Starter spins, but the engine won't crank

[relpats_eht]

Thanks for all the help. That starter was a bear to get back in, but my car is up and running again.

[simplyconnected]

Thanks for all the help. That starter was a bear to get back in, but my car is up and running again.

That's it??? What did you find when you took it apart? Did you test any of the windings or look at the brushes?

The idea of these forums is to let others know what problems you had and how you solved them.

[relpats_eht]

I'm pretty sure the thing was just too dirty for the drive shaft of the starter to move forward. When I took it apart, I couldn't find anything noticeably wrong other than a rather tight pin on the clapper and an excessive amount of copper dust. I cleaned the thing out and greased the internals and it worked like a charm.

That being said, the most useful piece of advice I can think of would be for reinstalling the starter on this engine. With this starter, it's actually easier to install it with the wheels only a half turn to the left, rather than a full turn. You'll want to move it in backwards along the front right wheel (so the nose of the starter is pointing toward the tire). Once you get it in the general area it is supposed to go you want to get the nose of the starter wedged between the lip of the fly wheel housing and the exhaust. From there a little force and finagling will help it slide into place. I've tried getting the thing in from just about every position; that's the one that works.

Although, I'm not quite sure what the model of the engine is. The original owners are long gone and I couldn't find an identification tag.

[simplyconnected]

Your starter (ACDELCO Part # 3361007) was used on a host of FE engines from about 1963-75. It is a great starter motor.

A few things can go wrong... That sheet metal Bendix fork can break as well as all the other more common problems. The only starter that is better is the permanent magnet/gear reduction type, mostly because of its size and weight. I don't think there is a retrofit for your starter but just about all the others are now gear reduction.

Copper and carbon commonly booger up the insides of starter motors because they are both highly conductive. A simple cleaning is all they require.

You can usually tell what year the engine is by looking at the casting numbers. They're on the intake manifold, both exhaust manifolds, etc.

I'm glad you got things working again without spending money. Dirt usually doesn't stop this type of starter. - Dave