Well my car is running 100%..........over 6000 miles since the engine build.


I just developed a grinding/ high pitch squeal on start up which is the starter.....I rebuilt the starter when I did the motor and it worked great till today.......any idea what will cause this.....teeth not meshing in flywheel properly???


Do I just go and buy a new starter??

 

Make sure it's tight. Get under there with the battery disconnected and inspect your flex plate and starter gear teeth. Then pry the starter drive gear out and check your gear alignment.

 

Did the bolts come loose?

 

Does it have a brace? If so loosen it, and the starter bolts, and then tighten the starter bolts, but not the brace. I have seen rebuilt starter that are off a little on the brace, and makes the aliment off a little.

 

"pry the starter drive gear out and check your gear alignment"

Remember that moving the gear out may well move the solenoid such that the electrical contact is made. Thus activating the starter motor. A guy I worked with at Fasco lost the tip of his thumb doing just that.

 

Ah, but the post also said to disconnect the battery first..

Roger, what parts of the starter did you replace and keep. I'm wondering if the bushings may have gotten contaminated? Seems odd that this would just start showing up a year later. With 6k miles on it, you've likely got several hundred starts on it.

 

Just had another thought. Did you lube the helical groove the bendix travels on?

 

Another thought here also. Drive going bad. It will make noise if it is locking or sticking when it should be overrunning.

 

Sorry guys been busy trying to get ***** done around the house....deck staining!!!


So I went out this morning and lowered the starter and reinstalled it and it now seems worse.......It seems like its not returning......when the car is running ......So I just shut it off and left it as I don't have anyone to crank the car over when im under to have a look.......but it sure sounds like its not retracting....Will wait till I have someone to crank it over and I can take a look!!


Also do many of the oem starters come with shims???? I don't recall my starter having any shims

 

Roger, if the bendix isn't retracting there's a possibility the spring in the solenoid (attached to the shift lever) may be busted or too weak? Start there and see if you can manually get the bendix to push out and retract normally.
re: shims. When I took my 72 starter off last year there were no shims. After the rebuild I cranked it and no problems.

LOL you're staining the deck, I'm building a new one. Great minds think alike....probably costs less to stain than a new one though.

 

I done all new wood on the deck last season....now it time to stain......if the rain would stop.....lol I hate working on this starter.....I have the car up on jack stands but its still a bitch to work on.....I guess ill take it right out and have a look at it

 

Hey! There's a deck wash you can use on treated or SPF wood to remove the lube used by the saws, and the surface of PT wood so it can be stained right away. Scrub n wash, dry (oh yeah, I'm with you on that one) and stain.

If I was there I'd be under the car helping ya. I know it's a bit of a PITA working on it alone; even with the car up 18" or so. While you're there take a good look at the flywheel and see if you have any wear spots. The bendix will also give you some clues if it's been meshing wrong, and will also tell you how deep it's been throwing.

 

Quick update.....removed the starter and used 2 5/16 flat washers as shims...and it works great.......as for wear marks on the flywheel looks like the gear was deep in the valley of the flywheel......starts fine now no noise and I also bench tested the starter and it works 100% as it should!!


I also tightened the 2 bolts to the starter before I tightened up the bracket bolts!!!


Now if only this rain would quit.......thanks for all the help guys!!

 

The 5/16ths flat washers may give you some problems down the road. Starter shims work better.

 

I hope it's ok..... I didn't have any shims....... So should I not leve it like this..... It's sounds great starting now!!!

 

I know its a pia but the washers don't allow it to seat properly against the block. It may loosen in the future. The plus in this is you have a brace to keep it aligned. I would put shims in it when you get a chance.