I am going to replace my starter with a mini high torque unit.

I have an 85. I would like some help in choosing the correct one. I see some are 168 teeth others 153. Some have straight bolts some angled.

I hope someone can help so I only purchase it once.

Thanks

 

First of all I'd avoid what seems to be an inexpensive Internet purchase, buy locally and maybe attempt to get a reasonable "price match".

You have a 153 tooth flywheel and you need what's generally referred to as "in line" bolt pattern. You could use this starter number as a reference for locals to cross-reference. GM# 10455702 - that's from an '88+ L98.

Is this car an AT or a MT?

 

MT 4+3,

Thanks for the good advice

 

For the MT I don't know what needs to be modified for the flywheel cover. I've never done the starter replacement for the MT.

The correct cover is a "one year" '88 part and very difficult to come by. Maybe ask in a separate thread about using the starter on an earlier than '88 MT application.

There's nothing that replaces a "local purchase" when practical.

 

I installed a 1988 corvette starter from Napa Auto parts on my 86' (automatic) when I installed headers (TPIS). I wanted the ministarter so I could change the starter without having to loosen or remove the headers because of clearance issues I was having. I did not change the flexplate cover.

I went through 3 Napa starters before I got a good one. The first was obviously bad, the second chewed up it's bearings in less than a year, the third has been good for over 5 years now. They honored the lifetime warranty in all cases.

I did not have to do any shimming, just 2 bolts, 2 wires and turn the key.

 

agree the best solution for me was just buy the 88 starter and put that on, it is a mini-starter

 

The cheap ebay DSM mini starter i got fits both flywheels, it has four starter bolt holes depending on what flywheel size you have.

My mini starter came with a 2 year guarantee, it still works well many years later and has not given me any troubles.

See the link below, re the 4 bolt holes so it fits whatever flywheel you have. Mine is a DSM 3hp one as you can see you can easilly adjust the angle of the solenoid etc. They come with new bolts and shims.

Do not forget to check the clearance between the starter gear and ring gear, an easy test is a paper clip.
Pull the starter gear out and make sure a paper clip fits between the low points of starter gear and ring gear, they come with shims to make sure that works.

TIP. use some electrical tape to hold the shims in place, it makes it a whole lot easier to fit the starter.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CHEV-GM-2-2kw-3HP-High-Performance-Starter-Mini-Motor-/110919654873?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item19d3539dd9
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevy-2-HP-Gear-Reduction-High-Torque-Mini-Starter-283-327-350-396-427-454-502-/161013268873?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item257d238189

 

I would suggest staying with a stock style mini starter, I tried 3 different aftermarket starters and had problems with all three. Went back to the stock style mini starter and it fit perfect and operated perfect... ..WW

 

I purchased a remanufactured 88-91 style starter. Hopefully that solves my problem. I hear the relay click but it does not turn over. Battery drops to 11.5V when the ignition is on even though it is brand new battery. Sounds like the solenoid to me.

Now getting the old beast off!!!!

 

One of the starters I installed had a bad motor from the factory, because when I turned the key my voltage did the same thing as yours was doing only worse. I took a voltage reading of the strap between the solinoid and the motor, and the voltage was being pulled down to 8.0 volts.....Aftermarket is putting out some real junk.....WW

 

OP - If you're the "flea-market" type you might want to watch for an OE starter that hasn't been rebuilt and then prep it yourself for the future. You could use the OE I number I supplied in my first post to ID one.

That would be wise for anyone wanting to do a starter or needing a starter. Find an OE that's NOT been tampered with and "tune/prep" it yourself for likely the best and least expensive mini-starter.

 

I wrestled with my beast of a starter for about an hour finally getting it out of the car. The connections on the old starter were very corroded. Is it advisable to coat the electrical connections with silicone to help against moisture on the new starter?

 

Be very careful of the product chosen to seal/protect the connections if you do indeed decide to use something. You want to make sure the product you use is CONDUCTVE. The terminology sometimes gets confused so if you decide to, just make sure whatever your choice is it's conductive, you'll have no issues.

 

Quick question....
I am in the middle of re-installing my new (smaller) starter. It was loose upon my measurements it seems as if the mounting bracket is about a 1/4" thinner. Anyone else run into this? Should I just use washers or buy new shorter bolts?

Thanks

 

Are the bolts you removed actual starter bolts with the "knurl" on them or just conventional bolts. Have you tried to fit the starter and confirm the mesh of the drive and the ring gear? Were there any shims in the old starter install between it and the block? There's way more to a starter install than just bolting it up.

I'd say stop where you are.

What is the under-head dimension to the tip of the bolt dimension of your bolts?

 

There are knurls on the bolts, the original starter had no shims. The new starter did not come with shims either. The starter lines up and it seems that the gears line up but it is hard to tell.

 

You need to confirm the fit/mesh of the pinion of the starter to the flywheel. You want something .035-.050 for a clearance. I believe if you remove the large 12V+ battery cable from the starter and just use a jumper you can engage the pinion to measure. A push-button remote starter switch works well but that's tough to put your hands on.

I thought there was a good tutorial here on the CF but I haven't seen it for a very long time. Use this PowerMaster install sheet for instructions:

http://www.powermastermotorsports.co..._GMMiniSta.pdf

Construct yourself a momentary switch for the work you need to do. You'll use it down the road for other things OR maybe the next starter motor. A few dollars and you can loan it to accomplish what you've just learned.

 

Open up a regular size metal paper clip and use that to set the gap between the gears mesh.. The thickness of the paper clip is the minimum gap you need between the gears so they function properly without binding...If the gears are to tight, you need to shim the starter to get at least 20 to 25 thousands between the gear and flywheel/flexplate...Go to youtube and watch one of the factory videos to see how to properly set the gap for a starter.........WW

 

Since this seems like maybe your first starter I'd consider doing this for educational purposes. Paint the flywheel to mark it and check the pinion to ring gear clearance at several positions on the flywheel. My .050 is a bit wide for a gap but I'd lean heavily to something closer to the .035 if you're just doing it from a single spot. Checking it multiple locations on the flywheel you can certainly close it considerably. I sometimes assume it's a new flywheel or ring gear and don't consider the used aspect of the ring gear.

Don't be concerned that the teeth of the pinion don't engage full depth into the flywheel. You should be able to see the depth the original pinion had established from wear. If the ring gear shows considerable wear you might want to keep the clearance tight.

A GM shim is .015 GM#10008053. An auto parts store might do a package of various. Ask the place where you bought the starter if it should have included shims, maybe they'll accommodate you if the answer is it doesn't. You might just hint you maybe might want to try another. That might change their mind.

 

It is my first starter and I have run into possibly a bigger problem.

I think that the starter is in and properly installed.

I re-connected the battery (new), a few sparks as expected but no power anywhere. None on the hood lights,nothing inside.

I did a few checks and everything seems tidy at least where I can see. I did a continuity test to make sure that the starter was grounded and it was. One thing that I thought was an issue was that there was continuity between the smaller ignition connector and ground. But, when I checked the old starter that was also the case so I assume that this is normal. Checking continuity to from the actual ignition cable to ground also yielded a beep.

I tried disconnecting the starter altogether and still dead as a door nail.

I did remove actually both wires from the battery before starting the removal of the sarter. But, the one thing that happened upon the removal of the old beefy starter was that I could not reach the wires so I unbolted the starter first. And there was some tension in the wires. Is it possible that a wire disconnected somewhere? Is there a main fuse from the battery that may have popped upon re-installation?

I am frustrated at this point, a straightforward job has turned into a puzzle. I hope that it is a fix that I can find and resolve with all of your help.