78 k10 starter problem

[AuroraGirl]

Disconnect the battery.
Take a pic of the starter solenoid wiring.
Remove the starter.
Remove the solenoid from the starter.
Take the solenoid apart.
Remove the lug where the battery was attached.
Turn it 180 degrees and re-install it.
Hook the wires back up and reinstall the starter.
Hook up the battery.
That should end your starter woes.

Oh snoots, your wisdom is helpful. What exactly is the thing that happens youre fixing by doing that? Im curious

 

[Snoots]

The connection ring is pulled against the head of that bolt. That creates the connection between the battery and the starter motor.
Only 1/2 of the bolt head is ever touched.
One side will be burned and pitted.
Turning it 180 gives you a 'new' contact surface.

 

[iamtherealJayy]

Would that be benificial if it’s a new starter? The starter isn’t but a couple months old. It clunked one day and exploded. Broke the nose of the starter and everything.

 

[AuroraGirl]

Would that be benificial if it’s a new starter? The starter isn’t but a couple months old. It clunked one day and exploded. Broke the nose of the starter and everything.

that would have been pertinent details before :O

That sounds to me.. like there is damage.

 

[Snoots]

Sounds like you didn't have a back brace on it. You've probably bent the motor shaft. Toast.

 

[iamtherealJayy]

Bought the truck non running and all it did was backfire out of the carburetor so I redid the timing but just enough that it would run. I planned on setting the timing tonight but my timing light apparrntly only had one use left in it. After so long it started the clunk and quit and it got worse there for a while until the starter destroyed itself. Replaced starter was better for while tried different shims after it started again. I don’t know how to check the gear mesh and see what shim it needs. Most of the time it acts fine now, I had an issue not that long ago where I started the truck and the starter kept running and I shut the truck off and the starter was still spinning. I ended up having to yank a battery cable off. The problem is still un determined, I took the starter off and had it tested then put it back on and it was fine ever since. Most of the time it’ll start fine but occasionally it’ll act up.

 

[iamtherealJayy]

Believe I’ve got the starter issue fixed, by accident I learned something. Watching Mortske Repair on YouTube he had a revival where the starter didn’t sound too good so he said the mesh can be checked on small block Chevy starters by using an 8th inch drill bit between the flywheel and the shaft for the bendix. I had a 5/32(close enough) and it moved way too easily. Added some shims moved starter around and it has not made any noises since and it sounds way better when starting now. So I believe the starter was too far away and after so many rotations it would eventually skip a tooth and quit.

 

[squarelyfe]

Disconnect the battery.
Take a pic of the starter solenoid wiring.
Remove the starter.
Remove the solenoid from the starter.
Take the solenoid apart.
Remove the lug where the battery was attached.
Turn it 180 degrees and re-install it.
Hook the wires back up and reinstall the starter.
Hook up the battery.
That should end your starter woes.

What does turning the lug actually do for the process? Interested..thanks

 

[Bextreme04]

If it is clunking intermittently and not turning over... you have a worn button on the starter solenoid. Pull the starter, undo the screws that hold the plastic cap on the starter solenoid and you see a round button on the bottom of the main starter wire lug. When you engage the starter, it pushes the round plate up onto that button and engages the starter. When that button wears down, you will hear the solenoid engage the round disk(the clunk you hear) but since the lug is worn down it doesn't make contact and the starter wont actually turn. You can unscrew the lug and turn it around so the unworn portion is now making contact with the round disk. This will be functionally equivalent to a brand new lug being installed and should let it keep going for another 20 years or so.

 

[Bextreme04]

What does turning the lug actually do for the process? Interested..thanks

Se my post above. My truck had the exact same issue and this was the problem. Only half of the lug makes contact with the solenoid disk. The disk spins as the starter engages and wears the lug down(but only the half it makes contact with). When you turn the lug around you now have a fresh unworn portion of the lug making contact with the disk.

 

[iamtherealJayy]

Alright trucks been sitting for about two weeks since I’ve been redoing the wiring in the truck. Starter was acting fine before but now it’s clunking again. Battery is lower in charge since I’ve been doing a lot of electrical stuff turning things on and off and testing stuff. Although the starter has started being weird again. I laid my phone under the truck and tried starting it and you can watch it torque and move some. The starter bolts are bent and just look junky. I’m going to try the starter bolts off my parts truck and see if maybe the issue all along was the bolts being bent and the nurl? (Not sure how it’s spelled but the roughness at the end before threads) being worn off. The starter turns works fine but it seems to be binding up and by watching it move I’m assuming it’s mesh it getting wrong and binding up. Going to work on swapping the bolts and if that fixes it order new ones.

 

[AuroraGirl]

Alright trucks been sitting for about two weeks since I’ve been redoing the wiring in the truck. Starter was acting fine before but now it’s clunking again. Battery is lower in charge since I’ve been doing a lot of electrical stuff turning things on and off and testing stuff. Although the starter has started being weird again. I laid my phone under the truck and tried starting it and you can watch it torque and move some. The starter bolts are bent and just look junky. I’m going to try the starter bolts off my parts truck and see if maybe the issue all along was the bolts being bent and the nurl? (Not sure how it’s spelled but the roughness at the end before threads) being worn off. The starter turns works fine but it seems to be binding up and by watching it move I’m assuming it’s mesh it getting wrong and binding up. Going to work on swapping the bolts and if that fixes it order new ones.

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[iamtherealJayy]

So are you recommending a newer style starter? I changed the bolts out and only one was bent the other looked fine, the starter doesn’t move as much now but it still torques and moves a little. The bolt is a 9/16 maybe 4 inches long the knurl was different on the other bolts. The ones I took off had like a cross hatch pattern and the ones I put in were just vertical lines.

 

[AuroraGirl]

So are you recommending a newer style starter? I changed the bolts out and only one was bent the other looked fine, the starter doesn’t move as much now but it still torques and moves a little. The bolt is a 9/16 maybe 4 inches long the knurl was different on the other bolts. The ones I took off had like a cross hatch pattern and the ones I put in were just vertical lines.

sounds like damaged threads

 

[iamtherealJayy]

When the engine is turning over I don’t know if it was because of low battery or something but it would like get to a slow spot in turning over and that’s when you’d see it slightly move. If I could put the video on here I would but I don’t know how. I took a video of the before and the after.