Hi
I really need to understand why my starter won't continue to crank when it started and when keeping the key in crank position.
It's a mini starter and I have an 350 CSB with slightly more aggressiive cam.
At one point i thought it might be due to compression but I'm starting to believe it's something else.
So the starter gears in and crank the engine but quickly after that you can hear the gear on starter spinning freely and not cranking the engine. Feels like de starter "dis-engages" but continue to spin.
It this due to bad alignment / Shimming on starter or should i buy myself a new starter. Maybe the starter is to weak for the vehicle.
I tried changing the 12v battery but no luck there.

Added a sound file in attachment where you can here how it sounds. I crank the car and keeps key in crank position all time but you hear the gear free-spinning.

 

I couldn't open the attachment but sounds like a bad starter drive/Bendix.

 

I agree, it sounds like the Bendix is worn out. Best thing to do is to just replace the starter. If you want to be OCD about it, remove it, connect it to jumper cables and activate the starter (small wire) circuit while someone holds a 2X$ against the starter drive forcefully. If the start drive is good, it'll chew up the 2 X 4. If the drive is bad, the motor will spin and the dear will just stop.

 

" I crank the car and it keeps the key in the crank position all the time"

That sounds like an IGN switch or IGN switch linkage issue, not the starter itself.

Or do you mean the starter bendix refuses to disengage the flywheel? That's an interference fit issue with bendix & flywheel.

Or, a solenoid that's contacts / plunger inside have fried. Refusing to return.

 

Thanks for all the quick responses.
I guess not all of you could listen to the attachment nut the starter engages and starts spinning the flywheel but then disengages and the starter starts freespinning even with ign key in same position.

Do if i need to buy a new starter, what should I go for? Suggestions? Mini starter, stock type of starter ? I live in europe so anything available on amazon is preffered

 

I would try to figure out what bendix you need for the mini starter and change that first.

 

Check the flywheel ring gear. You may have a section of teeth that are eaten up and gone.

 

Almost everything is controlled through the solenoid. The solenoid tells the starter to spin. The solenoid tells the bendix to extract & contract.
It also has electric contacts inside that can meld itself to itself.

However, in your situation with a mini and living overseas, you are at the mercy of Amazons limited mini starter parts.

Starters out live solenoids about three to one. Solenoids are fairly cheap and fairly easy to swap out. I think that should be your first step of repair instead of a complete starter.

 

I'm on the fence on which starter to recommend. They're all going to be made in china and of more or less dubious quality. From where I'm at, the only "name brand" starter on Amazon is Jeggs unit. It's just going to be a reboxed chanaman starter,but maybe they checked out the quality. In reality, a newer bendix shouldn't fail as it's an age-old design, but someone cutting corners and using poor quality ball bearings etc can really mess things up. It probably doesn't matter too much which one you get. Just be sure to install in quickly after you get it and use it before the warranty is up. Keep in mind that some reviews aren't honest.

 

Starter drive bendix sounds like it is bad. Can you post a picture of the starter showing the bolt pattern? The GM mini starter is brand new, not too expensive and works great. It does require special bolts but otherwise it is an easy solution.

 

se below how the current starter is mounted and bolt pattern.

 

it is the starter. i built them for a living for a while. don't eff with it. i won't waste my time on a starter and i know them as well as anybody.
orig starter with correct part number and date code are the only starters to mess with.

 

Remy 96206 brand new starter. Rock Auto has them. About $80

 

Has to go to Europe.

 

One more thing I would check is the voltage and current getting to the Starter. If the starter is not getting full power maybe then it can release the Bendix and keep spinning. I would measure the voltage at the starter motors battery connection and ground. If you have a multi-meter with the "Min-Max" function attach it with alligator clips to the battery terminal on the starter and the ground wire should be attached to the starters body if possible. Then with the meter turned "on" in the "Min-Max" mode try and start the car and watch the voltages the starter is getting. If the voltage drops lower than 10 volts while cranking it could that might be a problem.

This is not likely the problem but it would be worth testing just to eliminate the possibility of a bad connection, weak battery or corrosion along the Current path. Having a good solid ground strap connection grounding the engine to the chassis is important.

I have a Gear drive Starter on my 427 and I run high compression and my starter has never done anything like what you are describing. A lot of the gear drive Starters are capable of cranking an engine with up to 15-1 compression ratio. It all depends on the quality unit you purchased. I bought mine 20+ years ago and it has a powerful Toshiba Electric Motor built into the gear drive starter. (Normally I avoid anything Toshiba but here I let it slide.)

How likely is the Bendix kicking the starter gear out and then loosing that connection with the flywheel once it is made and the engine cranking? It would seem to be a bad Bendix is all it could be but they are fairly simple devices. Most of the problems I have seen with bad Bendix's is they either work or they don't, I am not familiar with one that works part of the time while continuously cranking. This is why I would verify the power connection and even the quality of the battery. A bad battery can drop below 10 volts while cranking, that is the cut off I use for a battery testing the batter with the Min-Max function while cranking the engine. If the battery voltage drops while cranking the Bendix might get released due to current dropping due to a weak or bad battery.

Having a meter with the Min-Max function is an extremely valuable tool. I use more expensive Fluke Multi meters that have it but I have seen $40 multi-meters with it. I use it regularly to verify the batteries ability while cranking the engine.

 

Unfortunately my fluke dot have min/max function but I attached a recording on voltage dip during cranking. Maybe you are on to something here. Maybe voltage drop is my issue or the battery is to weak. But the battery is almost new. A 680A bosch s5 a05.
Or maybe the wire between battery and starter has bad connection. I attached video on cranking while measuring voltage on starter.
Would be sad if i bought new starter and then it was actually something else that was the issue...

 

The starter moves the gear first, then once the gear has moved, the starter motor is energized and the shaft starts to turn the gears. If the gear were to back off...then the power to the starter would be shut off and the electric motor would stop spinning. Not the case here.

The electric motor does not spin if the gear backs off....so low voltage does not cause this problem. a bad clutch in the bendix assembly can cause this freewheeling gear issue.

 

i repeat. built starters for quite a while. it is the bendix. if in europe take it apart and start looking for a starter builder who can figure out what bendix will work or he may have some american stuff around. in your case if you scare up an old stock 10MT delco starter you may wanna go through it and run it. if near water marine places know people who work on starters for large engines. and in europe a 350 is a large engine.

 

Wow, with all the suggestions here on what to check I'm surprised no one mentioned to check the torque on the rear bumper brackets.

 

I don't have a specific suggestion, but a starter from a 96 C1500 pickup with a 350 would work as a replacement.