Weird starter problem on a '67 D100 with 225 slant 6

[DyeingSwan]

Hello everyone,

A brief introduction - my name's Courtney, I live in Oregon, and just a week and a half ago I acquired a very fabulous '67 D-100 short bed stepside utiline pickup. She's a good runner and I'm fond of her already, but she has an infuriating starter problem. About 4 times out of 5, when I turn the key, the starter will spin up with a mighty whirr... but will NOT engage with the flywheel. The weird thing is, when it finally does catch, the engine turns at a normal speed, no nasty grinding noise from the starter, and it usually starts fine (unless I've flooded it of course). The fellow who sold me the truck had removed the starter to try to diagnose the problem... he says that out of the car, the starter bendix gear extends every time. I'd hate to be buying a new starter if something else is at fault, like the solenoid. Anyone have any ideas?


Courtney

[Jeffc]

Might help to know if this is a manual trans or auto.....
they use 2 differant starters. This is most likely
a bendix or solenoid. This also can be a bad relay
that is not switching right or not getting enough
power.

But will start with this,
clean all wire conctions to be sure that the starter
is getting a good jolt of power, this includes the
fire wall plugs, battery cables (both ends), starter
relay posts, wires to starter (both ends).
Replace any wires that look ruff or have
poor looking connectors.

After above;
Try also starting at starter relay on drivers fender, crossing
the post with a screw driver should give the starter
a full jolt of power, if it does not engage the flywheel
then it is most likely a "starter problem", just be sure
that it is out of gear if manual trans or the truck will jump.
If it engages every time, then likely a wire problem,
if not then starter problem, but clean up the wires frist
and see if that helps.
Key does not need to be "on" to do this, unless you want to
start the engine.

I'm in Vancouver, WA, if your not too far away I can always
lend a hand if needed. There are a number of others on the
board in OR. also.

[cowboy]

swain, also double check the teeth on the flywheel & starter , make sure there not out of shape , or have some dirt & greese build up on them , good luck & to the site

[Anon E. Mouse]

Hello everyone,

A brief introduction - my name's Courtney, I live in Oregon, and just a week and a half ago I acquired a very fabulous '67 D-100 short bed stepside utiline pickup. She's a good runner and I'm fond of her already, but she has an infuriating starter problem. About 4 times out of 5, when I turn the key, the starter will spin up with a mighty whirr... but will NOT engage with the flywheel. The weird thing is, when it finally does catch, the engine turns at a normal speed, no nasty grinding noise from the starter, and it usually starts fine (unless I've flooded it of course). The fellow who sold me the truck had removed the starter to try to diagnose the problem... he says that out of the car, the starter bendix gear extends every time. I'd hate to be buying a new starter if something else is at fault, like the solenoid. Anyone have any ideas?

The starter gear that engages the flywheel is bad. It works sometimes , sometimes not.
Courtney

[wideblock]

my bets on the wore out bendix

[DyeingSwan]

Might help to know if this is a manual trans or auto.....
they use 2 differant starters.

Oops, trans is a 4-speed manual... I guess I assumed you'd magically all know that by me saying "flywheel" since by rights autos don't have a flywheel, only a flexplate with a ring gear... curious, did the autos on these babies have the ring gear integral with the torque converter like on my old '65 New Yorker?

just be sure that it is out of gear if manual trans or the truck will jump.

Hehe... hey, give me some credit here :)

I'm in Vancouver, WA, if your not too far away I can always
lend a hand if needed. There are a number of others on the
board in OR. also.

Thanks for the kind offer... I'm kinda a hike away for you though, all the way down near Newberg. The insulation on the starter cable does look rather frayed; I will first try replacing that, then try all the ideas on the tests, etc. The starter has a sticker on it proclaiming to be rebuilt... not that it means anything however, word on the street is that Chrysler had notoriously unreliable starters due to the free floating bendix design.

Thanks to everyone else for their ... Is there any kind of a Pacific Northwest sweptline car club?

Regards,
Courtney

[JohnMcNary]

actually, an automatic does have a flywheel... flywheel means the heavy disk that absorbs and smooths out the power pulses from the power strokes..
I'd take the starter to a starter/alternator shop is there is one locally.
my local one fixed the starter off of my '70 d 100 for 30 bucks, and completely rebuilt the one from my dad's dakota for 60.

[Jeffc]

Since this is a 67 4 speed truck, assuming it is stock, it has a 3 bolt direct drive starter. Nothing else will bolt in to replace it new, only rebuilts are
avalable.
When I attempt to give someone a advice I assume that they are
a novice and may not think about safety or just may not be that
experanced (besides, we get a lot of "newbees" here and they
may also be reading it); so no offence was intended to you.

Yes, the auto trucks had the same converter ring gear set up and
they used the same gear reduction starter that the auto cars did
for the 727; but, as above, the truck 3&4 speeds did not use the car starter.

As far as the life span on these starters, I have never had a direct drive
starter go out on me and my 62 still has the one it came with from the
factory and is unrebuilt, but there is always a frist time.

Newburg is not all that far, but then again it's not around the corner.
Would not put it out reach if someone really need the help.
See what you come up with, if you need it I do have 2 used starters
setting that are good.

[dieselbilly]

It's got to be one of two things: either the solenoid doesn't have enough power to extend the gear reliably (most likely), or the starter is misaligned. As a test, try loosening the bolts on the starter a few turns, and then try to engage it. If it's an alignment problem, that will usually tell you. You'll then need to try shimming the starter to get the alignment better.

I've had lots of trouble with those direct-drive starters. The rebuilt ones I've found tend to have bad windings or some other problem, so you might be better off just replacing the solenoid.

[DyeingSwan]

It turned out to be a bad Bendix drive. The McMinnville NAPA auto parts put a new one in for $20 parts and labor, and she cranks like a champ everytime! Thanks again... now I'll go write about my "new" problem *sigh*

[bean]

Those direct drive starters CAN be a royal pain in the a$$ if they are not kept in good order. My 65 is still running its origional starter. I put a new solenoid on it a year ago; and new brushes and bushings in it while I had it out. FAST starts are a great thing when it is 10 below outside.

[donoghue]

I also have 67' 225 manual, my solenoid is broken and I don't see a listing for it or a repair kit at major parts stores. Where did you get your parts bean?-Somebody, Thanks