89 350 SBC staggered starter.....
08-01-2016, 06:13 PM
#1
Team Owner
Thread Starter
89 350 SBC staggered starter.....
Memories.....I have posted a thread about the vette troubles, and crap going on for about a month now, between timing, and starter troubles, and TWO new starters failing in the last week, this last one just loosely installed by a friend a few hours ago, at least the weight is off ME and held by the bolts now....
trick is, I got some problems, and so to know how to align the starter/flex plate....the instructions are poor on diagrams, but from the China english I understand to hold this given allen wrench in position on the flywheel teeth and see how it is supposed to slide into the starter gear???
that don't sound right, anyone....????
It's been over 30 year since playing with a starter, and the old one on the vette was installed with out any shims and worked fine since about 02 or so....Since then it's been total HELL and this is starter #4 now, two new ones broke up for no reason, and flex plate looks fine all over....
they talk of shims and then cutting shims in 1/2 to get alignment.... Yet another memory lapse, in the early starters there was a bracket going from the block to the forward end of the starter, the blank end with no gears....so they staggered the mounting in later years, instead of in line from decades ago...so with a staggered mount, now critical is that mount bracket ???
seems that years ago I remember pulling the Bendix forward and just looking at the mesh and adjusting, but can't remember what /how I pulled with.....
trick is, I got some problems, and so to know how to align the starter/flex plate....the instructions are poor on diagrams, but from the China english I understand to hold this given allen wrench in position on the flywheel teeth and see how it is supposed to slide into the starter gear???
that don't sound right, anyone....????
It's been over 30 year since playing with a starter, and the old one on the vette was installed with out any shims and worked fine since about 02 or so....Since then it's been total HELL and this is starter #4 now, two new ones broke up for no reason, and flex plate looks fine all over....
they talk of shims and then cutting shims in 1/2 to get alignment.... Yet another memory lapse, in the early starters there was a bracket going from the block to the forward end of the starter, the blank end with no gears....so they staggered the mounting in later years, instead of in line from decades ago...so with a staggered mount, now critical is that mount bracket ???
seems that years ago I remember pulling the Bendix forward and just looking at the mesh and adjusting, but can't remember what /how I pulled with.....
Last edited by mrvette; 08-01-2016 at 06:30 PM.
08-01-2016, 11:22 PM
#2
Racer
Member Since: Mar 2013
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HI, ok when did this problem start? Did you install aftermarket parts…late model engine, trans, or some combination of these two? Did you change from auto to manual or 4 to 5 speed? What changed to make this problem start happening? Also what is breaking? Did the nose housing crack? Maybe a pic of what the starter looks like installed?? Also what does the mounting pad on the block look like? Is it flat and not cracked? Any of these things could be your issue.
08-01-2016, 11:25 PM
#3
Racer
Member Since: Mar 2013
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How about are the bolts between the engine and transmission coming loose causing the flex plate to warp or possibly be broken at the flywheel enough to cause this….you can take out the plugs and turn the engine over by hand while having someone watch the flex plate or flywheel to see if there is a warp or ring gear that moved or is moving. Good luck
08-02-2016, 08:21 AM
#4
Burning Brakes
if your inspection plate is off, get under it and watch it while it is running, see if the flexplate is warped or damaged. the ONLY time I've ever seen a problem with a stock starter on a SBC was due to a bad flexplate that would chew the gears up and eventually crack the nose of the starter.
I am assuming you are using a stock style starter and not one of those ridiculous mini-starters that are notoriously mis-drilled/cast/aligned? if so, you just stick a shim in there if the teeth are too tight and bind when bendix is engaged. no cutting or anything like that, if that is required, the casting is bad...the rear bracket is to take some of the weight of the heavy motor off the nose, but I have seen thousands of SBC's without that bracket (backyard mechanics never put them back on) with no ill effects.
I am assuming you are using a stock style starter and not one of those ridiculous mini-starters that are notoriously mis-drilled/cast/aligned? if so, you just stick a shim in there if the teeth are too tight and bind when bendix is engaged. no cutting or anything like that, if that is required, the casting is bad...the rear bracket is to take some of the weight of the heavy motor off the nose, but I have seen thousands of SBC's without that bracket (backyard mechanics never put them back on) with no ill effects.