had the same problem on a full size blazer years ago.the starter would not work no matter how i shimmed it.the starter needed to be moved closer to the flywheel,a lot, so i removed the tranny to gain full view of the starter and flywheel.my solution was to take it to a machine shop to remove material from the mounting pad a little at a time until the starter "sounded" right while cranking the engine over.of course,there is a measurement of the gear mesh that is supposed to be used,but my method worked.if i remember right,it was over 1/16 of an inch that needed to be removed.

 

You might want to put the mounting bracket, starter to engine block, that most people threw away back in the day on this motor it will stop the problem.

 

You might want to put the mounting bracket, starter to engine block, that most people threw away back in the day on this motor it will stop the problem.

His first post stated that he has one.

 

Are you using OEM starter bolts.

Chet

 

no, i just used the ones that you can get from kragen.

man thats gunna suck if i have to take it to a machine shop. ha

thanks

 

most that i broke was because the bolts backed off,,only takes a little

 

I used to have a suburban with a 454 in it, that started the same thing after a starter change. Apparently there are some starters that bolt up and work, but the depth of the starter gear is different from some other starters of the same manufacturer. Our engine would start fine for the first month or two, then develop a bad hesitation, and would eventually brake the front cap right off. I most have replaced that starter 5-6 times. While asking the local parts store what's up, they would assure me I had the correct starter for my application. Fact was, I idn't have the right stater, the one I needed had a slightly different nose cone, a bit shorter. The starter gears would eventually bind so badly that the cone would break off. Go some where else for your starter, they do sell the right ones, you just have to have the guy behind the counter realize that. I have also seen some starters that come with thin shims, to allow you to center the starter gear in the correct position on the fly wheel.

 

Up until the late 1970s, the starter was a select fit on the engine assembly line. That is, these was a fixture to measure the starter gear engagement to the flywheel and the correct starter was selected. GM did not want to use shims. GM instructed us to only replace the starter motor itself and reuse the original nose. You can buy a steel nose from a stater rebuilding company that will take alot more abuse than the aluminum noses. I have had to shim and machine noses many times, its always time consuming, especially in cars which require removal of the headers to r/r the starter.

 

ok, do you think i should buy a high torque starter or just go with an original one?

thanks