Mini starter not engaging

[aremar]

Hi. Just installed a Summit Protorque mini starter in my -70 440. When I try to start it just spins, sounds like its only slightly touching the teeth, but does not engage. All wires new, new battery, original starter shim left in place. Any ideas where to start looking? 

[471_Magnum]

Sounds like a starter with a defective solenoid.

[justcruisin]

Make sure you have a good battery and your leads are good. Pull the starter off and stick it in a vice, hook up a battery and check its operation. check that the drive gear extends out and that it turns when powered up. If the starter has been sitting for a while or been wet it could be stuck in the engagement mechanism. If OK power the starter up again and check the drive isn't slipping.  Make sure it is rotating the correct way - may have been assembled with an incorrect drive motor or clutch. If all OK you will have to take some measurements of the drive gear throw and the position of your ring gear in relation to your starter mounting point.

[justcruisin]

In regards to having a faulty solinoid, this may well be true also, if the solinoid is faulty with the problem you described it may have a broken winding. To check this connect your negative of your battery to the body of the starter and without connecting the positive to the main stud, apply positive to the pull in terminal on the starter, it should pull in quite strongly. Then disconnect the wire from the solinoid stud to the drive motor and try it again. If all OK it will either pull in a lot slower or just spark and not pull in at all. There is two windings in the solinoid, you may have a broken main winding which pulls the drive into mesh, the lighter one holds it there once engaged.

[aremar]

Thanks for the help! I will check the starter as described and come back to it. Thought it would be an easy fix, but it really isn´t. Headers are all around the starter, making it difficult 

[covet66]

May be easiest to pull the steering column with the headers to get to the starter- we do on our first gen...

[aremar]

Had the Protorque starter out today - the nose was broken. I had problems to make it fit when mounted , so it is obvious the tip of the nose didn't slide as easily into the hole as with my old Mopar mini starter. The parts were interchangeable, so I mounted the old nose on the new starter - problem solved, slided right in place. Starts fine now.   Thanks for the advice!!