I parked my car this winter and it ran when i parked it. when i got it out again, the first thing i did was change my head gaskets. when i turned the key, the started spun but did not turn the motor over. it sounds like the gear isnt being pushed out. i pulled the started out of the car and bench tested it and it works just fine though. so i reinstalled but am still having the same problem. any ideas??

 

It sounds like a bad starter. If the gear is kinda stripped it's probably not making full contact with the flywheel. Thus why bench testing made it appear fine. Or try rotating the motor a bit and if it turns over you have some broken teeth off the flywheel and it happened to stop right there.

 

a weak battery and/or bad cables and connections will cause what you are describing.

 

the flywheel and starter only have about 150 miles on them. i think i'll pull the started off and pull off the battery and have them tested again at advance auto. there was a bit of coolant that came out of the started when i pulled it off (from not draining the coolant before doing head gaskets) and maybe thats causing the problem in which but that wouldnt explain why it works bench testing but not on the car.

 

Did the starter have any shims installed? You may want to ceck your contact with the fly wheel if the bech testing is inconclusive. Remove the dust cover from the torque converter and reinstall the starter. Put the front end on jack stands and have an assistant try and start the vehicle while observing the starter (make sure to have eye&ear protection on) and you will be able to see the bendix kick out (if it's working). One problem with bench testing is the starter could have a malfunction with it's primary or secondary solenoid relay coils (the thing that kicks out the bendex is the primary, and a secondary holds it in place and transmits power to the motor) and you may have jarred them back into place when you removed it. I would test it in vehicle after confiming battery state of charge.

 

I'm assuming that you changed oil after the head gasket replacement. Otherwise, you have coolant in your oil too. The starter drive could be stripped and just slipping when engaged with the flywheel.

 

well, i finally got the starter and battery tested. the starter works on the bench tester at advance. the battery is good, but needed charging. it wasnt extremely low, but it was down to 12.25v now i just need some time to get the starter back on and give it a try

 

well, turns out the starter is good and it does turn the flywheel, but the motor doesnt turn over with the flywheel. time to tear it all apart again and see what i'm getting into. hopefully its just broken hardware on the flywheel and not a broken crankshaft


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THAT doesn't sound promising. Good luck. I think you're going to need it.

 

It's unlikely that all 6 bolts sheared and less likely that the crank sheared. You probably have a broken flexplate. I have seen a few that broke in a clean circle right around the connecting flange. You did get all liquid out of the cylinders and intake didn't you? If you left any liquid in the intake manifold or cylinders, the motor may be hydrolocked. If it was hydrolocked earlier due to the head gasket failure, you may already have bent rod(s).

If the motor sat over winter with the failed head gasket(s), it may also have one or more pistons rusted in place in their cylinders. Worse yet, if the motor was run with water in the oil, it may have a seized rotating assembly.

Before you risk breaking more parts, try turning the crankshaft with a breaker handle on the balancer bolt. Turn the shaft clockwise and if the bolt turns and the crank doesn't, remove plugs and try again. If the crank won't turn before the bolt itself starts to turn, stop applying force. Otherwise you just ruin the bolt and washer. The motor should turn easily with the plugs out. If not, there is a problem.

 

yes the cylinders were and intake were dry before i put everything back together, the oil is fresh and the cylinders were rust free. turning the cranshaft proved pretty easy, a little too easy for comfort. pulled off a valve cover to find the none of my valves are moving. i'm getting the front of the motor torn apart tomorrow to investigate the timing chain

 

Any update?