had to have towed last night: damn

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Sussmad

Sussmad

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72 Dart: /6 : Starter? When I try to start it I hear a loud clunk and then the starter motor winding down for 10 seconds or so. Tried switching the balast resistor no luck; tried knocking starter with a hammer to get it home; no luck. never had a starter go before, don't know the symptoms.
 
Sounds like the starter is trying to do it's thing if it's winding down after hitting the key,,, broken tooth or 2 on the flywheel/convertor ring gear? Starters are a breeze on. A slant - pull it and look in the hole where it mounts and see if the flywheel is missing any teeth. Last sut down could have stopped at that exact spot.... Or the starter just went bad and simply isn't engaging.....
 
Broken flywheel/flex plate teeth will allow the starter to work but you'll just get a lot of loud grinding. 2 possibilites:

1. The solenoid button that connects the battery lead to the motor armature made contact for a fraction of a second and then lost contact. The solenoid contact button could be burned. Sometimes a clean up of the solenoid contact button or flipping it over will fix this for a while.

2. Or the armature brushes are just worn out and not making contact anymore. You used to be able to get these from parts stores (in North America at least).

If you do not have easy aceess to new or rebuilt starters, then these can be disassembled and inspected, and perhaps repaired if you are good with tools.
 
From the description, sounds like maybe a bad solenoid or bad drive gear. Either way, the starter needs to come out, it sounds like.

"I would" first check the starter is tight on the bell

That the starter (small bolts) motor to gear case bolts are tight

That the battery connections are good.

Jumper / test right at the two starter connections.
 
thanks guys; don't have much time till tomorrow but I went ahead tried to pull the starter; bolt came out and screw came off but the starter is still tough to budge off the bottom bolt; PB blaster and pry?
 
Those 2 bolts back up a lot of torque as the starter turns the engine so they need to be tight. In breaking loose tight bolts, A sudden jerk usually works better for me than a slowly increasing pull. Poor alignment with a 12 point socket could round the bolt head.
I suggest a 6 point end wrench or socket and a pull bar. Extension might be needed to get a straight on fit.
 
Try to turn the engine by hand, or wrench to see if it is stuck. Something sounds jammed. If both large bolts or nuts are out, no need to pry on starter.
 
Starter drive is jammed on flywheel teeth. Turn the engine backwards and it should pop out. You may need to drop the tranny dust cover so you can get in with a long, heavy screwdriver or pry bar and crank the flywheel backwards. These are the times that it sucks that slants don't have a damper bolt...
 
You can turn over a slant by hand, simply tugging on the alternator belt. Consider using a "mini-starter" from a Magnum V-8 engine. Half the weight and size, and less current draw. $10 at junkyard. Changing the starter is a 5 min job on a slant, when no issues like yours. I never had trouble removing one.
 
RedFish said:
Those 2 bolts back up a lot of torque as the starter turns the engine so they need to be tight. In breaking loose tight bolts, A sudden jerk usually works better for me than a slowly increasing pull. Poor alignment with a 12 point socket could round the bolt head.... I would look for this, and the possibility of oil leaks dripping down. to loosen the starter bolts ( it happened to me...).
Click to expand...
 
got the starter off then felt like an idiot because had the hardest time lifting it out of the engine bay. It kept on getting wedged in there. It is not original equipment and I compared it to another Mopar one I have lying around and it is just inch or so longer justifying my 15 minutes of cursing. Going to test both. The teeth on the part of the flywheel that I can see look intact. Bill; mini starter from Magnum just bolts on? I'm not to good at improvising.
 
Yeah! back running! just the starter; the old one original Mopar one I had sitting around works great, and to think my wife is always after me to clear out my junk.Thanks for support.
 
Congrats! Every time I throw something out I need it shortly afterward. Now your wife will see your true genius and listen to you for sure! lol
 
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