Z-Man 85

i've owned my 84 TA for over three years now. when i got it, it had a 350 in it with a Th-350. Out of those three years i've driven it about less than a years worth. i keep having problems firing it up. The starter keeps grinding or getting stuck in the flywheel. If it didn't get stuck it would be really noisy. I've changed the starter about 8-10 times (good thing i bought the lifetime warranty at AutoZone) each time making sure that if the starter pinion and flywheel have the right clearance using the shims in the right way. About the only times it would fire up with no problem was about 3-4 weeks into the new starter, then all of a sudden it would jam up again. I did notice it would happen frequently when it was cold and the holley carb had trouble starting it up. I would crank it for about 2-3 secs. resting a while before attempting again.

Now the only thing that i can think of thats going on is that i have the wrong starter for the flywheel.
I already got a new "large diameter" flywheel (i think its 168 teeth), and im still having the same problem. I'm using a staggered-bolt starter that i bought at AutoZone for a 76 Camaro with a 350, cause the 84 TA's didn't have 350's and the counter guy told me that one would work fine.

I guess my question is what kind of started are you using if you have a 350 with the 168 teeth flywheel. And have you had any similar problems. I've been looking into a mini-starter, but am afraid of throwing 150+ bucks down the drain if i have another problem.

Z-Man 85

Any ideas or suggestions would be highly appreciated! It's crossed my mind to put in a stock 305 i have laying around using the small flywheel and a stock starter for that year and car. i really dont want to do it though.

Morley

Check the engagement on the flexplate and starter gear, when they are meshed together there should be about .032" gap at the end of the teeth, if there is no gap (as it sounds like by it getting stuck) then you'll need to shim the starter.

Z-Man 85

every time i get the starter replaced it comes with three shims, a little rod that acts like a gauge, and a little instruction booklet. It says that the rod should fit between the flywheel and the starter. Sometimes it doesn't need any shims and with others it does need one, or max of 2. Everytime i put the starter on, i make sure it's shimmed properly if needed so that the gap is correct. Usually it will crank flawlessly, with no noise at all for the first weeks or so. then all of a sudden it grinds or is extremely noisy or worst of all its stuck. I check it out and find that there is too big of a gap. Sometimes a couple of shims will fix it, and somtimes it does do anything at all. Once i had 6 shims on the outside mounting pad and i still had to big of a clearance. Then i would go get another one and the cycle would continue.
Now however i'm making sure that the gap is correct and all it does is get stuck in the flexplate. Five times in a row though, it did turn but was way too noisy (It hurt me just listening to it), and now its stuck again.

Morley

Was the flexplate changed at some time? It may not be the same number of teeth that is supposed to have. Also make sure there aren't any missing teeth and that the gear ring on the flex plate is still securely welded in place and not warped.

Z-Man 85

Yeah the flywheel was changed about a year ago along with another starter. I then put it away after i bought my Camaro so i could work on it and clean it up a bit. Now it's just what i wanted it to be, but im having the same problems again.

Does anyone know if there is a small diameter flexplate that will bolt up to an older one-piece main 350 block. I know my friend tried to put the original '88+ 305 small diameter flexplate on an older 350 but it didn't fit.

I wonder what kind of starter the people with 350 168 teeth flywheels are using. Anyone....

Morley

Summit sells a mini starter that will work with either 153 or 168 tooth

Z-Man 85

im sorry, meant the two peice main seal.

RB83L69

Sounds like you're trying to hold it on with just regular bolts, not real starter bolts.

Put the right bolts in there. They're special, they have a little shoulder sort of area right behind the threads that acts as a dowel pin to keep the starter from sliding around on the block after it's been on there for a few days, and will put the starter in the same place every time you install it, so that it will require the same number of shims (or more likely, none at all) no matter what starter you use or how many times you take it on and off.

All the starters you've swapped probably had nothing wrong with them. You have the correct starter for your setup. The problem is the bolts, nothing more, unless it's been doing it long enough to tear other stuff up. Try a pair of bolts first.

Z-Man 85

i bought a pair of starter bolts after i broke one of them in the block as i was tighning it. (it was a nice and fun experience) I bought them at PepBoys, the package read something like "starter bolts....GM...." and they looked just like the old ones i had in there.
Now that i think of it though, it does move around the bolts if it's not tighened down fully. I mean, the hole in the starter is big enough for the bolts to move around. i think all the starters have been like that. could it be the cheap, rebuilt starters AutoZone sells?

I am really interested in knowing what kind of started everyone here is using that's not stock.