broken starter?

[2500sierra81]

so my friday afternoon was ruined when my truck wouldn't start in my school's parking lot. i think its the starter motor as clearly i have electrical charge. it sounds as if the gears form the starter motor and the crankshaft are scraping on each other, and just wearing each other down. any ideas?

is is worth it to attempt to change the starter motor in the school parking lot? i don't want to get my truck towed for the second time in two weeks

any cool ways to get it started without the starter? i can't push start it cuz its an automatic

 

[GTME94]

If it happens to be a broken gear tooth or two on the flex plate, you can turn the engine by the damper in front and then get the starter to engage with good teeth.

A tap or two with a BFH are worth a try before changing the starter.

 

[philjafo]

#1 if your going to drive old vehicles you should have or be friends with someone who has a tow dolly, seriously it will pay for itself the first time you don't have to pay for a tow truck. Some car insurances have towing coverage that can be added very cheaply also.

#2 The starter is only two bolts and a couple wires I would change one out on the side of a road in a snowbank before paying for a tow truck, in fact I have.

Pull the starter look at the flexplate gears if you've got one bad spot and the starter is ok just move the motor off that spot and reinstall the starter then don't shut it off till you get it to where you can work on it cuz motors tend to stop in the same spots.

If its the starter that's chewed up or worn out just replace it. Something to check since you say its making a grinding noise, make sure both bolts are there and tight. If one of them broke or is loose it wouldn't engage the flexplate properly.

 

[2500sierra81]

thanks guys. pulled the starter motor off yesterday in the parking lot. found that the casing was cracked. got a new starter installed it but didn't have time to hook up the wires. its raining today so won't mess with electrical stuff until its dry

seeing as the motor casing was cracked i'll still have to take the truck into a mechanic because it means I'm having some major engine timing issues according to the guys at the auto parts store where i got the new starter

i'll post pictures of the broken starter soon

 

[philjafo]

There's nothing major about timing on something with a carb. Don't you have to get emissions testing in California, a major timing issue would show up there. Maybe they don't check timing but it wouldn't be running or starting right if it was that far off.

 

[elstm3]

I broke the nose cone off a brand new starter. the bolts i had were a little worn on the knurling so it didnt hold the starter well enough. got a new starter and new bolts and its all good now.

 

[83swb]

thanks guys. pulled the starter motor off yesterday in the parking lot. found that the casing was cracked. got a new starter installed it but didn't have time to hook up the wires. its raining today so won't mess with electrical stuff until its dry

seeing as the motor casing was cracked i'll still have to take the truck into a mechanic because it means I'm having some major engine timing issues according to the guys at the auto parts store where i got the new starter

i'll post pictures of the broken starter soon

I'll be the first one here to inform you not to trust everything that guy at Autozone tells you is wrong with your truck, because nothing happened to his 89' Honda Accord that could relate to what happened to your 81' GMC. If your timing was noticeably off, you would defiantly be able to tell.

That being said I think you just had a faulty starter and she'll fire right back up

 

[smurph20]

Being the guy that used to be behind the counter im sure he was telling him that timing could be an issue because that could be an issue that would break the casing. Loose bolts as mentioned above would also be a problem and so could over tightened bolts.