Starter sounds like holy heck!

[TucsonHooligan]

Had a starter grenade on me last week, vomited its guts behind the torque converter. I discovered this fact after installing a brand new starter and cranking it over, the bearing bits and springs creating a racket. Anyway, after dropping the tranny (1970 C4) and clearing out the previous starter's innards, I mounted the new starter and cranked it over again. It sounds like cats in a blender. It turns the motor over and starts it, but it whines loudly. Though I got one that had been remanned too many times so I went and got another. Same story but with a slightly higher tone. What gives? It's the correct starter for that year, model DL3131. My first starter (the dead one) worked like a charm and sounded perfectly normal until it blew up. Any ideas?

 

[78250F100]

Just a quick idea... There are different starters for manual and auto transmissions. I have made the mistake before with similar results.

 

[TucsonHooligan]

Nah, the one for a manual is a two bolt mount instead of three. Thanks for the reply tho!

 

[oldgrezmonke]

First check the face of the replacement's starter drive for contact marks indicating the need for shimming . If that passes , you indicate that parts from the bad starter may have gotten caught between the replacement starter and flywheel gears . Take a close look at the starter drive gear [fairly easy fix] and the flywheel gear [not so easy fix] for burrs , chipped teeth , etc. . There is also the possibility that the debris caught between may have warped the flywheel causing the gears to now mesh poorly .

 

[chessterd5]

Was the 3rd starter a reman too? I've seen where inside the nosecone there is a little metal ring on the end of the bendix shaft that the bendix gear stops against when it pops out to crank the flywheel, that should be tight & does not turn on the shaft. If that ring spins on that shaft it can make a noise similiar to what your describing. Worth a look to pull the starter & see if you can turn that little ring. Thank you.

 

[Frankenstang]

Hopefully it's not damaged the flex plate, as oldgrezmonke mentioned, and would think you would have spotted any major damage to the torque coverter when you had the tranny dropped. Does it only "whine" while starting?

The ring gear teeth on the flex plate (or if you have one where it's mounted to the torque converter are hardened, the bendix gear is not. Could be some burrs on the ring gear teeth from the debris smashing around. If they are burred, it could damage the bendix gear. Might be able to inspect the ring gear teeth and file any burrs with access through the inspection plate. Good luck

 

[TucsonHooligan]

Yeah, I think it's the ring gear on the torque converter. I pulled the cover off and spun it and there are teeth that look chewed up. It only makes noise on startup, but I bumped my timing up for a quick and easy start unti I can figure out my next step. I can't catch a break!