Hi im new here, and just bought a 99 ram air T/A. The guy I bought it from said he parked it for A few months and when he went to crank it that the starter broke off. One tab broke off the starter and one broke off the block. The one that broke off the block is near the outside. It broke right in the middle of the threads. I still have the broke piece. The car has to be pushed off but runs and drives great. My question is can I weld this back on while the motor is still in the car? And has anyone ever had this happen before?

I found this stuff http://www.aluminumrepair.com/ Do you think this might work.
Any help would be appreciated. I dont know what to do. I dont want to have to drop the motor.

Thanks Adam,

 

bumper

 

Thanks for the help guys.

 

I saw that stuff online and was impressed. You should try it out. If it works as well as it does in that video let me know!

 

Seen this happen a number of times, unfortuntly each time the person eventually had to replace the block.

 

i dont know...they can put what they want on the video..a starter has a **** load of torque.

 

Well guys I fixed the problem. Me and a friend fabricated a bracket that goes from the starter to the transmission bell housing, works like a charm with no grinding when you start the car.

What causes these tabs to break? mine broke the tab off the passenger side of the block and the driver side ear off the starter.

 

Had a head gasket leak lately?

 

I am very curious about this one. I had a starter tab break off on my car. I had to pull the motor, weld new aluminum on, then drill and tap a new hole. So far mine is holding great with many many starts on it. If you were able to fabricate a bracket that would hold it, that would be great. If you get a chance, post up a pic. I know I would have loved to see a pic of a bracket like that when I broke mine!

 

Yea, i had my tab broken off when i bought my motor. I had some aluminum welded on and i just drilled and tapped it. works fine.