Thread: Trying to find the right starter

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I bought someone a project rig and need a hand.

I was told it was a 350 block from a 79 el camino
automatic turbo 350 tranny

The starter went out and now the one I picked up from NAPA worked a couple times, then caught every now and then, now just makes a horrible grinding noise if i crank it.

What info do i need to post for someone to figure out what starter i need??

Thanks in advance!

There's really only 2 starters for the SBC/BBC, and the size of the flywheel or flexplate dictates the choice. The starter for use with the 153 teeth flywheel/flex plate has the 2 mounting bolts straight across from each other. The starter for use with the 168 teeth flywheel/flexplate has the 2 mounting bolts staggered, not in line. The TH350 should use the first combination.

Bob

its the staggered 2 bolt pattern on mine, so does that mean its not the starter that is causing my issue? or is it possible to have to do a hybrid starter like you sometimes have to do with distributors?

How does the fly wheel look, are teeth alright on it? Kurt

Did your replacement starter comes with shims?Brian

Chevy starters seem to be the subject of a lot of questions. I never had this problem with Ford, or Olds, or any engine I have ever played with but the starter on my 350 engine is still not right.

The first starter I had was one of the costly Powermaster 9000 gear reduction units. Right out of the box it would make horrible sounds as it meshed with the flexplate. I called Powermaster and they told me I should have 15/16 inch clearance from the backside of the flexplate to the centerline of the mounting bolts. I had less than 7/8, so we built a shim to move the starter back an 1/8 inch. That worked for about 2 years and then the starter took a couple of chips out of my flexplate teeth, so I put that starter in the trash and ordered a plain old Chevy starter from Summit and put it on.

It worked, but sounded like it needed shimmed so I did that and it was working ok.........but just OK...........it still didn't sound quite right. When we got home from Turkey Run I went to move the T into the garage and the starter stayed engaged with the flexplate, even with the key off, so the motor sat there spinning over. Don whacked it with a hammer and it stopped.

The other night I was reading a Speedway catalog, and they sell a set of round spacers in there that go between the flexplate and the crankshaft to move the starter back. The writeup said if you don't use these and get the proper dimension YOU WILL HAVE STARTER PROBLEMS. I never knew these existed and simply bolted my flexplate to the crank like I would do with any Ford, etc engine. So I guess at some point I will pull the engine on my T, install the shims and a brand new flexplate (one with no chipped teeth) and see if that clears up the problem.

Here is a picture of the shims Speedway sells.

Don

Originally Posted by aworkinprogress

its the staggered 2 bolt pattern on mine, so does that mean its not the starter that is causing my issue? or is it possible to have to do a hybrid starter like you sometimes have to do with distributors?

If you have the staggered bolt starter and are trying to use on a 153 teeth flex plate, it will be too far away from the starter to engage the teeth. Here's a suggestion. If you don't have it off, remove the torque converter dust cover. Remove the solenoid from the starter. This will allow you to move the starter drive in and out manually. Install the starter. You should be able to see the drive and flex plate. Now, pull the plunger forward until the drive gear is meshed with the flex plate teeth. You should be able to slip a straightened paper clip between the teeth. If you can't, add shims until it just slips in. If the paper clip is loose between the teeth (too much clearance) remove shims. Follow me?

Bob

Thanks everyone for the advice, I'll be able to work on it this afternoon and report back

Guess what ya'll.... I am having the same exact problem with a 500hp 406 I just built. I bought a powermaster gear reduction starter and I still have a nasty grinding noise. Upon further inspection, i found that without any shims, the starter gear is too far away. I must have the wrong flywheel. The engine is internally balanced as opposed to the stock configuration-external. The mounting bolts are staggered. 1977 509 block. I am going to a different flywheel.

There's also a spec for how deep into the ring gear the starter should be....No idea what it is for a chebbie, though... ( I'm a Ford guy....) That's what the shims are for that Don posted the pic of...Two measurements to check to make sure your starter fits correctly with a chebbie starter.....

The one thing I noticed is that the Powermaster gear doesn't pop out half as far as the stock Chevy starter. It was riding on about half of the teeth on the flexplate. The Chevy starter comes way out, plus the pinion shaft is supported on the end by the snout. The Powermaster has no support out there whatsoever.

It really puzzled me because for years and years I simply went to the auto parts store, bought a starter off the shelf, bolted it on and never gave it another thought. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the B&M flexplate I'm using or what.

Don

Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

It really puzzled me because for years and years I simply went to the auto parts store, bought a starter off the shelf, bolted it on and never gave it another thought. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the B&M flexplate I'm using or what.
Don

I don't want to sound like I'm second guessing anyone's choice of starters, but I really don't understand the need for any but the OEM starter. The aftermarket gear drive starters sound troublesome. I've built some fairly strong big blocks, and the OEM starter has worked well even in those applications. Spinning a small block should be a walk in the park for an OEM starter.

Bob

Originally Posted by bobscogin

I don't want to sound like I'm second guessing anyone's choice of starters, but I really don't understand the need for any but the OEM starter. The aftermarket gear drive starters sound troublesome. I've built some fairly strong big blocks, and the OEM starter has worked well even in those applications. Spinning a small block should be a walk in the park for an OEM starter.

Bob

yep that is right the only time a gear drive starter is needed is for side kick race pans or big headers or both i have used the GM HD starters with iron nose the HD caddy field HD 5 roller drive that cranks my 548s cid and my old 548 14.8 cr .the deal with the gear drives is the fit i have had to shimed the starter from mounting block as well as milled the mounting block. many times .for customers . i have seen very few that worked out of the box .first thing before starting the engine is to make sure the drive is not running to deep or to far way from the fly wheel even with the stock starters this should be check.. if you do not take time here your wasting time and$$ fly wheels do not take much BS then your pulling the fly wheel out

Always park on a hill

Originally Posted by jerry clayton

Always park on a hill

...and always have three pedals?