So I finally got around to messing with the start issue again...Well the car was still starting fine after sitting. ugh! So I decided to pull the starter as suggested.

As I got the 2 bolts out and the bracket swung out of the way I gently pulled the starter out of place. What I got was hit in the face by a bunch of little pebble looking things. Turns out to be a bunch of metal. I shook the starter and the stuff poured out. Guess that was the issue? It came out of the case so I assume the inside was falling apart. The metal seemed soft and some pieces looked like there was bits of wire in it. The metal did not seemed hardened, as I would expect, if it was from the flywheel. I did not see any missing teeth on the starter gear nor the exposed flywheel teeth. Noticed on the shaft above the gears a washer or two on the shaft that were loose?

Also there was no shim. Is it common to not have any. I went to the cave & read up on shims. I notice no wear, but I think the teeth on the starter and slightly bent. Maybe this was due to the starter being engaged while the car was running (oops) Yes it happens to us all at least once... Though I can't remember if I ever did that to the Indy. Maybe the gear was already like that since it an Autozone reman...

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"I'm just a girl..."
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Bad starter. BAD Starter! NEVER let your owner down again...

Sorry... Sometimes you have to play rough with them...

Starters are easy to rebuild, as long as there is no damage to the windings inside, or the magnets.

Your best bet though, is instead of getting a remanned, just buy new.

As for the shim... Some cars need it, some don't. I use a shim on mine. Without the shim, the starter grinds bad when engaging the flywheel.

All the 2.8s I've worked on had the shim.

JazzMan

I gauged my 3.1 block carefully (per GM) when I first installed it, and the starter clearance was proper without a shim. Results were the same for two different flex plates and ring gears. That said, there is what I consider excessive gear noise whenever the starter is engaged, so it still may not be right. My 3.1 block, although mechanically "new," had seen service as a GM "mockup mule," so no telling whether it is dimensionally typical or not.

Well since I already paid adn have a lifetime warrenty at autozone I'm going to go with another. If it gives me fits I will go back and get my money back adn get a new one.

I never had any grinding issues with mine, maybe I just got lucky and did not need one. The new one came with a set of shims adn a tester. I guess this means I will get my first lesson in starter shims tonight! LOL

quote Originally posted by Marvin McInnis: I gauged my 3.1 block carefully (per GM) when I first installed it, and the starter clearance was proper without a shim. Results were the same for two different flex plates and ring gears. That said, there is what I consider excessive gear noise whenever the starter is engaged, so it still may not be right. My 3.1 block, although mechanically "new," had seen service as a GM "mockup mule," so no telling whether it is dimensionally typical or not.

Did you check for co-linearity of the starter and crank axis? You could use machinist's dye to verify the gear face contact pattern.

JazzMan

Thanks for the suggestion. No, I haven't checked collinearity, but the gear teeth don't show any significant or unusual wear after about 23,000 miles, so I'm not going to worry about it.