78 K10 with 84 305. Stater Alignment

[drtbikkid]

it is a new lester brand from DB electrical. i agree with you, but some times a half millimeter makes the difference. im kinda out of options. remember also, i had this same condition with the OE starter.

could i heli-coil those holes? or drill a tap a larger size? 

[jaredts]

You said earlier that you are using the bolts that came with the starter--so there shouldn't be any slop beyond what is designed.  As long as the tapped holes in your block are holding I think you're barking up the wrong tree.  You said you tried shimming it different ways, but are you just guessing?  Have you pulled the starter gear into the flywheel teeth and measured the gap with a paper clip?  Can you observe grind marks on the end of the starter gear (you might look at your old one as well).  I have never done this so it may not work, but I would think you could disconnect your positive battery cable from the starter and just jump positive to the small "s" terminal on the solenoid to observe the gear meshing with the flywheel without engaging the motor just to try and get a visual on what's happening.

[DRDIRT11]

i know a 3/8 bolt wont fit a 10mm hole. the starter bolt has a shoulder so it will fit tight. all you have to do is measure the bolt hole with a set of calipers. i would bet that the oem starter has been changed at some time and has 10mm bolt holes. it is easy to mistake. i went from having to shim and only work a couple of tries to now no shims and it meshes perfect.

[jaredts]

DRDIRT11:  He put this mini starter on and used the bolts that came with it--and presumably they fit his block when he put them in.  You think he got a starter designed for 10mm bolts that came with 3/8 bolts?

Cracked starter nose, loose bolts, chewed flywheel teeth, incorrect gap (shimming).  If you haven't checked gap than my monopoly money's on that one.

[DRDIRT11]

i talked to a fellow who rebuilds starters and he said unless a starter has beengrinded on or resurfaced you should never have to shim. i dont know about aftermarket. i took mine back off, rewired  it, put the front bracket on, and torqued everything. never turned over better. dont know what would be wrong with yours but i figured out mine and just tryin to help. i fought mine forever. hope you guys figure it out. im out.

[jaredts]

i talked to a fellow who rebuilds starters and he said unless a starter has beengrinded on or resurfaced you should never have to shim. i dont know about aftermarket. i took mine back off, rewired  it, put the front bracket on, and torqued everything. never turned over better. dont know what would be wrong with yours but i figured out mine and just tryin to help. i fought mine forever. hope you guys figure it out. im out.

I hope you didn't think I was picking on your advice--I know you're just trying to help.  I just didn't want the op doing anything crazy until he checked the basics.

[VileZambonie]

drtbikkid - Did you address those fusible links? Where did you get that starter? It looks like you have metric bolts in there.

[screamin86]

Check and make sure your outer bolt hole on the block is not chiped or cracked this will cause the problem your having I've been fighting mine for about 8months for this issue I ended up swaping on a old iron 3bolt nose cone and a brace and so far knock on wood its been working.

[drtbikkid]

Update

i put my old starter back in and have been getting mediocre results with one shim on the outside. the bolt hold is definitely chipped. could you give some more info on the "iron 3 hole" nose cone? that sounds like it could help me a lot.

Vile: i did get the fusible link in, and i will take another pic today to confirm with ya.

i think during all this i may have jumped time or something. its now having hot starting issues, but not form the starter. its a vaporization or fire issue or something.

it truly is one thing after another with these old birds ain't it! gotta love em though.

[screamin86]

If that starter bolt hole is chipped it will cause these issues that's what I fought with on mine. I ended up breaking the whole nose off of the iron starter I was using friday. I broke down and bought a powermaster 9612 starter it uses all three holes but only comes with 2 bolts so you will have to match up wht 3rd bolt. It was $217 shipped but I recomend it. Very high quality and it starts better now than it ever has even better than when I had the stock 305. Check out my thread .

[drtbikkid]

yeah thanks for that screamin.

i saw that post about 5 min after i replied. great trucks break a like i guess...

by the way, where did you get the 3rd bolt. auto store?