Any mopar guys in here ? dodge starter question

[Redrig]

Hi all ,

I have a 78 motorhome with a dodge 440 in it .

The starter was making some weird noises the last time I took it out and I want to buy a back up in case it fails on me out in the middle of nowhere .

In most of my rigs which happen to all be older for the most part , when a starter goes out I try to upgrade the starter from the old style to a newer PMGR style starter , smaller , crank faster , etc .

full disclosure , I am a ford guy and dont know much about dodges and if this is even applicable .

does anyone have any info on this ? do dodges have a new style starter for these old big blocks ? or should I just replace whats in there ? And on that note .....

second question , when looking for parts for this motorhome , what should I use as the part lookup vehicle ? a fullsize dodge truck or van ? something like that . Its been great thus far and I have not had to find any parts .

thanks

 

[alldodge]

Just get a reman, not going to find much on higher end starters. Most are 1.3KW and can find a 1.4 but that's about it.

Use a truck D200 or van B200, both will work

 

[Redrig]

Fantastic , with a name like alldodge I will take your advice

 

[GA_Boater]

I hope we can can trust a guy called AllDodge. LOL

Check the starter bolts and make sure they are tight. And I would put the new starter in and and save the old one for backup. Maybe that way you can avoid changing the starter in a parking lot or the middle of nowhere - In the rain!

I think you're in Texas around Houston, so just look out the window and ask yourself if you want to be crawling under the motorhome.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I have not run across a PMGR for a Mopar.... then again, I havent wrenched on a non-diesel mopar in about 20 years

however a quick search says they exist

here is the summit list of them. https://www.summitracing.com/search...ize/7-2l-440/make/chrysler/part-type/starters

 

[Redrig]

while I am at it , I will explain what happened (since I have never seen this before ) and I have drove many old beaters

I went to start the motorhome after driving it all weekend and camping, I turned the key and nothing , when I released the key a buzzing almost like a fan noise came from the starter (key on or off didnt matter)

i was worried aobut it draining the battery so I unhooked the batteries , buzzing stopped . Hooked the battery back up and the buzzing started again . I then unhooked the battery climbed under the rig and cleaned up the contacts with a wire brush and wiggled the wires.

hooked the battery back up and there was no more buzzing , turned the key and it started up like normal .

while the buzzing was going , I did put my hand on the starter to confrm thats where the noise was coming , and it was indeed coming from the starter ( but it was NOT the regular cranking noise ) more like a buzzing internal sound almost like a small fan

any ideas on what that was ? I have never ran into that before at all . I have heard the term " starter run on " but no idea what that is . it had me stumped .

I went and parked it afterwards just greatful that I didnt get stranded in that beast somewhere

I think you're in Texas around Houston, so just look out the window and ask yourself if you want to be crawling under the motorhome.

Im in Utah , and I take it pretty far off the beaten path out here, hence I need a back up starter. haha

 

[Old Ironmaker]

Back in the 60's and 70's you could hear a Dodge starter a mile away. They had a certain whinning sound others didn't. If you drive a 42 year old Dodge and the starter is your only problem you are golden. That 1978 motorhome must turn heads. GI would love to see a pic of your rig. Good luck and happy motoring.

Johnny D/Selkirk Ontario Canada. A bit of a drive from Utah.

 

[alldodge]

The buzzing was the solenoid partially engaged, the gear had not fully retracted. They get this way from non-use. I have replaced the starters before, but not many. All my old Dodge/Plymouth cars and pick ups never needs a starter. Only replaced them on others.

You could remove, disassemble then clean and lube it up and may never have a problem, but I would suggest doing as GA mentioned. Starter is under $60, but that said, some of the new stuff is not as good as the old stuff

Edit: Have owned a 56 Dodge Lancer Royal, 66 Plymouth Belvedere, 68 Dodge Cornet 880, 70 Plymouth Road Runner, 73 Chrysler Newport (land barge), 81 Dodge St Regis, 95, 00 and 08 Dodge pick up. Mom and Dad owned a lot of them as well.

 

[Redrig]

here she is , loaded up before hitting the lake .

Thanks for the clarification Alldodge , that makes sense . I have never had a solenoid do that , only fail and fail quietly.

I will just grab a spare for "just in case" type of thing .

Scott - thanks for the link , those are exactly what I was after and a quick look online it doesnt sounds like I would have to change any wiring like you do when you do the upgrade on a Ford .

Thanks for the help all ,

 

[alldodge]

Bring a hammer with, so if the starter gets to buzzing again, or not doing anything, give it a couple raps to free it up.

That is some nice grass you got there

 

[GA_Boater]

Bring a hammer with, so if the starter gets to buzzing again, or not doing anything, give it a couple raps to free it up.

That is some nice grass you got there

Not a Chrysler product, but I just replaced the solenoid slug and contacts in a Toyota. It was doing some of the things your starter is doing, including the hang up only it kept the starter running after it started. I carried a hammer until the parts came in. And used it a couple of times.

I must have another Red in mind from Texas. I'm old!

Don't use that "grass" in a glass bong! :lol:

 

[Redrig]

That is some nice grass you got there

yeah , tell me about it. Thats the mother in laws place , I campaigned against that lawn idea and lost .

alldodge , so is this fairly common with the solenoid ? or do you think failure is immenent ?

 

[alldodge]

alldodge , so is this fairly common with the solenoid ? or do you think failure is immenent ?

Just my opinion, but it mostly happens only with motors that do not get used. Rust and gunk build up and they they don't move like they use to. If its started often it doesn't happen much if at all. Start and stop it several times and see if it starts to hang again

I've never had it happen to one of my vehicles

 

[Old Ironmaker]

The buzzing was the solenoid partially engaged, the gear had not fully retracted. They get this way from non-use. I have replaced the starters before, but not many. All my old Dodge/Plymouth cars and pick ups never needs a starter. Only replaced them on others.

You could remove, disassemble then clean and lube it up and may never have a problem, but I would suggest doing as GA mentioned. Starter is under $60, but that said, some of the new stuff is not as good as the old stuff

Edit: Have owned a 56 Dodge Lancer Royal, 66 Plymouth Belvedere, 68 Dodge Cornet 880, 70 Plymouth Road Runner, 73 Chrysler Newport (land barge), 81 Dodge St Regis, 95, 00 and 08 Dodge pick up. Mom and Dad owned a lot of them as well.

I've owned a 81 Ram pick up and a 2003 Chrysler Intrepid. The Intrepid had a Chrysler badge on them in Canada, Dodge badge in the US. Both were a nightmare for me. Could never adjust the timing chain on the truck to run all 8 cylinders and the Intrepid had the "transmission communication computer" whatever that was 3 times at a grand a pop. Fool me 3 times shame on me.

Ooops, forgot the Franken Jeep. A little bit of everything including AMC. If it was raining in Florida it wouldn't start in Ontario Canada.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

here she is , loaded up before hitting the lake .

Thanks for the clarification Alldodge , that makes sense . I have never had a solenoid do that , only fail and fail quietly.

I will just grab a spare for "just in case" type of thing .

Scott - thanks for the link , those are exactly what I was after and a quick look online it doesnt sounds like I would have to change any wiring like you do when you do the upgrade on a Ford .

Thanks for the help all ,

Cool. If I saw that parked on the street I would have to check the calendar to see what year it is.

 

[sphelps]

I had a 73 Dodge class A motor home years ago . Same motor . Would run great once started ! It had a couple teeth missing on the flywheel so every now and then you had to bump it a few times to get it going .. The old mopar starters have a sound you cant forget ...