Cold runied my truck........ i think???

[75??? franken-trunk]

OK i went to go to our local monster jam show at the metrodome. when i went to start my truck in -2 weather every thing went bad... my truck turned over two maybe three times then the starter let go with a grinding noise... its a really fresh 350 (like 6,000 miles on it) with a lot of compresion (like 30-35 psi) and it was a brand new starter like maybe 1 month old. it now grinds really bad when the motor is cold or warm. it will skip like some of the teeth on the fly wheel are gone but they aren't, if it was the starter teeth it would skip more often. but sometimes it doesn't skip at all its just louder than it was. t is tight agents the motor... is it possible that the clucth whet out on it or something... any ideas i really don't want to start this project in the negative degree weather till i have some advice...

[Hank Hill]

 If things were good in the first place the cold weather has nothing to do with it.
I have had my spare of starter problems but not a grinding noise like you describe. Sometimes if a new starter is shimned on to tight it will sound like a air starter on a semi truck. Is this what you mean? If so take it back to who ever installed the starter because it will screw up your starter.
PS Starters can be fussy. On a Ford truck I once had to take it back to the starter shop 20 times before they got it right. On cold mornings it wouldntturn over. The solinoid would switch but that was all. When it was warm everything would work perfect.
BTW On the 19th try the starter shop said they didnt know what was wrong but they where sure it wasnt the fault of their starters so to prove it they installed a rebuilt starter from their compatition. Haha This cured all my troubles!
But starters can be fussy on GMs to. but if everything is right cold temperatures dont make a difference. Im in Canada so I know what im talking about when I talk about cold weather.

[Stewart G Griffin]

i also think it sounds like a shim issue.  i'm sorry i can't help you further, but you might check around on the net or this site for more info.

[Dragon]

i also think it sounds like a shim issue.  i'm sorry i can't help you further, but you might check around on the net or this site for more info.

+1 It's very common and easy to replace a SBC starter without using the correct shims, or any at all....  Although it is possible for having Starter Solenoid problems, if the starter was a Remanufactured unit....  Unless you have been subjecting your truck to extreme sub-zero temps(Nope I don't know what the weather is there, I steer clear of most of the News, that doesn't have anything to do with my City/State....), it is unlikely that the weather has done anything...

[75??? franken-trunk]

well it did work fine for about a month, then it got cold so you know what that means.... the batt is slowing down due to the cells being so cold... so when i went to start it, it had a little trouble doing so, slower than when it was warm... i have a cowl hood so i can see the motors fan spin. the fan spun ok till the battery died a little and the starter slowed down, then with a loud grinding the fan spun the other way about 3/4 of a turn... the starter could not hold the compression stroke... and that grinding noise is more like the starter being to far away from the flywheel and teeth getting chewed up... but its the right starter, it is tight, and there are no shims...

[scubasteve65]

Are you using the original bolts? If it had shoulder bolts and now you're using ones that are threaded all the way the starter can move. They be be tight but not perfectly lined up.

[75??? franken-trunk]

yes im useing the bolts it was made for i really wish i didn't have to pull this starter outside oh well ttyl...

[VileZambonie]

Just try shimming it and see what happens.

[75??? franken-trunk]

i rechecked it and it was shimed as perfect as it was when i put it in 3 weeks ago, i put in a new starter today seeing that is was under warrenty (free  ) and shimed it as i did the last and it works great  so i think it was a bad starter that 7couldn't take the cold and should have stayed in the kicthen...

[autorepr]

Not to knock your parts supplier but it sounds like the overrunning clutch in the drive was slipping. There just rollers that lock in place in one direction when the starter spins it, then slips when the flywheel turns it after the engine starts. I'm thinking it was built with a cheap drive and finally gave out. Another thing I've had is when the engine is cranked with a low battery the engine doesn't build enough cranking speed or momentum, one cylinder fires while still building compression, then it kicks back breaking the drives clutch. Probly a combo.

[choptop]

One thing I learned the hard way is be extremely careful with reman starters. I had one several months ago that stayed engauge electrically once you tried to start it. you could turn the key off, but unless you disconnected the battery, it would crank. 3 trips to town,3 reman starters,1 ignition switch, and tracing the entire starting circuit revealed nothing. Then a 70 year old mechanic said install a new starter not a reman starter. problem solved. Reman starters are cheaper, and have great warranties( some are lifetime) but it doesn't matter if the starter replacement is free, when you are often stuck because of a bad starter. I have replaced more reman starters than new. The down time saved is worth the extra 15 to 20 dollars