shred5150

The starter on my 88 Formula died the other week. A few issues.

1. For the life of me I cant get the old huge starter out (I know your supposed to be able to.. but my Y pipe is just blocking it too much). Can I remove the solenoid on the old starter to make it skinnier to get out?

2. I want to avoid the hassle of putting another huge starter in.. so even though its more pricey I purchased a high torque starter meant for a 97 LT1 Firebird. From everything I have read here I should be able to bolt it right up and be good to go???

3. Last, the shims?? There are none on the old starter I am taking off what is their purpose and should I use any when installing the new LT1 starter?

Thanks!

hitman0187

what you will want to do is push the starter so its straight up and down nearly and slide it back just a bit and watch your face because it accelerates through the pipes quickly. After struggling a few time with the same issue on a 5.7 ( the exhaust is bigger ) I have the technique down.

As far as the shims on a different size starter you will likely need them, but you may want to ask on the other board dealing with swaps.

Dyno Don

iTrader: (7)

Go ahead and remove the solenoid, it won't hurt anything.

shred5150

Thanks guys, dumb question but what exactly is the purpose of the shims?

naf

iTrader: (7)

the shims allow adjustment of the mounting point of the starter so that it properly engages the teeth on the flexplate. no shims = closer engagement of teeth. too tight and the starter gear hangs onto the flexplate after the motor starts and makes that crazy noise. too loose and it will whir while turning the motor over and prematurely wear out the gear teeth.

if your old starter didn't have any shims try the new one with none first.

lonsal

iTrader: (2)

Are you getting a junkyard starter or a refurbished one at the auto parts store? A refurbished starter should have instructions and a wire gauge to test if you need to shim the starter.

I did the same LT1 starter swap on my 88 Firebird. Those gear reduction starters are a lot lighter and more reliable. Also the parts store didn't check my core when I returned it. I might have accidentally put the wrong (non gear reduction) starter in the box as a core. Oops.

Lon