Starter went out

[General_01]

The starter gave out and it gave me the finger while doing it. I started the car up after my daughters soccer game and heard a hideous whine/grind. I shut the car down and tried again. The starter only spun, no engaging the flywheel. I dropped the inspection pan and saw a loose piece from the starter against the flywheel and saw that this piece had taken about an 1/8 in off the flywheel edge all around the circumference. Aluminum flywheel. I did not have a flashlight so I good see everything that is happening up there. Now I get to drop the starter and hope everything is still OK. I guess I now have a reason to put a mid 90's Dakota starter in. Oh, and I have headers. Guess I better make sure we have band-aids on hand before I start this project. 

[TylerCharger69]

Im going to go out on a limb here....but do you have any kind of heat shielding to protect that starter from the heat from the headers?   If not,  that's a sure fire way to fry the internal components of that starter.  In addition,  some form of heat shielding on the headers in the same real estate as the starter would even double the protection!!   

[General_01]

Well, seeing as I have only driven that car about 1,000 miles, I doubt lack of heat sheilding is the culprit. I pulled it out today and the starter gear just spins on the shaft. Something broke internally. Heat usually affects the solenoid and you get a clicking sound with nothing happening. The starter still spins when I turn the key, but the gear won't spin if it's not attached to the shaft.

Your limb just broke.

[RD]

bad bendix... cheaper to buy another.  sorry you had to go through that.  i found mini-starters on ebay for $42 plus shipping.  I asked people who bought them before off the guy to see if they worked before i purchased mine.  They said they worked perfectly.  so, there are some good ones on there.  Shipped quick to me also.

the one i bought:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170541467869

[nvrbdn]

  these will help with that broken branch. now is the dakota starter the same as that shorty starter for the mopar big block? i know i got tired of messin with it and was told about a short starter and got one and its so much easier. everyone probably knew about it but me   but just sayin it incase.

[General_01]

bad bendix... cheaper to buy another.  sorry you had to go through that.  i found mini-starters on ebay for $42 plus shipping.  I asked people who bought them before off the guy to see if they worked before i purchased mine.  They said they worked perfectly.  so, there are some good ones on there.  Shipped quick to me also.

the one i bought:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170541467869

Thanks RD. I went to Autozone today and bought a starter for a '95 Dodge Ram. Shorter starter. Hope it goes in well. I played with it a little and "think" I may have trouble with a tube. It looks just like yours and it looks like the bolt that is the length of the starter on the bottom (same as in your pic, just the bolt on the other side) may be hitting a tube. I had to get ready to go out so I have not really gotten into it yet. I will know more later this week. Gotta put my new furnace in tomorrow night.

these will help with that broken branch. now is the dakota starter the same as that shorty starter for the mopar big block? i know i got tired of messin with it and was told about a short starter and got one and its so much easier. everyone probably knew about it but me  but just sayin it incase.

Thanks. See above post.

[LeadfootBob]

Just went through this amusing little ordeal myself...
Bolted in a starter, fired the engine up and broke the cam in, heard a weird buzzing/whining noise that followed RPM's. After maybe 30 minutes of running time it just would not crank over any more, even with some hammer administered to the solenoid.
It looks as if the sprocket has failed to retract from the converter after startup, accounting for the noise as it "rode along". Is this common?
This was a nice unit, with a "remanufactured" sticker on the casing. Always fun to pinch your fingers 1500 times while pulling the damn thing out from behind the headers.... 

[General_01]

Got it in tonight and it fit like a charm. Glad I got rid of the boat anchor and went with the mid-90's starter. Turns the engine over no problem.

[charger2fast4u]

i got a mini starter off ebay for my 440. the old one went out because of getting heat soaked from the header. i bought a starter blanket and header wrap and put them on theyre something worth to look into getting.