I just got done doing a swap from a 2.8 to a speed density 355. I'm having intermediate starting issues. I have all good grounds and I just replaced my starter. About 25% of the time I start my car no matter hot or cold. The starter will be slow then click. If you keep bumping it a couple times it will start. Any ideas?

 

Do you have the starter shimmed correctly. Mine did the exact same thing when it was wrongly shimmed.

 

Its not shimmed at all. It doesn't hit the flexplate, it doesn't grind or hang up so I didn't think I needed to.

 

Did yours do anything else besides what I said?

 

I agree with 91rallysport. You may need to shim the starter.

 

Thanks. I was looking it up on Google and in a summit racing guide they said if there is oil on the mounting surface it would have a faulty ground since the starter grounds to the block. When I put on the starter i saw a bunch of oil on the mounting surface and didn't think anything of it. Would that be part of the problem

 

i'll try shimming it this weekend and clean off the oil. how much should I shim it? ive never done that before

 

Sounds like an electrical problem to me... weather its shimmed right or not, when you turn the key, the solenoid should instantly pull in and the starter should turn/spin. If there is a delay in that process, to me it sounds like either a bad connection or the solenoid points/contacts are dirty...

 

Absolutely not. UNLESS, its like a 1/4 inch of build up... if there is a film of oil on the surface that wont hurt anything. when you pull the bolts up tight i can assure you that you will have a great contact.

 

Mine used to do nothing every no and then before I shimmed it. It would get real hot because of the bendex trying to push out and hitting the flywheel. I shimmed it and it's fine now. As far as how many to shim. I have no clue I just stuck one in at a time until it turned over fine.

 

Yes sir, But you heard the starter clunk tho right? How I understood the question was there was no sound, but a 4 sec delay, and then he hears it. Or sometimes he has to turn the ignition quickly/rapid to get it to work/clunk.

So a good question to the op is, when you get the starter to work, will the car start? when the starter is turning the engine over, does it sound sharp/harsh gears grinding???

Try and diagnose what the starter is doing. There is several working/mechanical parts on a starter that can fail. I rebuild mine but that's me..

 

Story,

A friend inherited his Fathers 2gen. I cant remember the year but I know it was loaded and a nice ride. Had vacuum louvers or something. Blue and mint. It sat in their garage. Anyways, from sitting for so long, the starter went bad, (corrosion) so he put in a new one. Next day he drove it to school and when he turned it off, the bendex had stayed in place with the flywheel on the drive and got so hot, that by the time he got in the school, the fire had started. By the time it was out, the car was a metal shell. After I remember him saying that he could hear that the starter was not disengaged and figured no biggie. heh.

Point to story

It is important to have your starter installed/shimmed correctly.

 

There is no delay. Sometimes when I go to start it it will seem like a starter with a dead battery. As in the starter will turn the motor and try to crank for about half a second then start clicking like a dead battery. If you keep bumping the starter with the key it will start. All other times it starts fine. There are no weird noises besides the click during the slow start. On a side note I put one shim on the starter and it is still doing it. My neighbor came over and said it was my timing. My timing is set for 4 degrees advanced. My buddy said my distributor could be tooth off.

 

So you are having a "hard start" You have a bad ground. 100% i bet. Is your bat 100% charged? whats it do when you jump it with a charger? Does the ground that runs to the alt bracket get hot?? I am almost thinking that the summit theory is right on this one... Clean the block where the starter bolts... I am almost 100% sure its a bad ground. Or a weak bat...

 

When I jumped the car with a jump box it still has trouble. The battery charged all night. The ground goes to the cylinder head not the alternator bracket. I haven't checked if it got hot. I did clean the block and no change. I'm talking with an automotive electrician and he gave me a few tests to do