starter rebuilding - advice needed

[mrdap]

Also I would suggest (if it hasn't been mentioned already) you check out the unit repair manual for your your vehicle or any year close to it.
There should be detailed procedures for rebuilding starters, alternators and other units.
It might even be available online in the research section of this forum.
Good luck with your starter!

 

[SirRobyn0]

I have been using a starter that the 1997 Tahoe 350 uses on all my Chevy engines with the large flywheel 168 tooth , that most use . They have a reduction gear and are very reasonably on line . Just put one on my GMC works great .

Thanks, maybe someone else that comes along can use that bit of advice, as mention before I do not want to got to a mini or vortec starter which is what you are talking about, I'm aware folks do it, but I won't be one of them.

 

[SirRobyn0]

Some of you know life happened to us last Wednesday. I still want to do this project and my intent is to do it at the shop in my free time, but I'm not really sure when. It could start as soon as tomorrow or it might be a month or more. I'll be sure to post when I get rolling with it.

 

[Craig Nedrow]

Hey rob, I didn't read everything but I have built lots of starters, really easy, mostly cleanup. However on occasion, the armature will need to be turned as it is grooved where the brushes ride, then the grooves will need cleaned no biggie, just a careful scraper job. Also you may consider buying the spray for the wires, on the armature.

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[Bowtie-dad]

Ok so I replaced my starter about a year ago. I bought a high quality new unit and I've never been happy with it. It cranks the engine over just fine, but it's a bit noisy when cranking you know it doesn't mesh quite right with the flywheel. It's not terrible, and I've tried shimming it and measuring the drive to flywheel clearance and it's decent but not great.

So I want to go though my old starter. I should say I have no desire to go to a mini-starter or vortec era starter I want to run an original style starter. The only reason I replaced it was because it was cranking slow, especially in cold weather.

- So anything I should purchase ahead of time for the rebuild? My plan is to get a new solenoid and a set of brushes, anything else that is a must have?

- Do I need to be prepared to lubricate anything inside and if so what should I use for lubricant?

- Any other tips you might want to give would be appreciated.

- I did search to see if there was a tutorial or any kind of a thread outlining rebuilding the starter but did not find one, if I missed it please link it for me if you can.

Finally for those of you that don't know me I've been a mechanic for nearly 30 years. I can't think of a time I've rebuilt a starter or an alternator, but I did rebuild a portable house hold generator. I believe, I just cleaned up the inside, lubed the bearings maybe and put new brushes in it, it was a while ago. All this to say I feel confident in being able to do the job, but would like tips from anyone that have been there before.

Thanks,
SRO

If you haven't purchased the components yet, I'd check out J and N electric online. They have a big selection and the tech support is awesome.

 

[SirRobyn0]

If you haven't purchased the components yet, I'd check out J and N electric online. They have a big selection and the tech support is awesome.

Thanks for the info. I haven't done squat. Life has been throwing me curve balls left and right for over a year now. I still have the original starter and might still rebuild it one day.