400 small block chevy fly-wheel and a 305

[Yankee Transplant]

ok Im having some issues with a starter on my 305.. it drags really bad .. it was an old starter that was given to me , so I figured it was about to go out , this is on my rebuilt 305 on new start - up ... I got a reman and its dragging too .. but the starter came with 3 shims . so one at a time , I ended up with all 3 in there. Still dont sound right and gear does not disengage all the time .. so that tells me its still to tight , ,, Right ??
My question is--- is there a difference in a 305 fly wheel and one that came off a small block 400 ? I'm 99.9% sure I didnt mix these two up but it has run across my mind seeing how this reman starter is dragging too. If they are the same fly-wheel,, I will stop thinking I screwed up again and take it that the reman has problems . I will get a new starter not (reman) tomorrow .
could the fly wheel have that much rust on it that its putting the started in a bind ???? it dont look that bad but it has been sitting for around 8 years or so ....

 

[sgtpontiac]

have you had it running??

I believe That 400 small block is externally balanced...and the 305 like the 350 is internally balanced....that flywheel from the 400 should have a big weight welded to it somewhere......also tooth count could be wrong for starter being used....153 vs 168 tooth I think....I'd check that flywheel out....

 

[Old Iron]

400 will definitely not work on a 305. Neither will the harmonic balancer.
Either or both will cause a severe vibration.
You need to know if you have a 153 tooth or a 168 tooth flywheel then get the correct starter for that wheel. The 153 tooth starter has the mounting bolts straight across from each other and the bolts are diagonal on the 168 tooth.
The most overlooked item on the starter system is the size of the battery cables. The bigger the better on this.

 

[Ratrodjunkie]

You need to know if you have a 153 tooth or a 168 tooth flywheel then get the correct starter for that wheel. The 153 tooth starter has the mounting bolts straight across from each other and the bolts are diagonal on the 168 tooth.

This is not always true the 400 small block starter has the diagonal bolt pattern, they make straight and diagonal for both flywheel sizes

 

[Yankee Transplant]

I had to work today , but my son took care of it for me I ordered a new small hole starter and it had shims too .. my son put it on and it acted the same way.... I didnt know this but he took it off went back up and got another new starter .. it went from a reman for $54 to a new one (with shims) for $89 and another new one with no shims for $109 well this last one worked perfect . now I owe my son $50 . but that parts fixed [cl[cl[cl now on to the fine tuning (which I'm not good at) a buddy of mine works on cars and he has a vacuum gauge and told me he would come and adjust my carb for me .. so its getting closer ,
And I was asking on the fly-wheel part , will they physically bolt up to a 305 crank ,,but all that got took care of , it was just my chitty luck on the starters , that showed its head again . I have gotten reman starters all my life I guess ,, and never had a min, trouble out of them , or had to shim any ...... ...till all at once BAM !!!!!

 

[BlueNorther]

when replacing any Chevy starter with one that did not come installed on that engine, the proper way to see if it is shimmed correctly is to remove the solenoid and install the starter to the block, then hand pull the starter drive into position pulling on the solenoid plunger.

with drive engaged in flywheel, measure for drive tooth clearance at the point of the drive tooth to bottom of gap between flywheel teeth, should about .030" or the diameter of a large paper clip wire.

 

[Yankee Transplant]

what they sent was about a coat hanger size and it would go between it ,,, this was when the gear didnt retract ,, I did a quick test with it .and I didnt have another shim to put in it .. At this rate it would have taken 5 or 6 to get it far enough out .. I can see one or two , but any more than that they should have junked the starter nose and made a new one for it .. JMO.

 

[RPM]

They didn't come from the factory with shims, so why should a replacement need one? My guess is it is the rebuilder trying to cover up their screw ups, trying to save starter snouts that should be junked.

 

[BlueNorther]

They didn't come from the factory with shims, so why should a replacement need one? My guess is it is the rebuilder trying to cover up their screw ups, trying to save starter snouts that should be junked.

the ones that came from the factory with no shims were hand picked and measured for that engine, that's why most replacements need shimming.

it's also the main reason that back in the day, when I ran a repair shop, we would always take the starters to a local automotive electric motor and alt/gen rebuilder, and have it rebuilt using the original nose cone if possible.

 

[dowoplover]

I had to replace the starter on my '91 suburban (350) last year. Started out with ad reman, would not work half the time. Went with a "new" from NAPA, did not work half the time. Checked with a mechanic buddy who told me everyone had a bad run of starters. Third times a charm. Been working since.

 

[Yankee Transplant]

dowop that 3rd time worked for me too ..

 

[christcrusader13]

They didn't come from the factory with shims, so why should a replacement need one? My guess is it is the rebuilder trying to cover up their screw ups, trying to save starter snouts that should be junked.

I agree... I rearely use shims....