style starter, the solenoid sits on top of the starter. When the key is turned, a coil in the solenoid forms a magnetic field that pulls a plunger into the solenoid. The plunger is attached to a lever that extends the drive gear out into the ring gear. When the plunger reaches the back of the solenoid, it pushes a device that forces the contacts in the solenoid to connect and engage the motor. Hence, the motor should not turn until the drive gear is already in the ring gear.

The fact that it grinds tells me that the drive gear (that is spring loaded partially for this purpose) is getting stopped, the spring is collapsed enough to allow the solenoid to engage the starter motor.

A flywheel generally is a heavy steel plate that is used with a clutch assembly in an automotive application. A flex plate with a ring gear is used with and automatic. On my boat, I had what looks like the center of a clutch plate, and the rest was a flex plate. The center hub is spring loaded to help absorb the shock on the prop shaft when it is put into gear. I do not believe it could be installed incorrectly within reason.

I believe under the circumstances given by the owner, there is a missalignment from the R&R of the parts. I was just thinking out loud trying to state possibilities from what I have experienced in the past.

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I put a mark on the damper plate and flywheel so I could re-install them the same way they came off, so I know that they went back on correctly. Tonight I am going to pull the starter and see if there is an alignment problem. I've talked to several people as well as the input from here, and I feel confident it is going to be a problem with the way I installed the starter. A GM mechanic was telling me that it is not real unusual for a starter to be off a little when installed. I always though they would only go on one way, I guess that is why it freaked me out so much when I went to crank it.

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Problem solved. There is a cover plate that is in between the bell housing and block. It goes up around the hole where the starter head goes thru. There is cork shim, actually looks like gasket, about 1/8" thick that goes between the cover plate and the bell housing at the starter. This was missing, allowing the starter to fit too far up on the flywheel. It's amazing how 1/8" can make that much difference. Shimmed it out, no more grinding.

Thanks for all the input everyone.

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Problem solved.  There is a cover plate that is in between the bell housing and block.  It goes up around the hole where the starter head goes thru.  There is cork shim, actually looks like gasket, about 1/8" thick that goes between the cover plate and the bell housing at the starter.  This was missing, allowing the starter to fit too far up on the flywheel.  It's amazing how 1/8" can make that much difference.  Shimmed it out, no more grinding.

Thanks for all the input everyone.

Yahoo.gifYahoo.gif

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