1985 M1009 6.2 starter woes

[Liam_D]

Hello all thank you if you're reading this

I'm having major headaches getting the right starter fit in the truck, I bought this starter to replace my old one recently, the first one they shipped was damaged so i finally got the new one today.

First of all it is not cranking or making any noise at all, which i know i'm just gunna have to go through the whole wiring path, and possibly replace the starter relay it try and fix it.

More importantly i pulled off the bell housing cover and it just looks to me like the starter is waayyy too far away from the flexplate.


I just had the flexplate replaced so i really do not want to damage the new one. I've looked extensively for the correct starter online but the DB Electical one seems like the only right one but I could be absolutely wrong in thinking that.

I know that you need to use shims when the starter is too close but what do you do when it's already too far away straight into the block? Only think i could think to do is mill or sand the nose down where it meets the block but it's super soft metal so it could be easy to **** up.

Or i could just have the totally wrong starter, i just cannot find anything else online that could help me, I think i've read through practically every starter thread on this forum before i posted lol

Thank you so much

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

You don't have an 85. You have an 84. The Army didn't want the hassle of dealing with model year changes in their supply chain, so they required them all to be built to 84 specs. Keep that in mind when you are shopping for civvy part equivalents.

IIRC, someone just posted in the last few days about there being a difference between the 84 and 85 flex plates. Somebody was having the same problem.

EDIT TO ADD: I just found the thread about the different flexplates. See here and here.

 

[Curtisje]

Why not just have the original starter rebuilt?

 

[Liam_D]

You don't have an 85. You have an 84. The Army didn't want the hassle of dealing with model year changes in their supply chain, so they required them all to be built to 84 specs. Keep that in mind when you are shopping for civvy part equivalents.

IIRC, someone just posted in the last few days about there being a difference between the 84 and 85 flex plates. Somebody was having the same problem.

EDIT TO ADD: I just found the thread about the different flexplates. See here and here.

I still have the original flexplate and they match, however that one may have been wrong too, still good to know about it actually being an 84.

I think I'm going to have to do the same as him and mill the nose down, the original starter's nose is completely cracked so i can't get it rebuilt

 

[Keith_J]

Looks correct, the pinion slides on the starter shaft by action of the Bendix solenoid mounted on the top of the starter. After the pinion gear meshes with the ring gear, the contactor section of the Bendix then energizes the starter motor.
No click under the hood means no Bendix solenoid voltage. This is 24 V, supplied by the starter solenoid under the dash, search Doghead relay mod here. This relay is energized by 12 volt signal from the starter switch linked to the key lock.
If you don't have the under dash click, check this solenoid relay and ignition switch.

 

[Keith_J]

Shims on starter to block increase pinion to ring gear clearance and are usually not needed. This clearance is checked by disconnecting the big fat wire to the starter (24 volt on stock CUCV) and putting 24 volts to the small terminal on the starter. This engages the Bendix without turning the motor over, throwing the pinion into the ring. A feeler gauge in the 2 to 3 thousandth of an inch should fit. If not, then a shim or two is needed.

 

[Liam_D]

Shims on starter to block increase pinion to ring gear clearance and are usually not needed. This clearance is checked by disconnecting the big fat wire to the starter (24 volt on stock CUCV) and putting 24 volts to the small terminal on the starter. This engages the Bendix without turning the motor over, throwing the pinion into the ring. A feeler gauge in the 2 to 3 thousandth of an inch should fit. If not, then a shim or two is needed.

Unfortunately it is way way too far away, the pinion gear would only hit the tip of the gears on the flexplate,

Any ideas on where else to try to find a starter? The one i got was from DB Electrical, but would the only other option be trying to find an old used one?

 

[Keith_J]

I still have the original flexplate and they match, however that one may have been wrong too, still good to know about it actually being an 84.

I think I'm going to have to do the same as him and mill the nose down, the original starter's nose is completely cracked so i can't get it rebuilt

It is cast aluminum. It can be welded. I did mine some 6 years ago. Still chooching perfectly. What happened was someone forgot to install the pinion retainer and it beat the nose to death. I tacked the fracture, then vee grooved both sides to get skookum penetration. 4043 filler, GTAW at 180 amps and by the time the weld joint was capped, all the nasties were completely baked out.

Welding on the inside was a major pain. Now I have stubby gas lens torch bits for my 17 series torch head. Air cooled so plenty of beer breaks. The only profession that drinks more than welders are painters.

 

[Keith_J]

The starter might be incorrectly assembled. Or incorrectly adjusted. The pinion should nearly touch the inside of the nose cone bushing when the Bendix is at full pull travel.

Other thing would be the Bendix solenoid could be faulty. There are two windings, the pull in and the hold. If it clicks but doesn't engage, the pull in is faulty.
Starters can have crib death.