Ok guys a kid at my school has got an 88 camaro and everytime he trys to start it it will grind! Well he will tighten it up and it will work fine for the first start but after that it shackes loose again. Hes tried shims and cranked the bolts as hard as he could.
thanks
kevin

 

The only experience I can draw on with something sounding similar is when the holes or threads in the holes (or both) are worn to the point where the contact with a NEW bolt is not tight enough. So is he using NEW bolts to mount the starter?

I have had things that would tighten (this is in a STATIC state) and then in a DYNAMIC state vibrations in the components would 'work' the bolts loose. The bolts could be re-tightened again in the static state and again work loose do to (sometimes very high frequency) vibrations in the dyamic mode.

So I would question the 'fit' of the bolt in the hole/threads. I do not even know how such a measurement could be made so that I could say it is definitely in 'as new' condition.

 

Is he using the correct bolts with the cross hatch on them and setting the pinion/ring clearance to 18"?

 

18"? Wow, that's a long-reach starter. . .

I'll just bet you meant 1/8".