The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Who can guess how I screwed up my truck?

So after a year or so of driving my 64 w/ 4spd I finally beefed it and tried starting the truck in gear w/out putting in the clutch. It lurched forward and I caught it immediately; no fatalities this time. But ever since I've been having a problem with the starter. About 80% of the time I go to start it, everything's in fine working order. But the other part of the time the starter will just whir around like the solenoid isn't engaging the starter gear to the flywheel. Also, regardless of the starting condition, when I let out the clutch to let the rig idle in neutral I feel a slight pull forward as though it were in gear. For the love of god, what have i done to my poor truck?!!

The contacts in the selonoid are probably burnt.

so could I flip that big copper washer over in the solenoid and be good to go, or am I just out of a solenoid?

You may have busted a tooth off the flywheel. I had that happen to me.

I would try flipping the washer before buying a new one. The part about the tranny pulling in neutral sounds more like something could amiss in the tranny. If it shifts OK and isn't making any undo noises it's probably OK. Are you sure it wasn't doing it all along & you just weren't as sensitive to it because you weren't looking for anything wrong?

yeah, i'm positive the grab is new, but the engaging problem worries me worse than anything. Between tips from the guys here and troubleshooting guides I've narrowed it to solenoid contacts or starter drive. Regardless, I will rebuild the starter--it's an original off a '66 i scrapped, and i like to use the old stuff...and squeeze pennies.

If it's a broken tooth on your starter ring you can check it out by Putting the tranny in gear (1st) and pushing (bumping) the engine over just a bit. If it's a tooth missing that will move the starter ring teeth over enough to get it to start.

I think you have a busted tooth too. The reason it only effects it 20% of the time is when the bindex lines up with the missing tooth.

If you have a flywheel inspection cover you can remove that and look for broken teeth.

It sounds like the bendex spring may have broken and will allow the starter gear to be stuck on the flywheel sometimes other times the gear wont throw out..check the bendex for damage or replace the entire starter.
James

thanks everybody

You would have to be missing at least two adjacent flywheel teeth to keep the drive from engaging, and you'd never get more than one turn of the engine before it set up a horrendous grinding noise, or stopped turning. The copper washer is no longer reversible- - - -only one side has a copper coating on an otherwise steel washer. That change has been incorporated into solenoids for at least 15 years, maybe longer. Don't know what you'll do with the burned contacts in the end cap, as they're not reversible any more, either.

It sounds like the one-way clutch in the starter drive is slipping occasionally. if you decide to repair the starter instead of installing a rebuilt unit, do it right, with new brushes, machine the armature, change the front and rear bushings, new solenoid linkage, install a new or rebuilt solenoid, and a new starter drive. You'll only pay about 50% more than a good rebuilt starter will cost that way, and be sure to charge out your labor time at about $5.00 per hour!
Jerry

I have a question. Why do that? I understand if a system or sub-system fails that you may have to do something out of the ordinary. That seems like hammering a nail into a board without turning loose of the nail, then not understanding why your fingers hurt. Am I missing something here?

Doing a patch-up job on a starter with enough time and wear on it for the drive clutch to start slipping without addressing other normal wear areas like the brushes, bushings, and solenoid linkage is false economy. It takes almost a complete teardown to replace the drive unit. You'll probably be money and time ahead to swap for a good-quality rebuilt starter, or get a new, lifetime warranty unit and make it the last starter you'll ever pay for on this vehicle.
Jerry