Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines 292 Starter Problem

I have a 1953 Chevy 3800 with a 66 or newer 292 engine that has a starter problem. When I bought the truck the starter did work but one of the bolt holes on the starter housing was broken out and the starter was hanging loose. I went to a junkyard and got another starter off a 292, bolted it up and the starter won't engage. It just clunks real bad. I changed the nose of the junkyard starter to the other starter with the broken nose, bolted it up and still have the same problem. The original starter had markings in paint, saying 70 Chevy 1-Ton 4 Sp V8. Did GM make two differant starters for differant flywheels? The number on the flywheel is 3789733 Help Please, Thanks in advance,
Ralph

did you use the shims for gear clearance starter to flywheel ? take the solenoid off and work by hand until it engages by hand.

GM made flywheels with 153 and 168 teeth for different applications. You need to count thenumber of teeth on your flywheel. A 1 ton might have had a Big Block V8, too.

Easier than trying to count teeth on a flywheel that is already installed is to simply look at the bellhousing where the starter nose goes in. If the side of the bellhousing is flat and doesn't stick out past the side of the block flange then it has the small flywheel and uses the starter with bolt holes directly across from each other. If the side of the bellhousing has a round bulge that hangs out past the side of the engine then it has the larger flywheel and needs the starter with the offset bolt holes.

6 cyl or V8 will work as long as the starter is for mounting under the back of the block. Some are more powerful than others but all of them should at least turn the engine over and not just slam in and clunk. Try running the starter on the bench with jumper cables to see if it spins freely. Could have a bad junkyard unit no matter how good they told you it was. Also check the cable connections and the ground cable for good clean contact.

An easy solution, if you wish to spend the money, is to buy on of the after market mini-starters. Just make sure it has the "inline" mounting bolts and not the staggered.

I am still not making any progress with the starter problem. The flywheel has 168 teeth, I removed the solenoid and operated by hand and the bendix slid right into the ringear. I shimmed the starter a little and thought I was making some headway but got delayed, had to have the radiator rebuilt, that took two weeks. Radiator back in and now tested starter, same old thing, clunks bad and won't turn over. I am now going to remove the solenoid again and try to engage by hand and then turn flywheel to see if it binds up or what is going on. Thanks for any ideas to help solve the problem, Ralph

R Pamer
I had a friends inline ford giving him fits this weekend. solenoid would attemp to engage but motor would not turn. He bought a remanufactured starter and it still wouldn't work. Removed the battery ground strap from the block cleaned the surface and sanded it to be certain of a good connection. tried starter and the motor spun like it was running. The connection looked clean and was tight but it wouldn't turn the starter till we cleaned it. Simple but worth a try.

The starter does try to engage but the drive gear will not match up with the flywheel. I removed the solenoid and engaged the drive gear with the flywheel by hand, and it went right in. Then I turned the flywheel with the drive gear engaged, this is when it got bound up and wouldn't turn. This tells me the gear ratio is wrong between starter drive and ring gear. GM might have made two different starter drive gears or someone might have changer the flywheel causing the problem. Still checking on a solution, all sugestions appreciated, Thanks, Ralph

Dear Ralph;

Take your starters to a Rebuild Shop & see if there's a separate nose/drive combination.

There might be one set for each (size) flywheel.

If not; Do you have the small flywheel in the large bell housing??

Good luck.

Flywheel has 168 teeth so I think this is the big flywheel. I will get a number off flywheel tomorrow and go to Chevy dealer and see if they can offer any help.
Thanks,Ralph

Sounds like you need starter shims?
Just a repeat.
MBHD

the flywheel may be bad. is it a stick or auto? starters are real cheap for a chevy at a parts store. maybe your junkyard one is from a different gm application , such as pontiac. i'd say get one from a store. 25.00 and all done. tom

R;

This isn't a 'normal' repair situation. Mickey was there before you got it.

Starter Shops have information on hundreds of units etc. Once you see what belongs there (Lester #) then, you can tell if you have the correct one or not.

I may be from a different application, like Tom says, or some type of "mix-match".

If you have the correct starter, then 'shim' it like Hank mentioned.

Good luck.

I hung the old starter on loose and it will turn the engine over, so that is where it stands right now. going to run it like that for now. I will try to find a starter shop and do some checking there, if no sucess, Looks like a transmission teardown some time this summer to check out further. Thanks for all the help, Ralph

You need to buy some starter shims from your local Automotive parts store.

MBHD

i agree with the shims.

Yes; If you run it loose, the nose will break again.

The shims will tighten it up and move the drive (teeth) away from the flywheel, allowing it to function properly.

What is the bell housing on it? Is it a cast iron one that the starter mounts directly to or it is an aluminum one that takes the block mounted starter? I know on my 250 the block was not drilled for the staggered starter pattern for the 168 tooth flywheel. If your running the straight bolt patteren starter this is maybe why it has to hang down so low. You may have to drill and tap the block for the other bolt hole to run the stagered pattern.