Hey guys check this out. As if I didn't have enough problems already with my 83 Z I told you I was gonna get rid of. The good news is, my dad finally got a hold of his friend that rebuilt the T-5 that still doesn't work. He's gonna redo it next week. Now my new problem is trippy. I went to start up the car yesterday to move it into the garage & I was met with some funky grinding noises. Ok, could've been just the starter gear not fully engaging with the flywheel so no biggie. Then the motor wouldn't crank. Battery good etc etc. So I decided to take out the starter to check it out. Check out these pics & tell me if any of you had one grenade itself like this!

 

pic2

 

pic3

 

WOW. Did you ever do any work to up the compression ratio? Did that starter ever give trouble, i.e.: hard to crank, stuff like that? Gee whiz, that's called metal fatigue BIG TIME.

 

I did a search on this "starter crack" problem on the boards & I think I might of found the problem. When I took the starter off I noticed that it didn't have that metal shim you usually see when replacing the starter. The cracks could've been caused by stress of the starter gear going against the flywheel to close on each start due to the missing metal shim. Or, my flywheel could be bent. Which I hope isn't the problem. I just got a new starter today & got some shims so I'll let you all know if that solves the problem.

 

Wow... I think I had better take a close look at my starter.

Hope you had a warranty. Again, if you guys need starters and alternators and stuff, I have a commercial account at checkers so let me know. I think I can get discounts at Schuman Napa's too, or whatever they are called now.

Now you got me thinking of my own starter because it struggles once in a while.

Laters,
Scott

 

I should've waited to buy the starter. I could have got it through you Scott. The other starter came with the car when I got it so no warranty. Anyways, I installed the new starter a couple of hours ago & put in a 1/64" shim, crossed my fingers, & fired her up. Cranks like a beauty! I'm gonna keep an eye on it for the next couple of weeks to make sure it was just a shimming problem. I've got more shims if need be so we'll see. Wish me luck

-Anthony

 

I'm curious, how much did you pay for your starter anyway?

 

i should show you the pic of the one i just pulled out of my boat with a 350 chevy it it it is even worse.

 

Picked up an AC/Delco one at Redline in Kalihi for $56 after core return. I get a small discount there.

 

Update! lol! Starter still going strong on the 83 Z. Guess the shimming fixed the problem. Just had to let everyone know.