Hi, Im new here. Im an 18 year old kid trying my best to restore a 70 chevelle 396 on a very low budget. Everything was going fine, when all of a sudden, my starter began to grind into the flywheel. I kept replacing it, and it would work fine for about 10 starts, then go bad again. I even went as far as to replace the flywheel and starter at the same time. It started once, then failed. I was wondering if i needed shims or anything, or if anyone has ever seen anything like this. There were no shims on the starter when i first got the car. Thanks everyone.

Every starter is made just a little bit different. That is why some cars need shims. Sounds to me like your starter may be way too close to the flywheel, causing the gears to grind themselves off. You can buy shims at any parts store for very little money. I would say try about .030" at a time. It shouldn't take more than about 2 shims to do the trick.

------------------
Mat Ellison
Lincoln, Ne
70 SS 396 Chevelle
62 Impala Sport Coupe
2001 Grand Prix GT
Aces #2424
http://www.geocities.com/elliboom/Mats_70_Chevelle.html?994781720927

What kind of starter are you using? My 70 SS454 ate several starters,(cheap remans).
After whining about it for quite a while, my dad told me to shut up, go to the Chevy dealer and buy a starter for the car. That was in 1983 and that starter is still on the engine and working fine.
To pass on my dads advice, with electrical stuff, buy ONLY GM parts. There is a big difference in the quality. I hope this can save you a lot of headaches.

You should engage the starter gear without the motor running to look at the gears meshing. Do that by removing the solenoid and then you can move the gear in and out by hand. I believe you should be able to just fit a 1/8" drill bit into the valley between teeth on the flywheel when it's right, but I'm not 100% sure on that size. Hopefully someone else will help with that size. At any rate, a good starter should have instructions with it.

Peter

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by MeanKen:
What kind of starter are you using? My 70 SS454 ate several starters,(cheap remans).
To pass on my dads advice, with electrical stuff, buy ONLY GM parts. There is a big difference in the quality. I hope this can save you a lot of headaches.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hey, and thanks to everyone for the much needed advice. The starter I'm using is a cheap remanufactured one, but so was the first one i put on, and it lasted a while.... also, you really think the problem is electrical? thanks for your help so far.

One other thing to do is make sure that you are using GM starter bolts with the knurled shanks so the starter will be held in the correct place to begin with.

------------------
Leo Paugh
Maryland Chevelle Club #017
A.C.E.S.#3731
progress has little to do with speed, but lots to do with direction.
Maryland Chevelle Club (http://www.chevelles.net/mcc/mcc.htm)

Hi Peter

I believe the 1/8 drill size is tooooo big. Somewhere ratteling around my brain a paper clip size comes into focus. Please correct me if wrong folks so i can chock it up to a brain f@*t.

Jim

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jim Elliott:
Hi Peter

I believe the 1/8 drill size is tooooo big. Somewhere ratteling around my brain a paper clip size comes into focus. Please correct me if wrong folks so i can chock it up to a brain f@*t.

Jim<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Exactly! A paper clip is what's recommended in most set-up instructions.



------------------
MalibuJerry350
TC Member #1279
Original owner '70 Chevelle.
580,000+ miles on car.
Hey, if it's got wheels, DRIVE IT!
My Chevelle: http://hometown.aol.com/erie614/myhomepage/index.html

A picture is worth a thousand words: http://macc.chevelles.net/starter.htm Use the papaer clip if you push the starter gear into the flywheel. Use a 1/8 inch drill bit without moving the gear.
rick