Kickback on starter

[chevy80c10]

ok, Ive got an 84 350. Had a mechanic come out and set dist. on tdc. When i turn my engine over, it will kick back and then  keep starting normally but the kickback is not consistent, its actually very random (happens every time hot or cold start though). When it does fire up, it runs fine ( got it fired and timed). Does the distributor need to go back one tooth? I'm at a loss and this is really pissing me off. It's not the starter, i took the IGN wire off the distributor and it will turn over fine until you murder the battery. I've tried advancing and retarding the timing while its not running and trying to start it in increments but that doesn't help. Thanks for the insight.

[bd]

Please, elaborate on "kickback."  Cranks okay then suddenly stops and turns backward?  Backfires?  What?

[FlatBlack77]

you mean when its cranking the starter will stop/hesitate for a second before continuing to crank?

[chevy80c10]

cranks, then makes God awful crunching grinding noise , shakes the truck and then keeps going. Sometimes it does it randomly or back to back. There's no pattern and its not the starter its the timing i just dont know how to fix it. No backfiring either... idk... its really pissing me off, because when it starts, if I can get it there before it floods, it runs like it should.

[FlatBlack77]

sounds like the starter needs shimmed

[chevy80c10]

sounds like the starter needs shimmed

starter's fine, when i disconnect the ignition wire from the distributor it will crank fine all day with no problems. Its a timing problem and i dont know how to fix it.

[BackCountry]

even with the ignition wire detached the components of the distro still move so that's not really a factor. the only chage disconnecting the wire would make is no spark going through it which wouldn't cause a crunching sound anyway. crunching is coming from parts moving and that's happening whether you have that ignition wire hooked to your distro or not

[bd]

starter's fine, when i disconnect the ignition wire from the distributor it will crank fine all day with no problems. Its a timing problem and i dont know how to fix it.

The way you describe it, the engine momentarily tries to start (but doesn't) and kicks the drive out of the ring gear.  With the starter still spinning the drive pinion tries to reengage the ring gear and grinds.  Does this sound about right?

[FlatBlack77]

sounds like the starter needs shimmed

starter's fine, when i disconnect the ignition wire from the distributor it will crank fine all day with no problems. Its a timing problem and i dont know how to fix it.

my mistake. i dont know how i missed that part

[chevy80c10]

Thanks for the input all, but I went to harbor freight, got a vac/pressure gauge setup and found tdc.... Needless to say that mechanic was off by a cylinder.... Soooo distributor was not in right and balancer mark was correct the whole time. Anyways if anyone else has problems with kickback, your timing (obviously is off) and you need to reset your distributor, #1 cyl @ TDC and rotor pointing at #1 on your cap.  (for non racing motors without all the fancy electronics ) If you have a harbor freight near you, this is a must have!

 http://www.harborfreight.com/fuel-pump-and-vacuum-tester-93547.html

Here's a link to youtube video of how to find tdc with vac/pos pressure gauge

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2sA-q7_FtQ

Found perfect tdc in about 15 seconds, reset distributor and fired right the heck up.

Thanks for the input yall.  Hope this helps someone else, if you have questions by all means post or shoot a message.