Nitro DarkSide

I'm gonna have to buy a starter heat shield soon, because when the car get hot, i can't start it. Monday i waited one hour to get the car started again!

I found this on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...ht_2893wt_1165

and this on willcox:
http://willcoxcorvette.com/product_i...oducts_id=8480

Any suggestion?

Paolo.

DZRick

I'd purchase from Willcox ,myself.

It's half the price and Willcox puts in a lot of time on this forum trouble shooting our Corvettes, seems like a no-brainer to me.

Nitro DarkSide

i would do that either since i have to buy something else from willcox.... i can actually try that and if it doesn't work it will mean i have wasted just $11.

DZRick

Ask Willcox if it will work before you order it, I see it's listed as '69-'74. Willcox's customer service is 2nd to none, IMHO

That e-bay ad strangely enough only lists '73-'74.

KTKelly

I bought a Mr. Gasket piece and it turned out to be utterly useless.

Tried giving it away on here to no avail.



Went with a mini starter instead of messing with the old style starter....

Mark Battersby

Funny this came up...

About 2hrs ago I was at my local "Corvette Specialist" having a new starter and heat shield fitted while I waited. 1/2hr into the job, they stated the heat shield they ordered did not fit, so they had to install the starter without one. Mine is a '73 454. I'll call them back now to find out what brand of heat shield it was..

Aussie Mark

KTKelly

The Mr. Gasket shield fit perfectly.


Didn't help one da** bit, bit it did fit....

GUSTO14

Paolo,
Look carefully at the two shields you've posted, they are not the same. The Mr Gasket is a real starter shield the factory never used and is primarily designed to provide some shielding to the starter from excessive exhaust heat, most often from headers. The Wilcox shield is a factory part that provides some shielding to the solenoid from exhaust heat. If excessive heat really is the problem, the first one will do a better job.

These cars came without a true starter shield and simply the solenoid shield and worked well for many years. Unless you're running headers, you shouldn't need the Mr Gasket shield if everything else is functioning properly. I would look for the cause of the problem, most likely a poorly functioning starter, and try to solve that problem.

The mini starters often do a good job in high heat situations because they allow more air flow around the starter. However a properly functioning original starter should work just fine too. Having said that, I do ensure that I install the factory solenoid shield on my starters.

Good luck... GUSTO

hwcoop

I threw a rebuild kit in mine...brushes, bushings and a solonoid spins over just fine when its hot.
Also check, clean all your grounds and positive connections. and check cables for damage.

Nitro DarkSide

when i bought the car, the owner told me he changed the starter due to the same problem. I should have a "new" starter on the Corvette, bought from Advance auto parts or something like that.

Since i'm experiencing the problem again, i want to try to put a shield and see if it will solve it. Otherwise i will investigate the problem...

Since i saw bad reviews about the one on ebay, i think i'm gonna go for this one:

http://www.jcwhitney.com/starter-covers/p2005175.jcwx

Mark Battersby

I feel your pain. When i bought my 73 BB last week, I had to wait 15mins to start it once it was hot - but the previous owner had warned me. New starter fitted today, I'll let you know how it fares!

Aussie Mark

corvetteload

Don't be quick to blame the starter...........make sure you have a good ground at the battery/frame and make sure you have the correct battery for your application..............

Nitro DarkSide

that link is broken...

i meant this:




"STARTER COVER
Reflects 48% of radiant heat to ensure faster, easier start
Blocks excessive heat that can destroy starter and solenoid

A must for vehicles with high-heat-generating exhaust headers. Special heat-reflective aluminized fabric outer cover over a woven fiberglass mat filled with additional fiberglass insulation and sewn with fireproof thread. Withstands temperatures up to 1,000 degrees F without burning, melting or distorting. Approx. 7-1/4" x 22" cover wraps completely around any starter/solenoid, held secure by aircraft-quality hook/loop/fastener. Fiberglass starter cover also available. "


Anyway, i'll check also what you guys said. thanks.

Curby

I have the cheap one from Advance Auto on my car, works fine except the reflective foil started to tear and come off. I ordered a replacemetn from Summit when I bought a few fuel line parts. It was $18.

Nitro DarkSide

That one is $23.... It keeps raining here, i have time to check everything in my garage

Derrick Reynolds

I had this classic problem when I bought my car, even with a heat shield in place and stock exhaust manifolds. Most of us are running iron blocks with aluminum pistons. Aluminum expands with heat faster than iron, so as your engine gets warm, the pistons fit tighter in the cylinders and makes it harder for the starter to turn the engine over. Even a minimal loss of amperage to the starter will cause it to turn the hot engine over very slowly, or maybe not at all. On mine, after wrestling with the problem for over a month, I found that some of the connections on my solenoid were pretty boogered up so that I wasn't getting the greatest contact. $12 at NAPA for a new solenoid, and the problem evaporated. I am also running a WalMart battery that came with the car, sooner or later I will replace that with a proper heavy-duty battery.

Wuttin

I installed the "correct year" Mr. Gasket unit and had to cut it to get proper clearance for the wiring. Seemed to help at first then turned out not to help at all.

Ultimately I installed one of the remote solenoids from Jegs that works like a charm. HOWEVER, if I was to do it all over again I would follow advice of many CF members and just get a high torque mini-starter and be done with it. In reality I may do it anyway just to simplify the system I'm surently running. Live and learn

roger3

Can you describe the starter problem (Car won't spin over, solenoid does not engage gear, starter spins engine really slow, etc)?

I have 71 LS-5, all stock including exhaust manifolds. Only had it a few months. Wondering what might be down the road for me.

Thanks,

Roger

Nitro DarkSide

Car too hot, i try to start the engine, but it won't crank. No noise from the starter.

All lights on, battery ok. I turn the key, nothing happens.

I will change the starter too anyway

Derrick Reynolds

On mine, the worst was getting gas. I would pull up to the pump in August, and shut the engine down. It seemed like the time it took to fill the tank was the exact right amount of time for any heat soak that was going to happen to happen (if you believe in that sort of thing). I would finish filling and turn the key and get .......whump.........whump.......whump.. ... like the starter was turning the engine over at about 60 rpm or less. I always got it started, but I think that is because my engine seems to be in pretty good shape, and always starts easily. If I had an engine that was hard to start, I am sure I would have been stuck more than once.

Now, even on the hottest day, the worst is like whump..wing,wing,wing start, like the starter still struggles to start turning the engine, but once it gets it moving it spins it at the regular speed it does on a cold start.