[rodman]

Hello all, the starter is going out on my 63 Bonneville, because of how hard it is to start after the engine is warmed up(starts great in the morning when it is cold) MY question is should I have the OEM starter rebuilt or just buy a new or rebuilt one?? Thanks in advance

[rodman]

Hello all, the starter is going out on my 63 Bonneville, because of how hard it is to start after the engine is warmed up(starts great in the morning when it is cold) MY question is should I have the OEM starter rebuilt or just buy a new or rebuilt one?? Thanks in advance

[bonneville Joe]

You can get new ones from Autozone or Advance for about $30 and they usually carry a lifetime warranty.

[Stuart]

I usually rebuild them myself, they typically need new bushings and brushes and you're ready to go. If you have a factory shop manual it should show how to do it.

On the other hand, if they are available for only $30 it's not worth fooling around with the old one. I didn't know they were that cheap.

[bonneville Joe]

I think I paid $28 last time for mine.

[65N66Drkside]

I would NOT recommend "Uh-OHzone". They sell JUNK!

Buy one from NAPA for the extra $, pay the core and keep your old one just in case someone ever buys the car and wants the OE stuff. Or keep it for yourself if you one day do a big resto, the OE starter is a nice touch.

[bonneville Joe]

This is the one that I used.

http://www.partsamerica.com/PartDeta...pe=123&PTSet=A

[Tim642957]

I like the rebuild route myself, provided there is a reputable jobber to do the work. If not, then a remanufactured one is in order. I'm partial to NAPA for items like this.

[rodman]

Has anyone ever used a Hi Torque aftermarket starter?? Are they worth the extra money?? I was thinking it may help with my hard starting problem..

[66bonne]

Rod-Having tired of changing stock style starters I went with a hi-torque mini-starter. Things got so much torque I think it could flip the car over. No hot starter problems either. However, they run about $140 or more, the price of three or four stock ones.

[rodman]

Ya, I have seen them as high as $240.00 But I would pay the price if they work great. I know the reason why this starter has gone bad is because I have a problem getting the car started after it has been driven for a little while. I have read many posts about idea's on this problem i.e. heat soak with the carb, fuel evaporating etc..my starter always cranked over fine..but excessive wear now has taken it's toll.

[Blackcat]

Du to the fact that the 64 on down starters have a Unique Tailhousing and bolt into the Transmissiom.
Finding a rebuilt/new one at the store is not easy.
I recomend taking it to a good rebuilder and having it redone.

[BVR421]

ditto BlackCat, you will end up with a much better starter having the factory starter rebuilt by a reputable local generator or auto electric shop than from a mass rebuilder, problem is, labor is money and a lot of the old time rebuild shops have had to resort to mass produced rebuilds off the shelf to stay alive.
If you go rebuilt go NAPA Gold, twice as much $ as Autozone but you wont have to use the warranty like you will with the AZ ones. I dont know about you but Id rather only have to change that starter out ONE time.

As far a starting issues, what exactly is the problem? the starter wont spin the motor? or the motor wont start?

No doubt you have thoroughly diagnosed your starting issue but If the motor is in proper tune and in generally good condition, the motor doesnt have to turn over but once to start, especially if its warmed up.

lots to look at with hot start problems, starting with battery and cables and if you just start throwing new parts at the car it could take a long time and a lot of $$$ to find the real problem

[rodman]

Thank you for all the great reply's. I had my starter rebuilt, works great now. It even helped with the warm starting a little due to the fact that it cranks over faster now.

[hwabear]

Kind of getting in on this somewhat late but if you don't mind I have some additional information you might consider.

Most of the "hot start" problems with GM vehicles has, generally, always been due to "heat soak". The starter being close to the exhaust heats up dramatically right after shutting off the engine. The heat reduces the resistance of the starter windings and the solenoid windings which, consequently makes the starter draw a LOT more amps to start the engine "hot". Hence it won't turn over as fast.

There are a couple of ways to fix this and it works. You can use one or both ways.

First, Mister Gasket makes a starter heat shield that bolts to the starter and protects it from getting so hot. I forget the part # but it's about $30.00.

Secondly, you can use a remote mount solenoid like FLM (Ford-Lincoln-Mercury) uses and bypass the solenoid on the starter. If you want to do this here is how:

FIRST! DISCONNECT THE NEGATIVE GROUND CABLE FROM THE BATTERY!!

1. Disconnect the small wire off the "S" terminal of the starter (this is the wire coming from the ign. switch which energizes the solenoid).

2. Mount a Borg Warner solenoid, Part # S5048HD (other companies make them too) on the fenderwell close to the routing of the positive battery cable.

3. Reroute and connect the small wire disconnected in Step 1 to the "S" terminal of the NEW solenoid.

4. Cut the positive cable in half close to the NEW solenoid and connect the two ends to the two big studs on the NEW solenoid. (You could buy new cables of the appropriate length if you wanted to go from the battery positive to the NEW solenoid (one stud) and another "starter" type cable to go from the other stud to the starter).

5. All that is left is to run a short "jumper" wire (use AWG size 10 wire) from the starter positive post (big stud where the battery hooks up) to the small "S" terminal where you disconnected the wire in Step 1.

RECONNECT THE BATTERY GROUND CABLE.

It's done and IT WORKS really good. Sounds complicated but really isn't - it's worth it.

Hope this helps someone.

[engineer]

first off, the ford solenoid does not bypass the starter solenoid, only the relay contacts on the starter solenoid. You are still using that solenoid to drive the bendix. So you are avoiding using the smaller gauge wiring from the iginition to drive the contacts on the solenoid. Moving that iginition wiring out of the hot starter location is a good idea. But I found if you use the Delco marine solenoid with the heavy duty spring (sold separately) you can still use stock wiring setup with big battery cables, the bigger the better.

[ilikebmx999]

does anybody have a part number for the 64 starter from either autozone or napa?

Joel