Chevy flywheels of flex plates

[cecil misner]

My starter situation worsens. I get it to work fine for a couple of starts, then back to the same gringing. It is maddening to lay in the parking lot at Wells Fargo and then have to get towed home by the little lady. Guess it ain't all that simple.

CEEC

[Krovette]

After going thru several shim kits and a few starters I wonder if the problem could be in the flywheel ? Is it possible it is cracked in the mount bolt holes letting the flywheel flex or warp ? Just trying to think outside of teh box .

[23Tzer]

I went through eight starters and a couple of flex plates over a six year period on my BBC. It turned out that I had to shim the outside of the starter over 1/4" and no shims on the inside. It hasn't made a bad sound since I did that about a year ago. I can tell you for sure I was sick of that problem but thankful for the lifetime warranty.

[Terry McAllister]

With a BBC you need to use the bracket on the front of the starter , otherwise it will grind and sooner or later it will knock the head off the starter ...just my two cents worth

[23Tzer]

I have the front support bracket and I also tried a hi torque mini starter with a support bracket and it did the same thing. I think on mine, that the block casting was wrong and had to be shimmed down a lot on the outside to get the teeth to mesh up right.

[cecil misner]

Still have the shimming problem but I found and fixed the wiring problem. I'm going to try the trick Al suggested which is shimming only the outside bolt. Pokey, newer GM starters don't have the extended case bolt needed for the front bracket.

CEEC

[23Tzer]

Ceec,
I pulled the solenoid off and pulled the gear to mesh with the flex plate then added shims on the outside until the gears were almost fully meshed. Then I measured the shims and got a 3/8" spacer that thickness and it solved my problems. It probably would have been alright to just use the stack of shims but I just felt better with one thick spacer.

[cecil misner]

After using every suggestion on the this thread, I decided to use the front bracket. So, I took my starter to a repair shop and they put in the extended bolt needed to put the bracket on. I made a bracket and installed it and a .020 shim just in case. Starter has worked for about 20 starts, guess I put in the show tomorrow.


CEEC

[Rolla Hessel]

Good luck with the starter and the show Ceec.