[freshselect]

I have been having issues with my starter... it makes this nasty loud grinding sound after a few months of having it on my car. I have gone through 4 starter solenoids in the past 2 years (2 per year pretty much) and it's getting annoying to swap it out and im confused as to why it's doing it... I rarely drive my car and I turn it on at least 1 time per week or 2 weeks and leave it running for 5-10 mins. OH BTW I installed a Starter Solenoid Shield thinking it would fix my issue cause maybe it was getting hot with my headers and it DID NOT fix my issue but I still install it on them anyways.

The starters all get the same issue (btw 2 of them were rebuilds from a reputable starters/electric shop and 2 of them were NEW Remy AC Delco) which is the starter solenoid does not engage & spin at the same time (which is the power post) I've done this test with the starter directly to a battery and if I hit the negative post it spins, if I hit the ground post it engages, but if i hit the positive post it does not do anything. Again all these 4 starters have had the same issue.

Is their something I should be looking for to fix this issue... im tired of swapping out these heavy starters!!
If you need more info or diagnosing let me know so I can get that info for you, thanks!

 

[vettex2]

does it grind when it turns over or does it grind and not turn over ?

 

[freshselect]

it grinds and the car doesn't turn on, unless i force it with the grinding going and going and it "might" turn on.

I just installed a new REMY AC DELCO starter and instead of installing 4 shims I installed 3 shims since the remy instructions said not to install more then 3 and it turns on like a beauty again.

I read that if you have more shims it causes excessive work on the starter so that might be whats damaging the solenoids?

Any inputs or other diagnosing i should do? Let me know, thanks!

 

[[email protected]]

why so many shims? I ve never needed more than 1...and usually none ...have you checked the gear clearence in flexplate teeth?

 

[lostvette]

Did U Ck The Teeth on the Flywheel U might be missing some ?

 

[vettex2]

Did U Ck The Teeth on the Flywheel U might be missing some ?

quite possible :goodpost:

 

[freshselect]

no i haven't, it's that my 1st time that my starter went out my mechanic took it in and he got some shims and installed all 4 of them and since then i've installed all 4 because im new to "mechanics" and learning with this car. But now i'm starting to think it's the shims... i will take off all the shims today and see how it turns on w/ 0 shims.

whats the clearance for these cars? 1/8 inch 1/4 inch?

OH and i'll also check today the flywheel... i don't think their are any broken teeth but i'll check anyways..

thanks again guys, i'll update you all later today.

 

[freshselect]

i just checked the clearance w/ 0 shims and it looks good! No teeth missing but some damage/rubbing to the teeth (nothing major just wear i guess) I will keep the car running like this and note that if starts acting up again I will post up here to this thread..

Thanks guys!