Starter Shattered
Starter Shattered Car: 96 Trans Am A4 105xxx miles.
When I changed my starter. This was the surprise I found. It was bolted to the block and still started (but not on every try), it came out in four pieces.
I've never seen a starter break like this, so I started asking around. I got a few different answers;
1) The timing is too far advanced causing harder cranking.
A) To my knowledge the engine is stock and so is the timing.
It does have a custom tune, but I don't know what's been tuned.
It had a MSD ignition system on it but the Previous owner had it
removed when the opti failed.
2) The engine kicked back.
B) I've never heard this term before, but I'm assuming it means the
flexplate somewhat rolls back on the starter and breaks it over time.
3) Shitty starter. Not shimmed right. Over cranking.
C) The starter was on there when I bought the car. So I don't know
the brand or build date. It was shimmed and the one I put one is
shimmed the same way. I don't recall ever over cranking but that
doesn't mean it never was.
4) Opti
D) I'm sure that was a joke.
My question is what are your thoughts?
When I changed my starter. This was the surprise I found. It was bolted to the block and still started (but not on every try), it came out in four pieces.
I've never seen a starter break like this, so I started asking around. I got a few different answers;
1) The timing is too far advanced causing harder cranking.
A) To my knowledge the engine is stock and so is the timing.
It does have a custom tune, but I don't know what's been tuned.
It had a MSD ignition system on it but the Previous owner had it
removed when the opti failed.
2) The engine kicked back.
B) I've never heard this term before, but I'm assuming it means the
flexplate somewhat rolls back on the starter and breaks it over time.
3) Shitty starter. Not shimmed right. Over cranking.
C) The starter was on there when I bought the car. So I don't know
the brand or build date. It was shimmed and the one I put one is
shimmed the same way. I don't recall ever over cranking but that
doesn't mean it never was.
4) Opti
D) I'm sure that was a joke.
My question is what are your thoughts?
I had one that split nearly in half. Wasn't as bad as yours but defiantly couldn't use it again. Mine split because the motor had sat all winter with out a start up. I was getting the car ready for summer and threw new battery on it. Went to start it up and CRACK. Thought I had striped the teeth off the fly wheel. Got under the car and found that the starter casing had cracked. Turned out the engine had gotten stuck and the starter was the weak link.
But I would guess that you just got lucky and got a starter that had a imperfection in the metal of the case.
But I would guess that you just got lucky and got a starter that had a imperfection in the metal of the case.
Get an LT4 starter, you can get one with lifetime warranty at the 'zone' or other parts store. They are lighter, smaller with more clearance for headers, and geared better than the stock LT1 starter. I have one and it starts my 13.5:1 385 no problem.
I had one that split nearly in half. Wasn't as bad as yours but defiantly couldn't use it again. Mine split because the motor had sat all winter with out a start up. I was getting the car ready for summer and threw new battery on it. Went to start it up and CRACK. Thought I had striped the teeth off the fly wheel. Got under the car and found that the starter casing had cracked. Turned out the engine had gotten stuck and the starter was the weak link.
But I would guess that you just got lucky and got a starter that had a imperfection in the metal of the case.
But I would guess that you just got lucky and got a starter that had a imperfection in the metal of the case.
After I got it, I looked up the best way to change one in an auto trans car and found a thread about LT1 vs LT4 starters.But I may have to buy another starter cuz I think this one just blew.
It only started the car 7 times. We put the LT4 starter on the car and began shimming. We shimmed it to about a 1/4 inch. And it still seems to need more shims. We called it a night after that. Tomorrow I'm gonna count the teeth on the flexplate to make sure it's the correct plate in the car. I'm pretty sure it's a 153, please correct me if I'm wrong. The previous owner had the flexplate changed that's why I question if it's the correct plate. If it turns out to be the correct plate, the next step is to shim one side of the starter. Does anybody have any input on this? Any advice?
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TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 680
Likes: 7
From: Clearwater
does the motor still seem to kick back? if so consider the opti
i am not one to badmouth the opti but a friend of mine had so many starters replaced from a similar issue that they just said f#$% it and gave him back his money. i was in complete disbelief that the opti was at fault until he changed it out and the problem has not surfaced again.
i am not one to badmouth the opti but a friend of mine had so many starters replaced from a similar issue that they just said f#$% it and gave him back his money. i was in complete disbelief that the opti was at fault until he changed it out and the problem has not surfaced again.
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Verdad Gallardo does the motor still seem to kick back? if so consider the opti
i am not one to badmouth the opti but a friend of mine had so many starters replaced from a similar issue that they just said f#$% it and gave him back his money. i was in complete disbelief that the opti was at fault until he changed it out and the problem has not surfaced again.
i am not one to badmouth the opti but a friend of mine had so many starters replaced from a similar issue that they just said f#$% it and gave him back his money. i was in complete disbelief that the opti was at fault until he changed it out and the problem has not surfaced again.
The car runs fine 99% of the time.
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 680
Likes: 7
From: Clearwater
To be honest I'm not 100% sure what kick back is. But the car has a tendency to die randomly at idle and I mean like maybe once every two weeks if I daily drive it. It will always start back up first turn of the key. I've also felt it surge forward not very often and it usually doesn't last long. I felt a dead miss when in park before the last starter went. But I turned the car off and back on and no miss. I've heard those can be signs of opti failure though. But everything I've read says the opti would just blow out and that's pretty much that. Work or won't work. Blow or go.
The car runs fine 99% of the time.
The car runs fine 99% of the time.
When the car did start did it fire up instantly or did it crank awhile first? 2nd I've changed many lt1 starters and have never once needed a shim,1/4 shims sounds like something's wrong.Also check ur fuel reg and make sure it's not leaking causing to much fuel in the cylinders on cranking.
When the car did start did it fire up instantly or did it crank awhile first? 2nd I've changed many lt1 starters and have never once needed a shim,1/4 shims sounds like something's wrong.Also check ur fuel reg and make sure it's not leaking causing to much fuel in the cylinders on cranking.
does the motor still seem to kick back? if so consider the opti
i am not one to badmouth the opti but a friend of mine had so many starters replaced from a similar issue that they just said f#$% it and gave him back his money. i was in complete disbelief that the opti was at fault until he changed it out and the problem has not surfaced again.
i am not one to badmouth the opti but a friend of mine had so many starters replaced from a similar issue that they just said f#$% it and gave him back his money. i was in complete disbelief that the opti was at fault until he changed it out and the problem has not surfaced again.
Update for you guys I counted the teeth on the flexplate. It has 153 teeth, so I know its the right flexplate.
The bendix on the LT4 starter is still having trouble disengaging from the flexplate. The next steps that we are thinking is to put a dial indicator on the flexplate to check for warpage. Then if that checks out try to shim just one side of the starter.
While I'm starting to agree that the opti is most likely the root problem, I need to get the starter issue resolved before I can move on. I'd like to get it started to check the opti but first I need to get the bendix to stop jamming up on the flexplate. The car will start though but I don't want to burn up the starter. It will disengage if we crawl under the car and move the flexplate slightly. Any ideas on this one?
The bendix on the LT4 starter is still having trouble disengaging from the flexplate. The next steps that we are thinking is to put a dial indicator on the flexplate to check for warpage. Then if that checks out try to shim just one side of the starter.
While I'm starting to agree that the opti is most likely the root problem, I need to get the starter issue resolved before I can move on. I'd like to get it started to check the opti but first I need to get the bendix to stop jamming up on the flexplate. The car will start though but I don't want to burn up the starter. It will disengage if we crawl under the car and move the flexplate slightly. Any ideas on this one?
I counted the teeth on the flexplate. It has 153 teeth, so I know its the right flexplate.
The bendix on the LT4 starter is still having trouble disengaging from the flexplate. The next steps that we are thinking is to put a dial indicator on the flexplate to check for warpage. Then if that checks out try to shim just one side of the starter.
While I'm starting to agree that the opti is most likely the root problem, I need to get the starter issue resolved before I can move on. I'd like to get it started to check the opti but first I need to get the bendix to stop jamming up on the flexplate. The car will start though but I don't want to burn up the starter. It will disengage if we crawl under the car and move the flexplate slightly. Any ideas on this one?
The bendix on the LT4 starter is still having trouble disengaging from the flexplate. The next steps that we are thinking is to put a dial indicator on the flexplate to check for warpage. Then if that checks out try to shim just one side of the starter.
While I'm starting to agree that the opti is most likely the root problem, I need to get the starter issue resolved before I can move on. I'd like to get it started to check the opti but first I need to get the bendix to stop jamming up on the flexplate. The car will start though but I don't want to burn up the starter. It will disengage if we crawl under the car and move the flexplate slightly. Any ideas on this one?
I put a wire hanger in between the teeth of the flywheel to make sure the starter isn't moved to far up and into the flywheel teeth. This gives me a starting point and I adjust it as necessary. If the starter will not disengage then the alignment of the starter is way off.
We've been using an 1/8th drill bit. We saw it in shimming instructions that came with the first replacement starter I used. Do you think they're about the same size? I don't have a wire hanger at the moment. Have you ever had to shim just on side of the starter? Or had a flexplate warp?
