andy625

I'm about to fit a mini starter in place of my shot original. I haven't taken a starter out of a SB before. I've found a 2nd hand mini starter, what are the chances that I'll be able to fit the new starter straight in, and it'll work (engage disengage) with no problems?

I found this (and others) thread on here with people that've had problems with starter clearances etc https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...-flywheel.html

I'd like to fit the 2nd hand unit, as its the most cost effective, and only 2yrs old (and, I'm told, much lighter and easier to fit). But I'm wondering if I'd be betteroff buying a new original size starter, or a new mini which will hopefully come with shims and instructions(twice the price of the 2nd hand one). Have many people had adjustment problems when fitting the mini's?

Atilla the Fun

Every one I've ever ordered came with shims and instructions. Didn't yours?

Atilla the Fun

Oops, shoulda read all of your post first. If you can't get shims, thin washers will do. Better to start with shims and check engagement than to start without and risk crashing the starter gear into the flywheel.

J91

Mine went right on, try it, if it squeals, start shimming it? Mine also came w/ a set of shims. Jegs ProStart'r Starters part #55510001 pg.131 in the newest catalog,139.99
I must say it works great.
I do have a regular starter for sale less than 3K miles on it like new. Too bad you are across the pond, would cost more to ship than I want for it!!!
Good luck!

andy625

Sounds like it might be ok, but might need adjusting. As I said before, I haven't tried getting the old one out yet, but if shims are required do you just fit some and try it?

I read a post yesterday that had a link to a site that explained how to measure the gaps between the gears using wire of a certain gauge, and work out what shims you need. Surely there isn't enough space around that area to be able to do that unless the engine is out of the car??

Atilla the Fun

Space there is tight,so focus first on not crashing the new starter, then second on making sure the gears don't grind or stay engaged when you stop cranking.

andy625

Could try bolting in the new one, and seeing if I can turn the engine by hand without it grinding, then see what happens when you power it up and try and start the engine with it I suppose? Can't see any other way of checking that the starter gear meshes with the flywheel appart from trying it with the battery connected.

Atilla the Fun

Turning the engine by hand won't tell you if it's grinding. Otherwise, you're on the right track.

andy625

If I can't see visually where the starter gear sits in relation to the flywheel gear, the only way to find out if there's going to be any grinding/interference without starting the engine has to be turning the engine by hand or turning the starter by hand doesn't it? How else can you do it?

Atilla the Fun

That's the trouble, you hafta energize the solenoid to make it kick the gear out. The gear has to kick out away from the starter to engage the flywheel. Once you get it out, you can use needle nose pliers or a straight screwdriver to keep it out. Once I used pliers to pull the gear out on the bench, no battery, then used kite string to keep it out, but once you verify the shimming, you hafta take it off the engine again to get the kite string off.

Atilla the Fun

If you try the string, don't connect any wires to the starter while determining shims, if any, and don't turn the flywheel more than one tooth. You don't want the string to break or get tangled.

andy625

Ah I see. I'll try that, and see what happens. I've decided to get the 2nd hand mini starter. I work at an engineering co, so if it turns out that I need to get any shims/spacers made up, it won't be a problem.

Thanks (once again) for your help! I'l let you know how it turns out.

Atilla the Fun

You need to be careful that you don't have the gear touching the flywheel before you get the bolts snug enough to have the starter against the block, or else when you start tightening them, you could crack the starter or bend the shaft the gear is on. Better I should tell you something you could figure out for yourself than for it to get overlooked, right? peace, good luck and best wishes

andy625

Thanks, I'll bear that in mind.

andy625

I removed my starter (which was a Delco Remy 10696871-323-365) this morning, however the 2nd hand mini starter that I'd bought wouldn't fit. When I lifted it into position, first of all the original bolts (obvioulsly, now I've had a good look at an original type starter) were the wrong length, then I realised that the starter was hitting on something that was stopping it mounting properly.

It looks like it needs to be rotated into one of the other sets of mounting holes between the starter body and the mounting flange, to rotate it round a few degrees. Trouble is, one of the 3 bolts that hold it to the mounting flange goes through the actual starter, and I'm not sure how to get at it.

Can anyone tell me how to dismantle the mini-starter and move the mounting flange round to one of the other sets of holes???

AlkyIROC

I just bought another Powermaster XS torque starter today. My old one wore out the bendix drive and I don't have time to order repair parts. It came with shims and washers. The last one I had didn't need shimming and I checked the engagement with the new one and it doesn't need shimming either. Many aftermarket mini starters won't need shims.

You always need to check how much clearance is between the teeth when engaged into the ring gear. You should be able to move the bendix into the ring gear manually. Some starters you can apply power to the bendix circuit to engage it without spinning the starter motor.

Once engaged, use a standard paperclip and see if it will slide under a bendix tooth. The measurement will be in a valley between 2 teeth on the ring gear. The paperclip is very close to the proper clearance. If it's too tight, install a shim and recheck. If the distance is too great and you don't have any shims installed, you have other issues.

Most but not all mini starters can be clocked. Without knowing which make and model you have, it's had to know if the clocking can be changed.

andy625

The problem I have at the moment is that I can't get the dtarter to sit flat on the mounting face because the solenoid is hitting the block somewhere. Can you rotate the starter on the mounting flange? There seem to be 3 sets of holes where it attaches. I can see 2 of the bolts holding it together, but don't know hoe to get to the third one.