I'm told there are two types of starters. One with staggered bolts and one with bolts straight across. The latter using the 153 tooth flexplate and the other 168. I've ended up chewing up my flexplate and need a new one. I have the staggered bolt one, and I'm thinking last time I did this I may have put a 153 tooth plate in there, not knowing the difference. My question is kinda this... How much of the starter gear is supposed to contact the ring gear? On my set up the starter gear only hits half way deep on the flexplate, so its not grabbing all of the gear. Is this normal? Or do I need to either get the 168 tooth plate or just swap starters? help! If I can avoid pulling the plate I'd rather swap starters!!
The 168 tooth flywheel is 14" diameter, the 153 is something like 12.75" diameter...so there's no way you can grind teeth if you have them mismatched, because the teeth would be too far away to touch, or else you couldnt' install the starter (if you have the big flywheel and small starter). I use the 1/8" allen wrench method to check the clearance. Put it between the outer edge of the teeth on the flywheel, and the shaft in the starter. The allen wrench should just fit in, but not be loose enough that you can twist it. If it's too tight, then add a full shim to the starter, and try again. If it's too loose, cut a shim in half and shim the outside of the starter (place shims between the starter nose and the block)
So I have a starter with staggered bolt holes. Which flexplate do I need? I don't want to do this a 3rd time!
I think the starters for the large flywheel use two long bolts, while the starters for the small flywheel use one long bolt and one short bolt. The length of the bolts is more reliable way to tell than straight/staggered, especially when you get into the iron nose starters, etc.
I don't think bolt lenght matters staggered is 168 tooth and straight is 153 tooth. That is if this is a stock style starter. if its an aftermarket mini starter all bets are off. my mini starter is straight bolt but it is for 168 tooth flywheel
Chevy motors with a staggered bolt pattern can only use a 168 tooth flywheel, as there is no such animal as a 153 tooth staggered mount starter. However a lot of engines if drilled for the staggered bolt pattern are also drilled for the straight. If you have a block set up for with the striaght bolt pattern you can use a 153 or 168 tooth flywheel. Halfway into the ring gear is fine. When measuring the gear mesh, you can use the old paperclip clearance, or if you want technical between .020 and .035 inches. Generally if it makes a high pitched noise while turning the engine you need less shimming, and if it makes a noise as you release the key you need more shims. Eric
How do you move the starter gear from inside the starter out to the gear to see what the clearance is?
you don't need to. LIke was mentioned use an allen wrench and measure the gap between the ring gear and the shaft the starter gear slides out on
You'll need to shim the starter in. Get the kit from your local parts store and it will have instructions on how to do this. From the way it sounds, you'll just be adding shims to the outside bolt hole. You'll probably have to cut the shims in half to do that. I had a 168 tooth starter on a 153 tooth flywheel, all it did was spin, never touched the flywheel. Hope this helps.
Ok.. Thanks all for the help! Looks like I currently have a 168 tooth flexplate and I just didn't have the starter shimed right. Now its time to swap flexplates! Yay!
I can run a staggard or straight on mine (69 Truck 350) but some have an aluminum nose cone and some have a cast nose on them. i found out the alunimum nose would never work and had to use the cast one. Some of the cast ones would'nt work and could not be shimmed coeectly. I finally got my old starter back and had that one rebuilt. I had lucked out when I bought it before and it fit with no shims.It was supposedly for a 67 camero with the staggard bolt. Some of the other ones I tried would engaged about 1 out of 5 times and when it would'nt engage and I looked at it hitting the flywhel it was about 1/4 inch off from engaging. I'm not even sure how it ever engaged the few times it did. It seemed like the base had been milled down or something. When I went to this old starter shop he told me when you find one that fits keep it because on some of the older carsthey were milled down at the factory to make them work for different applications and they were never tagged or marked in any way. Not sure if all that was true, but I just thought I'd p*** the info on to ya . I hated all the starters I had to take back. It was frustrating.
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