[Aaron65]

I'm about to replace the probably original starter in my '74 Firebird. I ran over to the O'Reilly's and picked up a remanufactured unit, and I noticed that the pinion end of the shaft has noticeable play in the rear bushing. Is there supposed to be any play at all there, or am I the victim of another bad parts store part?

Thanks to anyone who can help.

[Bill Hanlon]

Victim.

[Aaron65]

Yep...I figured. I just wanted to make sure.

I may just replace the solenoid...the starter occasionally grinds like it's not totally engaging. Then, the next turn of the key, it's fine. It only does it a few times a year.

[sdbob]

Look at bushings. Sometimes they can wear egged shaped. Which puts armature close to fields when hot. Car will not start until cooled off. Ask me how I know. Use to buy just bushings and brushes,clean everything then reassemble.my 2cts

["QUICK-SILVER"]

Probably not the solenoid causing grinding.

Fork from solenoid down to bendix has two nubs that fit in the bendix and shove it out. When the nubs wear flat (too much) on one side the starter starts turning before the gear engages. Easy enough to weld those up and reshape. That gets the gear in the flywheel before the starter spins.

Clay

[Aaron65]

Originally Posted by sdbob

Look at bushings. Sometimes they can wear egged shaped. Which puts armature close to fields when hot. Car will not start until cooled off. Ask me how I know. Use to buy just bushings and brushes,clean everything then reassemble.my 2cts

The car starts fine hot...it actually starts fine 9.83 times out of 10. Every once in awhile I get that clash.

[stellar]

Probably a bad spot on the ring gear. Not likely to be the solenoid or the knob on the shift fork lever. The wear on the fork knob is on the return side and not on the engagement side. There should be some movement of the armature end to end (front to back) but not much. 3/16 inch would be ok. Less would be better. There should be almost no movement side to side. Armature shaft is .469 inch bushing ID is .473 inch which gives you 4 thousands of an inch side to side play

[Aaron65]

Originally Posted by stellar

Probably a bad spot on the ring gear. Not likely to be the solenoid or the knob on the shift fork lever. The wear on the fork knob is on the return side and not on the engagement side. There should be some movement of the armature end to end (front to back) but not much. 3/16 inch would be ok. Less would be better. There should be almost no movement side to side. Armature shaft is .469 inch bushing ID is .473 inch which gives you 4 thousands of an inch side to side play

Thanks! I'll have to put the dial indicator on my rebuilt starter. It feels like more than 4 thou to me, but it's worth a look. I'll check out the ring gear too.

[stellar]

.004 inch is about the thickness of a piece of paper. You would hardly be able to feel side to side movement. If you can feel a good bit of movement side to side you are a victim. Take it back and try again before you leave the store.

[Aaron65]

OK, I got a different rebuild from a different supplier, and it seems good except for one thing. The inboard through bolt doesn't have the threaded top to attach the starter brace. Ugh. Any ideas? Anyone know where I might be able to get a through bolt for it? It's a pain to keep sending these things back.

[Aaron65]

Never mind...crisis averted! One of the through bolts on the old starter is in good shape (it's an original Michigan car that was undercoated, so all the bolts are crusty).

[stellar]

Just curious. Did you ever measure the play with your dial indicator?

[Aaron65]

No, I went back out to do it, and I didn't even bother. It had a ton of play...I'd guess more like 15-20 thousandths than 4.

[Aaron65]

Oh, I also forgot to mention that I checked out the flexplate ring gear...it definitely has 7 or 8 teeth where the front edge has taken a hit, probably from someone trying to start it with the engine running. Those teeth are mashed out a little wider in front and about a quarter of the tooth is gone. Needless to say, I'll be letting that ride until I finally have no choice but to remove the transmission to fix its probably original seals.

[stellar]

I kind of figured that would be the problem. You might still get the grind once in a while even with the new starter. If possible try to grind or file any wide teeth and any thing past the outer edge of the teeth.

[hobbygto65]

I would invest in a mini starter, you won't regret it.