kfede1

I had an incident a day or so ago. When I pressed the start button, I just got a click. I tried a couple of times and it roared to life. Now it is in the garage and all it will do is click. I am not sure if it is the starter relay or the starter motor. Regardless, I would appreciative any threads that are out there on replacing a starter on a C6 with headers.

My real question is what are the best mini starters out there for the money. I looked at this one http://www.summitracing.com/parts/pr...make/chevrolet
I am still looking around. If something is a lot better and not a whole lot more expensive, I would like to look at those as well.

schpenxel

Is there a reason it has to be a mini?

timd38

I have one of those, but have not installed it. Waiting for the day when my starter needs replacement.

HOXXOH

Chances are that the post on the solenoid broke. You can check to see if this is the problem, by tugging on the battery cable to see if it moves. If it does, then pull off the starter, get a new solenoid, replace it and make sure the battery cable has enough slack. Putting a heat shield between the starter and headers will help reduce future problems.
Solenoids are about $30-40 installed by your favorite auto electric shop.

Unreal

Do what Hoxxoh said. Nothing wrong with stock starters, just replace the solenoid if needed.

kfede1

As long as I was considering replacing it, I thought I would shave a few pounds and get better clearance from the headers, as well as heat wrapping it. Also was hoping for a little more starting power.

timd38

I wrapped mine when I installed coated headers. I bought the car new in 2006 and have not had any starter issues. I believe that wrapping the stater makes a big difference.

Unreal

My starter has never been wrapped, 42k miles on it now, zero issues. Not sure I buy the wrapping saves starters. I think GM starters are just hit or miss. Some are good, some crap out early.

timd38

Just like women!

HOXXOH

It's called research when you investigate and you apparently didn't do much before asking here.

I too failed the first time, since I was rushed for time. I called the dealer, who quoted me the normal outrageous price for a whole starter, because they don't sell the solenoid separately. I then went to O'Reilly's for about 1/3 the price, because they didn't sell just solenoids either. That starter solenoid died in about 30K miles and I took my OEM starter to a local repair shop, who replaced the solenoid for mid-$30 in about 10 minutes. I'm currently at 127K on the car, so the OEM starter has been there for about 100K.

The ProForm shipping weight is listed as 11.25#. I just weighed the OEM replacement at 8.5#, so you're not losing a couple pounds a couple pounds, but gaining a couple. The specs on the ProForm indicate it's designed offset (for the gears of course) and moves the starter farther away from the oil pan. Unfortunately, that means it's closer to the headers. Just because it'd have clearance with the stock exhaust, doesn't mean it'd be good with every brand of headers.

Now from experience, I'd suggest you simply pull the starter and take it to the local repair shop and be done with it. Under 2 hours total time and $40, solves the problem.

Almost forgot. No need to wrap the starter, but you might consider shielding the solenoid in the wiring area.

kfede1

Shipping weight is not the same as actual weight. Do the research. I am aware that I can get a replacement solenoid and that may solve my problem, but I am not interested in that. Also, the proform can be rotated as needed for clearance.

HOXXOH

This whole exercise may be in vain, if the problem is actually a poor battery cable connection or starter switch etc, since you haven't confirmed anything yet.

I weighed my starter in the same box it shipped in, specifically to be a fair comparison. Without the box, packing materials, packing list, and warranty info, the bare starter w/solenoid weighs 7.5#. I'm not buying one, so I have no need to do further research than the 5 minutes I spent doing the little bit to help you with your problem.

I offered info about a replacement solenoid and a quick check method, because your 1st post indicated you not only hadn't yet determined the cause of the problem, but seemed concerned about cost.

As for rotating the starter, I was not aware of that feature. However, while that may provide additional clearance for the solenoid, it does nothing to change the location of the starter centerline, which is offset from the pan to accommodate the internal gearset.

Regardless of what aftermarket starter you use that has different dimensions than OEM, I suggest confirming dimensions to verify you have clearance for the headers on your car.

Good luck

kfede1

Shipping weight on a standard AC/Delco is 15 pounds. I will be able to weigh both later today, but the actual weight of the Proform is 10.4 pounds.

I am not sure why you believe I had not done the basics, check battery, cables, connections, etc.. Of course I have done those things..

Link to a stock strater with shipping weight:
http://www.lingenfelter.com/mm5/merc...gory_Code=C486

kfede1

Final thoughts.. The Proform was a very large "mini" starter. It claims 40% more torque than stock. This was a bad choice on my part because of the following:
- It is about 3/4" longer than stock and maybe a half inch wider.
- It is 2 pounds heavier.
- It can be clocked, and probably would have to be for header clearance. It has less header clearance than stock.
It is 1.4 KW and has a 3.7 reduction ratio. Stock has is 1.7 kw and a 5:1 reduction ratio. I can not understand the 40% more torgue claim based on this.

The final reason I considered an after market mini-starter is durability, but I guess I will never have an answer on that. My stock starter solenoid had failed at 10,000 miles. Given all the above, I opted for a good rebuilt OEM starter, Better heat wrap around the header and a heat blanket on the starter / solenoid.

HOXXOH

So pretty much all that I and others have posted is spot on and matches with what you eventually did. However, we do appreciate your review and the time and considerable expense you incurred to confirm our comments. Hopefully you can find someone in a similar situation to buy your Proform, who doesn't find this thread.

PSS

Sorry you had to find this out the hard way but thanks for posting the data.

When companies claim to have high torque mini-starters they are usually comparing them to the torque output and weight of starters used in cars 20+ years ago.

In addition, most of these aftermarket "high torque" "mini-starters" are either repackaged stock OEM starters purchased from the same companies that make the OEM ones or service/replacement copies of the same.