Starter not engaging

[amplay]

Starter will not engage. Starter and Battery less than 1 year old. Listen to attached audio file. Suggestions?

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... Pull the starter, 'n bench test it, before you ruin the flywheel ring gear,.....

 

[flashback]

Yep starter ain't engaged..

 

[amplay]

Removed the starter, and it seemed to run just fine. I felt the ring gear, and thought I detected 1 broken tooth. Is this the part I need?

222-8M0047213​

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... If the starter bolts are straight across, you need a 153 tooth ring gear,.....
If the starter bolts are staggered, you need a 168 tooth ring gear,....

 

[Scott06]

Removed the starter, and it seemed to run just fine. I felt the ring gear, and thought I detected 1 broken tooth. Is this the part I need?

222-8M0047213​

You also can just buy the ring gear at a local auto parts store. You can youtube some videos of how to get the old one of the flywheel and heat up the new one to slip on the flywheel.

I would take the starter off an completely turn the flywheel and inspect all teeth before doing this as yo have to lift the engine and at least slide it forward and up to get access to the flyhweel

 

[amplay]

I don't think the flywheel will turn?? Too much engine compression, or am I wrong. Also, the engine is 25 years old, and also having Carb issues. I am thinking of replacing it. Can I upgrade to a 5.7L? RapidO Marine is out of stock on small blocks, are there any other used engine vendors?

 

[Scott06]

I don't think the flywheel will turn?? Too much engine compression, or am I wrong. Also, the engine is 25 years old, and also having Carb issues. I am thinking of replacing it. Can I upgrade to a 5.7L? RapidO Marine is out of stock on small blocks, are there any other used engine vendors?

You have to take the sparkplugs out to turn the engine by hand. All I was saying, since you mentioned you thought a tooth was gone - before you jank the engine make sure the flywheel ring gear is roached.

Do you have a carbed or MPI 5.0 now? If carbed the upgrade is easier although would be a real good time to step up to a 4 bbl.., if MPI you need a ECU reflash or reprogram.

Michigan motorz does reman and new base engines as well. there are a few others Marine engines for less, center state engine exchange. Mercury/Quicksilver also sells reman longblocks partial base engines etc but they tend to be a more pricey.

What made you go from a starter to engine replacement ? thats a big leap....

 

[amplay]

Thanks for your comments! I am thinking that if I have to pull the engine to replace the ring gear, and the motor is 25 years old, I don't want to face a valve job or broken rod downstream. Put a few thousand in now, and be good to go.

 

[Scott06]

Thanks for your comments! I am thinking that if I have to pull the engine to replace the ring gear, and the motor is 25 years old, I don't want to face a valve job or broken rod downstream. Put a few thousand in now, and be good to go.

reasonably maintained a marine SBC will outlast the boat.

Not sure if yo are doing the work or if you are having it done but on a typical deck boat or bowrider there is not a lot of labor in pulling and engine, at least not enough to justify swapping a long block just because you have it out.

Not sure how long yo have owned the boat but the way to asses the engine health is a compression test, and measure the oil pressure when running with a mechanical gauge. New compression is 150 psi, and hot you need about 10 psi oil pressure per 1000 rpm the engine is running. The oil pressure will get lower as bearing clearances open up. If the compression test is low you can do a leak down test to pinpoint the problem area.

Absent any loss of compression or bearing clearance issues , or unless you want more power for water sports etc, you would just be letting money burn a hole in your pocket.

 

[amplay]

Thanks for the replys. I need to start the engine to drive to the ramp and onto trailer. If I remove plugs and starter, can I tap on the ring gear and rotate enough to replace starter and get started? Do I need to loosen belts?

 

[Scott06]

Thanks for the replys. I need to start the engine to drive to the ramp and onto trailer. If I remove plugs and starter, can I tap on the ring gear and rotate enough to replace starter and get started? Do I need to loosen belts?

If you need to rotate the engine remove spark plugs - if you can get at the balancer you should be able to turn it by hand . Might need to use a strap wrench on balancer with the belt off. I also have turned them on the crankshaft nut but you need to be careful as you can break off the bolt in the crank. Just don't over do the amount of force you put on the socket.

 

[Scott06]

Thanks for the replys. I need to start the engine to drive to the ramp and onto trailer. If I remove plugs and starter, can I tap on the ring gear and rotate enough to replace starter and get started? Do I need to loosen belts?

Might be easier to get a tow to the ramp. When I had a bad water pump impeller I towed it to the ramp with our jetski

 

[Bondo]

Thanks for the replys. I need to start the engine to drive to the ramp and onto trailer. If I remove plugs and starter, can I tap on the ring gear and rotate enough to replace starter and get started? Do I need to loosen belts?

Ayuh,..... If you pull the starter, you can use a pry bar or big screwdriver to rotate the motor, through the starter hole,.....
No need to pull the spark plugs, as you only need to turn it 6 or 10 teeth of the ring gear,....

 

[brodmann]

was there any work done on the motor just before this started? Something that would have required removing the starter? I'm just wondering if the starter had shims to make it mesh correctly and they were removed and not replaced. If a starter needs shims, it will not engage correctly. I'd try shoving a few shims in there. They are available at all auto parts stores.

 

[amplay]

Thanks for all the help. Thought I would post where free Service manuals can be found - https://www.downloadboatmanuals.com/motors/mercury/mercury-mercruiser-service-manual/