HELP** Starter or damper plate??

[chill8888]

Hello all, newbie here,  having a issue and was hoping for advice, I have a 2015 wakesetter 24MXZ with 427 corvette motor, while on water this weekend i stopped the engine by pressing the button as usual and heard kind of a clunk( NOT VERY LOUD, JUST LIKE A CLIINK). went to start engine back up and when i press the start button it sounds like the starter is spinning but not engaging to anything, its not turning the motor over. any suggestions on what i may have going on? any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Steve B.]

Probably the solonoid on the starter. Your sure the batteries are fully charged?

[JeffK]

Could also be the bendix gear on the starter.

[chill8888]

thanks for the replies guys,, im sure hoping thats all it is, im going to pull the starter today and check it out.

on the batteries, i havent thought about that,but havent had any issues, ill put them on charge today as well to check out.

[Bozboat]

1 hour ago, chill8888 said:

thanks for the replies guys,, im sure hoping thats all it is, im going to pull the starter today and check it out.

on the batteries, i havent thought about that,but havent had any issues, ill put them on charge today as well to check out.

Check the voltage on the battery before charging and again a day or so after you charge them.  If they are more than a few years old, you might take them to an auto parts store and have them load tested.  Here is the @shawndoggy battery chart.

[chill8888]

so a bad battery would give the symptoms of what I've got going on?? you can hear the starter turning freely, but not engaging when you hit the button, and all other electronics are working

 

 

Edited May 7 by chill8888

[Rednucleus]

I'll bet you find a bad starter/solenoid/bendix

Edited May 7 by Rednucleus

[Bozboat]

15 minutes ago, chill8888 said:

so a bad battery would give the symptoms of what I've got going on?? you can hear the starter turning freely, but not engaging when you hit the button, and all other electronics are working

 

 

If the battery is not strong enough to spin the starter at the correct speed, the gear on the end of the starter might not engage the flywheel.  Checking the battery is a way of ruling out that problem.   It is more likely to be the starter bendix due to age or dirt/grease. 

[Steve B.]

20 minutes ago, chill8888 said:

so a bad battery would give the symptoms of what I've got going on?? you can hear the starter turning freely, but not engaging when you hit the button, and all other electronics are working

 

 

Probably not, but it's easy to check before you remove parts.

[justgary]

Note that the @shawndoggy voltage chart referenced by @Bozboat above is resting voltage.  Fully charge the battery and let it rest for at least thirty minutes off the charger and then test the voltage.

My vote is that the bendix is fine but the commutator is full of carbon from the brushes.  The power of the starter is much less when the commutator resistance from pole to pole is not high enough.  Of course, it is a great idea to lube the bendix while you have the starter out.

 

[chill8888]

Thanks for all the tips guys.

I ALSO WANNA ADD THAT MY STARTER HAS BEEN SLUGGISH TO START THE BOAT LAST FEW TIMES OUT, SOMETIMES IT WOULD SPIN OVER QUICKLY AND SOMETIEMES IT WOULD BARELY START THE BOAT. 

[Bozboat]

1 hour ago, chill8888 said:

Thanks for all the tips guys.

I ALSO WANNA ADD THAT MY STARTER HAS BEEN SLUGGISH TO START THE BOAT LAST FEW TIMES OUT, SOMETIMES IT WOULD SPIN OVER QUICKLY AND SOMETIEMES IT WOULD BARELY START THE BOAT. 

Good clue.  Get the starter rebuilt.  Keep telling the alternator shop that it goes in a boat.  Check the batteries as well.

[chill8888]

Ok guys.  Pulled the starter and the gear is gone the end of the splines on the starter shaft. Now how do I find that gear. I’m sure it could do some major damage 

[Bozboat]

I’m not sure about your engine configuration, but maybe you could find it by fishing around with a magnet on a pole thru the hole where the starter was located (bottom mount starter?) or maybe you can find a plate on the back of the bell housing at the bottom that you can remove and fish around.

Edited May 7 by Bozboat

[chill8888]

It a top mount starter , LS3 motor

[Bozboat]

Do you see any access plate or inspection plate or dust cover plate at the bottom of the bell housing similar to what I marked in the photo?

with the oil pan on, look between the oil pan and the bell housing 

Edited May 7 by Bozboat

[chill8888]

I ordered a long skinny flex magnet will be here Tommorrow., and I’ll look for an access plate when I craw back in there 

[justgary]

5 hours ago, chill8888 said:

I ALSO WANNA ADD.... 

I'm just happy that you aren't shouting at us any more.

[Bozboat]

22 minutes ago, justgary said:

I'm just happy that you aren't shouting at us any more.

I was about to mail him a tasty Florida Man Beer

[chill8888]

Update... been fishing with magnet for last few days with flew magnet and haven't found anything with magnet, there is not a inspection plate. however i was able to borrow a borescope from a friend and was able to find 3 small freshly broken pieces of what looks like parts of that gear and they don't look like they are big enough to cause any damage. i have looked for hours and haven't been able to find anymore pieces but there has to be a couple more pieces in there somewhere, pretty sure the gear got busted to pieces when it hit the flywheel. i have a new starter that will be here tomorrow. thoughts on running as is??

[oldjeep]

I wouldn't.  Did you find an inspection plate?

Edited Tuesday at 03:55 PM by oldjeep

[Steve B.]

The only thing I would add is if you do try to operate it as is, stick a powerful magnet near the bottom of the bellhousing and leave it there permanently to try to keep whatever is left in there pulled to the magnet.

Keep us posted.