The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay 54 3100- Floor Starter Grinds-Need Help/Advice

my starter makes an awful noise sometimes when starting, sometimes it is just fine and starts smoothly. It sounds as though the teeth or splines are grinding? The truck has the stock 235, and has been converted to 12v. Is it possible the flywheel/starter was not changed when converted to 12v, and has the wrong number of teeth? or is it likely to be just out of adjustment or a bad starter?

any advice would be appreciated... i did a search but didnt see anything that fit my description.

thanks

onelane,

If your truck still has the stomp starter, it is probably the original 6 volt starter being run on 12 volts. This is OK and common practice. If this is true, I would pull the starter and look at the mechanical linkage from floor stomper to starter switch. This can get worn and not allow the bendix to fully engage the ring gear.

While it's out, look at the ring gear with a trouble light and see what condition the teeth are in...do the same for the bendix. It might be a situation where it's worn linkage, and a worn out bendix.

Stuart

You probably have a worn out starter drive. It is a one way clutch & if it slips inside it makes a grinding noise. If you like to fix stuff yourself it is not hard to take the starter apart & replace it. Remove the thrust washer on the end of the shaft & tap the coller back. Then remove the snap ring & the drive .

thanks guys, i will check both out when i replace the 235 later this month.