need help with cracked starter mount on LS6 block
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Joined: Apr 2011
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From: Indianapolis IN
need help with cracked starter mount on LS6 block
I just found out the other day that my starter on my LS6 (2001 Z06) had stopped working. Upon removal I found that in addition to the nose of the starter being cracked--the outer starter bung on the block had cracked. From researching on the forum it looks like this is not that uncommon. Most of the posts I've read state it is possibly caused by low voltage on start up causing the starter to twist? I am getting ready to spent over $1,000 to remove my engine, get the starter bung welded and retapped and reinstall the engine. My question is what can I do to prevent the possibility of this ever happening again? Is there a support bracket that I can buy to prevent this again?
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Joined: Apr 2011
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From: Indianapolis IN
No hydro lock or loose starter bolts (with the exception of the outer bolt where it cracked). The other bolt was extremely tight and I have no reason to believe the outer bolt was any different prior to the starter malfunction. The actual nose of the starter was cracked and i dont know if that brake in the starter could have caused it to tweek or twist causing the outer starter boass to crack or not? Thats what makes me nervouse about the potential for this to happen again.
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Instructor
Joined: Apr 2011
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From: Indianapolis IN
Yes. Pulled plugs and also did a compression test. We are reading 165 to 170 crank compression. When we installed the new starter it cranked over initially fine although it was out of allignment after 2 or 3 starts. Thats when we found out there was a small crack on the outer starter mount.
Last edited by stereomechanix; Jul 27, 2012 at 04:32 PM.
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 108
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From: coastal ME
The repair can be accomplished without pulling the motor. You also need to find out what caused it to fail in the first place. I had an issue with one of my heads that allowed antifreeze to leak onto one of the cylinders. I spent alot of time researching this issue when I purchased the car last fall, some post said that the motor needs to be pulled and others stated it can be done without removal. The replacement starter now has (2) long bolts rather then (1) long & (1) short. Good luck with your repair.
Racer
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 253
Likes: 3
From: The Woodlands Texas
There is a later design starter that uses 2 long bolts instead of the long / short bolts. The newer starters come with one long bolt to replace the short one. This is supposed to prevent this problem.
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Joined: Apr 2011
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From: Indianapolis IN
where do i get the newer design starter? i got the recommended one at autozone (auto parts store) and the one I got has the different sized bolts.
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Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 132
Likes: 0
From: Indianapolis IN
The repair can be accomplished without pulling the motor. You also need to find out what caused it to fail in the first place. I had an issue with one of my heads that allowed antifreeze to leak onto one of the cylinders. I spent alot of time researching this issue when I purchased the car last fall, some post said that the motor needs to be pulled and others stated it can be done without removal. The replacement starter now has (2) long bolts rather then (1) long & (1) short. Good luck with your repair.
Last edited by stereomechanix; Jul 27, 2012 at 04:35 PM.
Racer
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 253
Likes: 3
From: The Woodlands Texas
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 108
Likes: 5
From: coastal ME
My repair was done in Texas, where I purchased the car. If you do a search in digital corvette forums "another night in the junkmans garage" he recently went through the same ordeal with his. You need to find a shop that has the experience and know how to accomplish this task, just dont give up since it can be done. For the starter with the 2 long bolts, I just purchased a truck starter.
