Starter help

[Bearskin9898]

When I try to start my boat only the starter spins. It doesn't engage and turn the flywheel. I think the problem is there's only one of the bolts holding the starter in place. The longest one. The other one appears to have snapped off up in the block. I have tried getting it out but it won't budge. Is there any other way I could temporarily hold the starter in place to see if the boat will even start up? Don't wanna have to pull the motor and everything right now just a cheaper boat

 

[Scott Danforth]

you need to remove the starter, remove the broken bolt and then replace the starter bolts. attempting to start a motor with only one bolt nearly every time results in a broken block casting which means removing the motor and replacing it.

 

[hogbare35]

Take the starter off. Get a 1/8" drill bit, try to get in center of broken bolt ,drill a lead hole about 1/4" deep.I know its hard to get to but it can be done. Now get a 5/16" left hand drill bit, using a reversible drill turning left drill into the pilot hole you drilled. If you are lucky the left hand drill bit will grab into the bolt and spin it out to where you get vice grips on it, if real lucky it might come all the way out. It is a hard job. Good luck.

 

[hogbare35]

If the bolt does not spin out you might get an ease out in it and remove it.

 

[harringtondav]

Once you get starter off, (can't tell if that's happened yet), bench test it to be sure the solenoid moves the starter pinion gear forward so it will engage the flywheel gear. You could have a bad solenoid/lever, and a broken bolt at the same time

 

[kenny nunez]

In addition to the missing bolt there may be a build up of rust on the starter shaft and the spring that pushes the drive into the flywheel may be just compressing.

 

[Barkentine]

Scott Danforth,

I recently purchased a parts boat: 1993 B.L. Capri, 3.0L 4-cyl..
The previous owner said the block was cracked due to freezing.

But also found:

The short bolt that mounts the starter broken off in the block.
The broken bolt head (broke off where the knurling begins) in the bilge.

Without removing the starter,I was able to remove the broken part by:
- drilling the broken bolt head thru with a 3/16" drill on a drill press.
which now gave me a drill bit guide (drill bushing, so to speak) to drill
about 5/16" into the broken part. No damage at all to the threads in the block.
- I inserted the bolt head into the starter and bumped the starter so it gripped it.
- Then taped the drill bit to give a depth of 5/16" and drilled into the broken part.
Did not even have to center punch. Hole drilled was very close to center.
- Then the starter was removed and a standard bolt extractor removed the broken part.

I used a 90 deg drill adaptor due to the tight space in the bilge.

It did not take long to extract the broken piece and the engine did not have to be pulled.

I started the engine (which starts fine, has very good 150 PSI all cylinders, no milkshake in the oil) and immediately found coolant dripping out of from inside bthe flywheel housing.

Question to S.D.: What part of an engine block breaks from using only one bolt to hold this type of starter on?

 

[Bondo]

I started the engine (which starts fine, has very good 150 PSI all cylinders, no milkshake in the oil) and immediately found coolant dripping out of from inside bthe flywheel housing.

Question to S.D.: What part of an engine block breaks from using only one bolt to hold this type of starter on?

Ayuh,..... Welcome Aboard,..... Even though this is a thread hy-jack, 'n I ain't Scott,......

There's a core plug behind the flywheel that was probably pushed out by freezin',....
I suspect you'll find more cracks, 'n possibly more core plug problem, once the 1 behind the flywheel is pushed back into place,.....
The reason I say this is,.....
The coolin' water can't build any pressure, 'n can't get any higher in the block, than the core plug that's pushed out,.....

When crankin' a motor on the starter, with only the outside bolt in-place, the entire "Ear" at the rear of the block on that side can be busted off,.....
At that point, the entire block is scrap iron,......

Is there any other way I could temporarily hold the starter in place to see if the boat will even start up? Don't wanna have to pull the motor and everything right now just a cheaper boat

Nope,...... Fix it Right, right now, or the entire motor can easily be turned into scrap iron, as I noted above,.....

 

[kenny nunez]

I would not worry about it. I have encountered a few with that same problem and no damage to the block. You may hav lucked out with a good engine.

 

[Barkentine]

Bondo,,

Thank you for the reply. I will be more careful in the future with highjacking a thread.

 

[aimlow]

If this is a Chevrolet engine, the starter bolts are not interchangable. The GM starter bolts MUST be used to mount the starter. Some applications have a rear bracket also. The shim stays with the block, if one is used from the factory/

 

[rickasbury]

So you bought it as a parts boat....what are you trying to accomplish? If you want to fix it, there is only one way to attack it- otherwise, aren't you just wasting time?

 

[achris]

Starter mount screws (they are screws, not bolts ) don't just 'break'. Something has overloaded the screws and CAUSED one to break. That 'something' is usually a hydrolocked engine. You got water in a cylinder (or 3)....

And continuing to try to start the engine with just the outer screws holding the starter in place, guaranteed to end with 'I need a new block'... The amount of material that outer screw is into is very small, and the starter places a side loading on it. Cast iron cracks very easily under those conditions...

Pull the engine, remove the remnants of the broken screw and investigate the reason for the breakage. (most likely a corroded exhaust elbow or manifold)

Chris.......