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1969 Toronado.
So I got a new refurb starter from symptoms that the original went bad. Next problem is a section of flex plate teeth are worn down completely. I can start the car by rotating the engine with a wrench to get past the spot.
I think this happened quickly, it never started great, but this is recent. And shiny. Could the new starter wreck the old teeth? or some installation/alignment problem? Or did I just hammer down on it once and screwed myself.
Thoughts? I have great mechanics in National City, but want to know a little about this.
Thank you.
Last edited by goodeye69; Jun 18, 2023 at 05:44 PM.
Reason: Flex plate
Definitely a racket. The old starter was making all kinds of noises, including dead stop then starting up again, hammering, etc. This starter seems good, when it's not on these teeth. When it is on them, it just spins. When it takes time to start, it has a big hammer/thump as it goes by. I've been priming the carb with gas so it starts immediately.
Thanks. I just don't want it to happen again, if I did something wrong (other than keep cranking when it was clanking...)
Someone was in here at some point - the flex plate cover has only 2 out of 5 bolts, and the swivel cover piece doesn't go down all the way, it's bumping into gunk or something more solid.
I do like how workable the car is, but this is out of my league. My mechanics are transmission and classic car people, so this is a good "while it's apart" moment, like you say. e.g., the timing gear is the original nylon one - from other threads, it's on borrowed time.
@Eric, no other bad spots. I couple tips of teeth are shiny, but this is the only worn spot. Seems to want to "settle" here fairly often, I need to rotate it to get it to start.