STARTER.UUUGGHHH!!!????

[TIMSTIGE]

hey all.....i have a 93' 2002 about 400hrs... i'm havin problems w/ my starter..a week ago i dropped in the lake and the bendix wouldn't engage..checked voltage and connections all were good so i replaced the starter. took it out today and did fine for 4-5hrs..then the same thing ...bendix wouldn't engage, got towed in loaded everything up and for kicks tried it again....worked perfect, actualy tried it several times, all okay! starting to lose my mind over it any help or suggestions would be awesome! thanks all

[hoopykat]

Sounds like you might need a new starter solenoid.

Mike

[chpthril]

I agree with Hoopykat. What engine do you have...Ford with a remote solenoid, or a GM with a starter mounted solenoid?

If a GM, did the replacement starter include the solenoid or did you swap over the old one.

The only other thing I would check is the starter cable by doing a voltage drop test. Do you have a Digital Multi-Meter?

With the starter bolted up and cable attached, clip one meter lead on the battery POS terminal and the other lead on the starter post.

With the meter on Volts, you should see no more that .5 volts. Since both leads are on POS, in theory, we should not have any voltage in the cable but we can allow a small amount without affecting the performance of the starter. Any more than that and you have a poor connection or a bad cable.

Let us know what you find.

[spharis]

His starter likely came with a new solenoid.

Pull the starter and look at the teeth. Post pics if you can. You likely need to shim it. Most times people think you can just swap a starter on a GM and you can't. Each one needs different shimming to get it to engage properly. Also check the flywheel inspection hole to make sure the flywheel isn't missing teeth.

[TIMSTIGE]

yes its a 5.7l merc..new starter had solenoid....i'll try the volt drop test first then maybe some shimming thanks and i'll let you know

[TIMSTIGE]

okay...all connects are fine checked volt drop all seems perfect? i noticed alittle grinding this time...the flywheel is not missing teeth or even worn that much at all. not sure where to start with the shimming of the starter though???? any suggestions?

[chpthril]

okay...all connects are fine checked volt drop all seems perfect? i noticed alittle grinding this time...the flywheel is not missing teeth or even worn that much at all. not sure where to start with the shimming of the starter though???? any suggestions?

Start with the thinnest first and go from there. If it takes much more than 1/8, I would think about getting another starter.

[spharis]

There are two types of shims off the "HELP!" rack at autozone. One set is straight and one is angled. You will likely need the angled ones. Grab a set of those and start adding them. You can tell which shims are needed either the proper mechanical way, or my preferred way, redneck style. The proper method requires access through the flywheel inspection plate with a feeler gauge. The redneck method involves looking at the teeth on the starter to determine which way it needs shimmed. It sounds like yours isn't engaging at all, so you will need to bring the entire thing away from the flywheel, probably 1/8 like chp suggested. You can then add halves to either side to adjust the engagement angle.

Good luck....it's a real mofo.