spills

iTrader: (9)

I posted this in tech/general with no responses, maybe some of yall T56 guys can help me out. I bought this starter about a year ago from a GM dealer when I still had my T5:

http://www.jegs.com/i/GM+Performance...61146/10002/-1

Spent good money on it, and I love it. Very strong, sounds good, never had a problem until now. I go to bolt up the LT1 T56 flywheel for a test fit, and the bendix gear will not engage the flywheel. It's too far inward towards the crankshaft, and it looks like it will just hit the back of the flywheel and not the gear. I noticed the starter had 2 sets of bolt holes, so I tried the other set and it's way too far off. So I tried the ORIGINAL holes and I noticed that if the starter sat about 1/2" lower off the block, it may have a chance of engaging. Regardless, I don't feel comfortable rigging up something that should be a direct bolt in. Anyone have any ideas as to what the problem is? I figured guys are putting LT1 starters on SBC, I should be able to use a SBC starter with an LT1 flywheel. Any ideas??

I might be inclined to trade my my starter for an LT1 starter. I paid about $200 for it, but I did some grinding on it for clearance issues

mcgarnicle

iTrader: (14)

It sounds like it just needs to be shimmed to fit. a couple shim washers should move it a 1/2" lower. If not I am very happy with my LT1 starter.

spills

iTrader: (9)

OK, finally got around to getting some pics. I swear there has got to be some sort of shim or spacer behind the flywheel, because the more I look at it, that seems to be the only logical explanation of why this is happening. You be the judge.

If that is the case, anyone have a shim they want to sell? GM says there's not one, but I beg to differ...

mcgarnicle

iTrader: (14)

Ok, now I see your problem. Have you tried bench testing the starter to see if the gear comes out when it is engaging? I had a mini starter from procomp that looked like yours and the gear was stationary and it burned the starter up in like 4 months from not fully engaging the flywheel. That's when I decided on a remaned LT1 starter.

Also I didn't mean a shim on the flywheel I was thinking the starter was sitting to high to which shimming it down a 1/2" would solve your problems.

online170

Spills, you cant shim the flywheel that much, it will cause other issues, with the clutch, and more importantly might screw up the clearances within the bellhousing.

I woul also vouch for the Lt1 starter, however, i find it strange that a generic aftermarket starter can be that far off..... Sorry i cant help.

spills

iTrader: (9)

Any idea how far the bendix needs to be from the flywheel? I know I've seen the shim somewhere, the question is will it be enough?

online170

I thought i remember reading that you fixed this problem by replacing the bendix? Maybe im imagining things....

But that bendix gear is about 1/2 inch right? The shim is not that thick. Its maybe a couple of thick pieces of paper thick, so you couldnt use it to make a significant difference. Is the picture you posted of the bendix engaged? Like is that as far as it comes out?

I just want to clarify if it wont come out far enough to engage, or if it wont retract enough to disengage....

spills

iTrader: (9)

no, I haven't replaced the bendix. The only thing I've done is grind on the starter housing to clear the header flange, thinking that I could just use the other set of bolt holes on the starter. That didn't work. Those pics are with the bendix NOT engaged, at rest. I tried to pull the bendix out so I could see how it would engage, but it won't even come out, it's hitting the starter.

If anyone has a good LT1 starter, I would be willing to trade my starter for that. I just dont have any cash right now to buy one. But I'd still really like to figure out why this is happening!

online170

Agreed, its a common starter so it shouldnt pose a prob. Try LT1 sites. camaroz28 is a good one.

spills

iTrader: (9)

OK, somehow or another I think I got it to work. I think it may have had something to do with the fact that I installed the flywheel with the starter still on the motor. But now I have one last question, whats the "proper" clearance between the starter and flywheel? See pic to see what I'm talking about. I haven't taken a pic since I got it to clear properly, so I had to use this one. But what clearance I have is pretty tight.

online170

SO do you think your flywheel was just hitting the starter and was sorta "crooked"?

As for the clearance, i dont know the proper spec, but heres what mine looked like after i installed it. Bad picture, but there wasnt much clearance at all. It doesnt move a whole lot, so you dont need much.

spills

iTrader: (9)

dude, that's the only thing I can think of. I loosened the starter, moved it around until I got the bendix to move around, bolted it back up and there seemed to be no problem. Im going to bolt up the T5 flywheel to check to see if it's the same clearance. I think I had a blonde moment when I bolted the flywheel with the starter still mounted. I just guessed it wouldn't be a problem, but it appears it was

raptor80dad

my summit mini recommended .032 from flywheel and between teeth when engaged

spills

iTrader: (9)

hmm, so just over 1/4". I think I may have that, Ill check it out tomorrow. Thanx for the info!

online170

I dont think youre talking about the right clearance. He wants to know how far away from the flywheel, will the FLAT surface of the gear be, when its not engaged.

I think youre talking about the distance between the mating surface of the teeth when it is engaged?

Also, 1/4" = 0.25, not 0.025......

spills

iTrader: (9)

should have read that more carefully. I might be OK then, I hooked up the battery and it turned over and it didn't seem to have any problems, but the motor isn't running yet so we'll see.

I have a pic of the clearance as of now, but I left the damn camera at the shop. I might have about as much clearance as the thickness of some posterboard (I'm terrible at guessing clearances).

I talked to my trans guy yesterday and he advised against having the stock LT1 flywheel turned. He said they're junk and it's basically a one-time use piece. I'm still on the fence if I want to listen to him on this, mainly because I still have $500 for trans parts and $200-$300 for a new clutch. Id like to just reuse it if I could.