Starter help needed

[White Spyder]

Needed to move the car today and when I engaged the starter it worked as usual but with an odd non electrical click in the rotation. When I went to restart the car to move it back in the garage, the starter would spin but not turn the engine.  In the photo below you can see the back of the starter looking down from the hood. In the area of the circle, it appears that a pin or bolt is no longer connecting the two parts.   Any help with this and a photo with yours would be appreciated. 
 

[scott_37215]

Hopefully this will help.

[White Spyder]

Thanks for the Photos. Has anyone got an idea on the diameter and length of that pin?  Any thoughts or suggestions on if the repair can be done without having to pull the starter?
 

thanks 

[joecoozie]

It is probably in your best interest to pull the starter to do the repair. I would think trying to work in a small space will only make it difficult.

 

Also, you can look and see if the pin is laying around somewhere because more than likely the cotter pin(s)/hairpin broke.

[maok]

Yep, pull it out and work on it on the bench top. It would be a good time to give it a clean and a basic service as well ie check brushes, replace if needed, clean and grease the bearings, clean out between the common bars.  They are very simple to work on.

[White Spyder]

Looks like it will be tight working space around the linkage. A local shop that specializes in starters and generators will refresh it for $40. Brushes, bushings and cleaning. 

 

[White Spyder]

First excuse the mess I will be cleaning things once I get the starter out.  My car has fluid drive.  As you can see from the photo,  there appears to be a lot blocking the starter from coming out the bottom. I think if I remove the bracket shown it will drop out. My question is, doe I need to support anything that the bracket is attached to print to removal?
 

thanks for the help

[joecoozie]

I have removed several starters like these without needing to take anything else off of the car.

Remove the 2 bolts and tilt the starter up and it should come out.

OR....you can remove it from the top - not as easy but it can be done.

[OUTFXD]

Ooh! I'm good at this! First replace everything with new components that have nothing to do with the problem,  Then ask for help and totally ignore all incoming advice, then when you are well and truly frustrated,  Fix whatever small thing is the problem.  Works every time!

[Bryan]

6 hours ago, OUTFXD said:

Ooh! I'm good at this! First replace everything with new components that have nothing to do with the problem,  Then ask for help and totally ignore all incoming advice, then when you are well and truly frustrated,  Fix whatever small thing is the problem.  Works every time!

After cracking 2 oil galley plugs and spending a week trying to get the crank nut off, I feel for you... 

[Bryan]

6 hours ago, OUTFXD said:

Ooh! I'm good at this! First replace everything with new components that have nothing to do with the problem,  Then ask for help and totally ignore all incoming advice, then when you are well and truly frustrated,  Fix whatever small thing is the problem.  Works every time!

I'm learning to lay back and take a short nap and relax before I really start getting p-ssed off.  Sometimes after resting I go systematically thru the problem again.

[DJ194950]

You can also do what my father used to do,

 

If the fix was making him mad on a car he take the car and trade it in.. ?

 

Old cars ( with issues) get sold at reasonable prices to someone else (preferably some you really do not care for).

 

Patience is required on a regular basis when working on All cars!

 

DJ

[White Spyder]

What a PIA!  Spent a few hours getting the bottom bolt out. Moving it only millimeters at a time due to the cramped space with the clutch and brake leavers. Once the bolt was out, the oil filter lines would not allow the starter to clear the bell housing. See photo.  Finally was able to back out a bit and lift the rear and wrist along the curve in the line and drop the starter nose first.   
 

[busycoupe]

So much for old cars being made to be fixed with lots of space around the engine ...

[White Spyder]

Update:

 

Finally got the starter back and some time to do the re-installation. Got it rebuilt at a local shop for just 30 bucks. After the struggle to remove it I custom made two tools. Ground the shoulders off an open end wrench to give me a bit more turning range and cut down a socket to allow me to thread it in.   Used a regular wrench to snug it up tight. 
 

now I have another question before I hook up the wiring and give it a whirl.  Is the an alignment procedure for the starter?   I know in modern starters have shims but when I removed this one there were no shims. It was just snugged up against the bell house with just the two bolts. 

[Sniper]

24 minutes ago, White Spyder said:

I know Chevy starters have shims

Mopars usually don't have starter shims, at least I don't recall any of them ever have them.

[Dodgeb4ya]

Around here the 30 bucks would barely get an estimate as to how long it would take for them to even look at it.

Labor and parts, environmental fee's must be really cheap where you live!

[keithb7]

Sorry to hear of the thorough testing of your patience. You’ll be much quicker the next time you have to remove the starter. This is how professional techs get fast too. By doing jobs over and over many times. I’m about there with 3 speed tranny removals in 1938 Plymouths.  Too bad there is only 1 known specimen within 200 miles of here. It happens to live in my garage. 

I’ll never get rich beating flat rate times on tranny removals. But hey, I’m probably the top tech to hire within 500 miles of here, to do it! Lol. 

 

[rallyace]

On 4/25/2022 at 7:54 PM, Dodgeb4ya said:

Around here the 30 bucks would barely get an estimate as to how long it would take for them to even look at it.

Labor and parts, environmental fee's must be really cheap where you live!

Usually about $50 to $60 here for test, clean and new brushes. A good starter tech can do the whole job in less than a half an hour if everything comes apart smoothly.

[White Spyder]

Hooked up the wires and it started smooth as silk. Off to a show today.