Remove the starter from my GS

[campfamily]

GS experts - I know this is probably covered somewhere on this forum, but for the life of me I can't find it. Trying to remove the starter on my GS. I have the motor mounts loose, the engine jacked up, the exhaust manifold off, but the starter still won't come out. What am I doing wrong?

Also, are the mini-starters still available as a replacement? Or do I have the original rebuilt (and then fight to get it back in)?

Thanks in advance for helping the newbie mechanic.

Keith

[yachtsmanbill]

Which engine? The smaller V8's like the 215 and 300 had a small angle bracket to stabilize the starter towards the front, behind the solenoid. Its a small "L" bracket from the starter case to the block. Nailheads are outa my league LOL... Those have the starter on the wrong side.      Bill

[campfamily]

I have the 401....so my starter is on the "wrong" side.....

Keith

[GS66]

Yes, mini starters are available and work great.

[dsags]

With what you have done - exhaust manifold off, engine jacked up, etc - the starter should come out. The obvious is disconnecting the battery, removing the starter cable wiring and taking out the two bolts holding the starter in. Then it should just be a matter of pulling the starter away from the flywheel and down. Be careful, they are quite heavy.

Dan

[campfamily]

Guys - thanks for the quick responses, really appreciate it.

Dan - how far do I need to move the engine up? Do I need to loosen both engine mounts? Right now I've only loosened the one side, so the engine is "rocked" to one side. And the starter still hits the inner fender before the nose disengages from the bellhousing.

GS66 - I seem to remember that Jeg's carried the mini-starters. Is that the right place for them? Is this the one I want? https://www.jegs.com/c/Starters-Alternators/11065/10002/-1?N=1011065+4294961839&Tab=SKU&enginetype=4294752510&make=4294829225&model=4294826231&submodel=4294829828&year=4294829681&sbv=true

Again, thanks for the quick responses!! You guys are awesome!!

PS - thank goodness my f-in-law has a lift that I can use. Can't imagine doing this laying on my back.

Keith

[Mark Ascher]

Per Dan, what you have done should get it out. You only need to remove the mount on the left side.
If it?s a 4 speed, it?ll help to disconnect the clutch linkage at the frame. You may also want to loosen the the trans mounts.

Mark

[GS66]

Tom Telesco has mini starters and so does Russ at Centerville Auto. Russ has some on eBay, Tom is over at V8 Buick site. The 65-66 GS needs a special one.

[campfamily]

Thanks, Jim. Sent Tom a PM on this board, already got an email back! Will be sending him a check shortly.....

Keith

[schlepcar]

Just saw your post and saw you were saying "newbie mechanic".....Do you know that you need a starter? The early delco units were among the most reliable,long lasting,starters ever made. Just thought you should hear that before throwing cash in the air. Dan

[yachtsmanbill]

What he said ^^ As long as its out, thats one of those "while yer in there" things...   Bill

[moteaux]

Thanks, Jim. Sent Tom a PM on this board, already got an email back! Will be sending him a check shortly.....

You're gonna be very happy with Tom Telesco's starter. And I did not have to go through any of the trouble you described above to install it.

[dsags]

It should be coming out with what you have done. Do not have to pull it straight out. Try rocking it up and down.

If you loosen both motor mounts and jack up the engine keep anneye on the distributor so it does not hit the firewall.

Let us know how it goes.

Dan

[campfamily]

Just saw your post and saw you were saying "newbie mechanic".....Do you know that you need a starter? The early delco units were among the most reliable,long lasting,starters ever made. Just thought you should hear that before throwing cash in the air. Dan

Actually been wrenching on cars for a while now, but compared to you guys, I'm certainly a newbie.....haven't done it much lately (daily driver is an Electric Vehicle, so haven't done any real car work since I bought that!!)

Symptoms: intermittent crank from the key. Started a few months ago, very infrequently. Progressively got worse, until it was more no crank than crank. Battery good, grounds look good. Just no crank, and lights on the dash don't dim like they usually do when the key is turned. Jacked the car up and checked connections on the starter, looked good. Tried the ol' "hammer on the starter" trick, and she cranked right over. Tried again, nothing. Hammer on the starter again, cranked.

Plan to be under the car again this weekend to mess with it some more. Thanks for the hints on the distributor....also saw on some other forums to be careful of breaking the fan shroud (I have A/C) and pulling the heater hoses out of the heater core.

[schlepcar]

Was not sure if you had gotten it all apart yet so figured you may be able to just change solenoid. If it is already apart you just put on a new one and be done. If it cranked regular after the hammer it likely is just corroded in solenoid and easier to replace that than taking all apart.  The mini starter does save time and grief if you ever have to remove it. These 401?s are almost a joke to remove the oem starter..... when people say new cars are fun to work on....they obviously never changed that particular starter or took a driveshaft out of an old vette. Some of the old stuff was not real user friendly when it came time to repair.