Looking for info to troubleshoot starter on my 52 3100. The floor starter works but 50% does not engage flywheel properly and grinds. Does the foot pedal first engage a pinion gear and then switch on electrical? Is there an adjustment? I had the starter rebuilt a year or so ago, it is an original. Appreciate any help?
You have a worn spot on your flywheel ring gear from years of use/abuse from previous owners. The engine will 50% of the time stop in the exact same orientation with the dead spot on your flywheel exactly lined up with the starter. When you engage the starter into that dead spot, it will grind. Ask me how I know. Happens to me a lot. It takes careful inspection of the ring gear to see it. I didn't even notice it on my ring gear upon inspection when the truck was apart, but after the problem started I saw it upon closer inspection. It's still in the truck. Easy fix is to replace the ring gear or take it off the flywheel and clock it 90 degrees. Then you really should have it re-balanced. At that point, might as well just get a new ring gear. Simpler fix is...when I engage the foot starter I really firmly engage the pedal into the floor. That seems to do the trick most times. Other simple fix is to leave the truck in gear when the engine is running, then shut engine off and just before engine stops spinning, engage clutch. This will stop the engine short of the dead spot on the ring gear always and you will not have to worry about the grinding. Works for me every time as long as I remember to do it. And to answer your question, the foot pedal pushes the starter gear into the flywheel. The electrical supply to the coil is controlled at the key switch. I am not aware of any adjustment that will allow deeper engagement of the starter gear upon the ring gear of the flywheel. Andy
Exactly as Andy said. You might take a paint stirring stick and balance it on top of the starter switch button on the starter (or have someone hold it in place) while you stomp the starter. If it kicks in every time then examine the link from the bellcrank to the lever on the starter as well as the link hole in both the bellcrank and starter lever. If the holes are elongated or the link worn it can be a problem. About a 1% chance here and a 99% chance of what Andy described.
Thanks Andy! Andy you are spot on. The method of clutch when shutting off seems to be a good solution until It is time for some other work that would give me access to ring gear. I really apprecatite you sharing your experience and wisdom. Denis
Flywheel Ring Gear Wear As usual , Andy was spot on . Chevys have the timing marks on the flywheel so the flywheel to crankshaft bolt holes are asymmetrical . On other engines it's very common to remove the flywheel , turn it one set of bolt holes in the direction the engine turns then re install it . In this way the Bendix will almost always begin to engage in the least worn part of the ring gear because as mentioned , all else being equal, the engine comes to rest at the same position 99 % of the time . Recently I bought a clapped out 1961 Morris Minor and it had this same issue , it also had a bad tranny and God alone knows what all else wrong with it (I'm still working on it a year later) , when I removed the flywheel it was worn out 180 degrees away from the newly worn teeth and guess what ? it's asymmetrical too but it has four bolts instead of five so the DPM did what I was going to do then buttoned it back up , I had to hunt down then install a new ring gear.... . Pretty much EVERYTHING on this poor old if cute looking car , is like this .
I have had success with heating the ring gear to remove it from the flywheel and then flipped it around and re installed it. This places the worn teeth on the other side of the flywheel and new teeth facing the starter. This seems to work because the starter teeth do not completely engage the ring gear and only a portion of the tips are worn out. I would only do this if a replacement were not available. The same amount of work is involved either way. Mike
