i have a 73 cutlass supreme with a 455 and every time i crank the car over the starter lets out an awful screeching noise and will get slower and slower and completely drains my battery with in a few key turns i have no clue whats wrong with it im new to working with oldsmobiles please help

 

Sounds like it needs a rebuild or replacement.

 

its brand new i just got it a couple days ago

 

what did the old one do?

 

Its not unheard of to get a bad starter. Have double checked clearances between the starter drive and flexplate or flywheel?

 

it was cracked

 

and i have checked that there was space but i have not measured the space

 

There should be about .030 ,a paperclips clearance in between the point of the starter drive gear and the valley of the flexplate teeth when they mesh. Did you use knurled bolts? Is the starter a high torque factory?

 

i did not use knurled bolts

 

You need knurled American course thread bolts, not metric. They align the starter to the block, plain bolts allow the starter to twist.

 

ok thank you ill get some and try them and see if that fixes the problem

 

You should be able to find the starter bolts at any parts store if you didn't save the originals.

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