Need a new starter motor for 454.

[bkahler]

I crawled under the motorhome this evening to check out the starter gear engagement. I can say the previous information I posted for using a 1/8" round bar to check the gap won't work with this new mini starter. The shaft on the new starter is smaller in diameter so using the shaft as a reference point doesn't work

Furthermore I could not get the pinion gear to pull out of the starter housing to see how it engaged with the flywheel gear

I was able to do somewhat of a visual inspection and I'm fairly certain the pinion gear is not going to mesh to tightly with the flywheel. At the moment the only thing I can thing of is to go ahead and use the starter and see how it works. It worked for Chris so it should work for me....right....?!


Brad

[tevake]

Yes it should Brad. �� Does your mini starter have a nose cone on it? The one available here doesn't, It would have been so much easier to get the smaller one back into my rig, being that much smaller would have been a better fit between the exhaust and the hard trans oil lines that were replaced at some time and are very in the way of the starter. But didn't want to open that can of worms of installing such a different unit.

I did get the new oem starter fitted and working yesterday, still have to slide the heat shield in there some how. No way the starter and shield would fit through the space available so put the naked starter in first. This is a bit of a field repair for now. Will have to revisit and replace cables and wires that are all scorched in there. Plus assure a good fit between the gears. May go with a new mini at that time.
It took about nine hours under the coach over the last couple of days to get it sorted really a battle with those hard oil lines in the way.
Will redo them also , when I'm in a better situation to do things properly.

Thanks for the tips, info, and support, Guys, really appreciate it!

Back on the road today.

Cheers Richard

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by tevake

Yes it should Brad. �� Does your mini starter have a nose cone on it? The one available here doesn't,

Yes, it has a nose or snout just like the big starters.

It would have been so much easier to get the smaller one back into my rig, being that much smaller would have been a better fit between the exhaust and the hard trans oil lines that were replaced at some time and are very in the way of the starter. But didn't want to open that can of worms of installing such a different unit.

The Thorley headers I have on my coach make access to the starter relatively easy. I had the original big starter installed and all I had to do is remove the wires and the two mounting bolts and the starter has room to drop straight down. No wiggling or maneuvering required.

I did get the new oem starter fitted and working yesterday, still have to slide the heat shield in there some how. No way the starter and shield would fit through the space available so put the naked starter in first. This is a bit of a field repair for now. Will have to revisit and replace cables and wires that are all scorched in there. Plus assure a good fit between the gears. May go with a new mini at that time.
It took about nine hours under the coach over the last couple of days to get it sorted really a battle with those hard oil lines in the way.
Will redo them also , when I'm in a better situation to do things properly.

Thanks for the tips, info, and support, Guys, really appreciate it!

Back on the road today.

Cheers Richard

Getting back on the road is the important part

I'm glad you were able to get going again.

Brad

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by tevake

.. Will have to revisit and replace cables and wires that are all scorched in there. Plus assure a good fit between the gears. May go with a new mini at that time...
Cheers Richard

Kudos, Richard for getting it done. Imagine what it would have cost if a third party would have done it.
After you do the final replacement, you can finally have "the box" stashed away somewhere.

[tevake]

Thanks Peter, I continued up to Half Moon Bay with my son and a friend aboard, now back tracked to Cambria for a few days.
It is nice to be cruising again.

I will definitely be carrying a spare after this.

If in a shop setting those oil lines would have come off right away to make way for the work at hand.

I think when I go back in there I may also pull the header to get real access and get things sorted nicely.
that mini would be a good idea for more clearance from the exhaust as well as access for removal.

Those Thorley headers sound a much better fit to our coaches Brad.

Just to add a little pain to my visit to Santa Cruz, someone stole my nice Marin bike from tucked behind the coach on my last night there. Us trusting country types have to adjust when in town and lock things up.

Still I'm glad to be hanging with the boys and we are having a lot of fun.

Sure is nice to be in the coastal cool temps right rather than in Az. I'll probably stick around 4 or 5 more days before heading back to Az. Undoubtedly would stay longer if every thing was not so booked up.

The nicely located park in Halfmoon Bay cost $85 per night. Simple close sites, nothing special other than a good cool near but not on the water location.
Lots of long term resendents in the place paying $1580 per month.

Cheers Richard.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by tevake

Thanks Peter, I continued up to Half Moon Bay with my son and a friend aboard, now back tracked to Cambria for a few days.
It is nice to be cruising again.

I will definitely be carrying a spare after this.

If in a shop setting those oil lines would have come off right away to make way for the work at hand.

I think when I go back in there I may also pull the header to get real access and get things sorted nicely.
that mini would be a good idea for more clearance from the exhaust as well as access for removal.

Those Thorley headers sound a much better fit to our coaches Brad.

Just to add a little pain to my visit to Santa Cruz, someone stole my nice Marin bike from tucked behind the coach on my last night there. Us trusting country types have to adjust when in town and lock things up.

Still I'm glad to be hanging with the boys and we are having a lot of fun.

Sure is nice to be in the coastal cool temps right rather than in Az. I'll probably stick around 4 or 5 more days before heading back to Az. Undoubtedly would stay longer if every thing was not so booked up.

The nicely located park in Halfmoon Bay cost $85 per night. Simple close sites, nothing special other than a good cool near but not on the water location.
Lots of long term resendents in the place paying $1580 per month.

Cheers Richard.

Richard, I'm glad to hear you were able to continue on with your trip

The headers on my 310 were the Banks headers and they were close enough to the starter to make it difficult to access. I definitely like the Thorley headers on my Argosy for the provided clearance to the starter.

Brad

[chriscraw]

I really liked the fit of the Thorley headers...seem to provide enough clearance for the mini-starter too. Only mistake I made was adding a Spintech muffler. Despite being told by Spintech that the model I chose could be to aggressive, I went ahead anyway. The result is a very load rumble at cruise but a wonderful gurgle at idle which delights both other drivers as well as myself!

[John Woodrow]

I fought the battles with my starter and learned a few things in the process.
1) All the grounds must be clean and tight. Start at the battery and clean and/or replace the ground strap from the battery box to the frame and the one from the frame to the rear of the head on the engine.
2) My starter was tired and needed to be rebuilt or replaced. I went the rebuild route as there is a very qualified shop in town.
3) My 345 has an additional remote solenoid that is mounted on a support behind the alternator which was intermittant. I don't know if was a factory installed part or one added by a PO. I replaced that (about $10.) and starting issues are a thing of the past!

[WayneG]

Originally Posted by John Woodrow

I fought the battles with my starter and learned a few things in the process.
1) All the grounds must be clean and tight. Start at the battery and clean and/or replace the ground strap from the battery box to the frame and the one from the frame to the rear of the head on the engine.
2) My starter was tired and needed to be rebuilt or replaced. I went the rebuild route as there is a very qualified shop in town.
3) My 345 has an additional remote solenoid that is mounted on a support behind the alternator which was intermittant. I don't know if was a factory installed part or one added by a PO. I replaced that (about $10.) and starting issues are a thing of the past!

I would buy a new Delco unit, it is probably the same price as a rebuild, mine cost $77 in April on Amazon but it is up to $82 now.
As for the remote starter solenoid, that is OEM gear. Be sure the socket terminals on that are cleaned and use a bit of electrical grease to prevent oxidation.

[ALANSD]

I put a heat resistant jacket over the billet aluminum mini starter when I had my 280. Also wrapped the wiring with heat protectant. Too much heat coming off the manifold//

[John Woodrow]

Based on the good reviews here, I bought a $44 mini starter for my 1952 Ford truck with a GM 350 motor. The old starter would get hot and do nothing until it cooled off. That got old pretty quickly.
The mini starter arrived with no shims or instructions. I mounted it up and checked clearance between the starter shaft and the flywheel using an eighth inch drill bit as a feeler gauge. It had about twice as much clearance as called for for. I thought I'd give it a try before pulling the starter to grind down the mounting flanges for correct clearance. It works and sounds absolutley perfect. I'm leaving it alone.
PS: I didn't use any heat shield. I think that once heat soaked, shielding holds in as much heat as it reflects.