I have a 2.8L MPFI V6, the starter needed replacing, I replaced it and put the shim in that came with the new starter,but WOW what a noise when I turned the key. The engine still turned over, but what a noise!!!.
So, I removed the shim and the noise was a little less, but still loud.
Anybody have suggestions?

 

How many shims did the old starter have under it? I've always been told that you use the same number of shims that was on there. You might want to take your starter down and check for damage on both the starter and Flywheel. Its very possible that you wore some teeth down or broke them off....and the noise is the lack of engagement of the teeth.

 

When the old starter came off there were no shims.

 

Did you look at the teeth on the starter and flywheel?
My guess is that by using the shim, you increased the clearance between the gear teeth, and as a result, you damaged the teeth on one or both. Now that you have worn down the teeth, you still don't have correct engagement. While you can get your flywheel to spin fast enough (takes longer now right?) the teeth are sliding off of each other earlier than normal causing the next tooth to crash into its counterpart on the flywheel.

 

i had a similar problem like this once, try putting it in with no shims, sometimes the aftermarket starters especially the duralast ones don't require them, worked for me in both my 6 and my 8

 

I will be taking a closer look at both the flywheel and the starter this weekend when I get the car up in the air. I just found it funny that when I put the shim that came with the starter in, it made it worse, and removing the shim, improved it somewhat).
I'll let you know when I find out how the teeth look.Also, on the V6 engine, shouldn't there be a bracket attached to the rear of the starter that attaches to the engine, I don't have one, could the starter flex under load to misalign itself just enough to be off sync with the flywheel?

Thanks Alot!!!

 

While I've seen other cars with the same starter and a "rear" bracket, I've never seen a Camaro or Firebird with one, though if there is an available bolt hole, it couldn't hurt.

Maybe on the 2.8 the bolt hole wasn't cast into the block for some reason?

 

It doesn't matter how many shims you have in there as long as you have a 1/8" gap between the center shaft of the starter and the flywheel. If the gap is currently too large with no shims in, you might need a different starter with a different drive end housing. If you still have your old starter, I suggest swapping over the drive housings to see if that helps (an old trick used by techs when replacing starters so we don't have to go through the measure and check BS). If the gap is too small, then you obviously need to add shims until it's right. I currently have 1/4" (that's right... you read it correctly if you read 1/4" ) of shims in between my engine block and the starter housing, and she's nice and quiet...

Also, the 2.8/3.1 engines do NOT have a rear starter bracket.

 

srry to jump subject, but how hard was it to replace
the starter?

i got a 91 RS and my starter's showing some age,
so I want to replace mine.

i got a 3.1L MPFI I believe same structure as ur car
and its an automatic, thanks!

 

Disconnect batt negative cable.
Disconnect positive cable at starter with purple solenoid wire and fusible links.
Remove starter bolts while holding starter so the 20 pound starter does NOT hit you in the head.
Pull starter out of the dust cover towards the front of the car. Drop the tail end down and out it comes.

 

cool, sounds simple.

but should i take cautious not to hurt the flywheel or something?

i never really observed that area.. but i think nextweekend or so im gonna
tackle that, thanks!!

 

It's going to take a lot to hurt the teeth on the driveplate. Just don't use a hammer on the teeth and you'll be fine. Keep in mind that you need that 1/8" of clearance between the teeth and the starter shaft otherwise you'll do some damage when you reinstall the starter (or install a new one).