I recently installed a new flywheel ring gear and starter on my '66 (289..3spd)however itstill grinds a couple of times before it will start. I did not replace the solenoid as the starter appears to try to engage each time I try to start the engine. I can only assume this was the original flywheel on the vehicle however I'm not a 100% sure.Nothing nice about having aclassic carand you only get noticed when your starter makes terrible grinding noises. Any thoughts oncorrecting the issue?[/align]

 

If it was me, I would pull the started and turn it over by hand and look at where it is grinding, either on the starter or the flywheel. I've had customers come in with the wrong starter (6cyl instead of V8) installed having the same problem.

I had one starter in my car many years ago that I couldn't get to not grind untill I put a shim in it.

 

CPR... How can you tell the difference between the 6cyl and 8 cyl starter or would I just have to take it to the automotive store to validate they gave me the correct one?

 

Back to square one. I took the starter off and took it to the automotive store to verify if they gave me the correct starter which they did. I then bought a shim kit and installed it. When I tried to start the car, the starter drive gear would not make contact to the flywheel. Upon inspection to the flywheel it looks as if the starter is barely catching the flywheel and the shim was moving it out to far. I guess I need to buy a new flywheel and starter to correct the problem. Anyone have any other suggestions?

 

i went through the same thing,.............only i bought lifetime starter(s), two of them, one for the trunk, and one for the car,.............and i got charged for turning the ring gear around,..after pulling tranny, etc, then paid for putting on a new ring gear........i went through 9 starters...........
what my problem turned out to be, was the flywheel had been replaced, by whoever the guy was who had it before me. the inline 6 fly wheels are the same "size", but they make it so it just barely engages the teeth. everything lines up fine, but, side by side, the fly wheels are differnet. the 6 cylinder fly wheel has some kind of weights for balancing the motor, (different casting....looks different slightly then the 289 fly wheels). they will bolt up, everything looks great,.............but the starter just barely touches the teeth. cost me $1500 for that info..............3 times at $500,..........til i figured it out, with another mechanic, when we were going to put another new ring on the flywheel. it takes the same ring gear even,...........and it fits around both fly wheels..............go figure........but they are different.
sounds to me like someone else has the same problem as i had!!
there was a beautiful 289 fly wheel that didnt sell on ebay just yesterday or the day before,...........from a seller in california. i almost bid on it, as a spare,.....................here's the link...........

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1967-...em270221851643

here's all of them for sale right now...........i'd ask for part numbers on em, and make sure you get the exact one you need,.........

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/items/28...289Q20flywheel

 

i can take some digital pics for you of the fly wheel that "doesnt" work, if you want me too, email me @ mightythor99@yahoo.com. that's what your problem probably is for sure. it ends up chewing the teeth up, to the point of flipping the gear, but it will strand you many times...............i was getting about 15-20 starts before either the starter is chewed bad enough it doesnt reach any more at all, or the fly wheel had flat spots, and the game was over............... gets to be a pain in the *** parking on a hill all the time, and hoping that no one got in front of me when it came time to "roll out"..............and start up the fighter plane.

 

MT99... Thanks for the information. I dropped the car off this morning at the transmission shop to see if they could determine the problem. I told them about your situation and they said they would see if that is the problem and work from there. Depending on how much they charge, will determine who istaking the tranny out. I can only be optimistic that the parts store with exchange the starter as the teeth are worn out. I can only hope this was a perk in buying a life-time warranty.

 

like i told you, the flywheels take the same ring gear,...........the flywheel for the 6 cylinder cars have some kind of "weights" on the flywheel, instead of having a harmonic balancer on the front of the motor. the other way to figure out which fly wheel you HAVE, is to have them check the fly wheel part number, or you write it down, and go to yahoo or google search, and type it in there, and see what comes up,..............some fly wheel nurd out there will have a website, showing all the part numbers,.............and you'll have it.
i bet that's teh same problem as you've got. cost me $500 to get tranny pulled, clutch, pressure plate, etc,...........fly wheel is the last thing in there, so it sucks to have to pull it, but maybe i saved you doing it a couple more times.............
your old fly wheel has a little bit of value, but not a lot.
the good news is,........if you need a new clutch, throw out bearing, pressure plate, you are already ready to put em in,..........for the parts price only.............
they wont charge you "labor" because they are already taking it completely apart.
i'm sure that's what your problem is though,.............having spent many hours on the roadside, or parking on hills..........and paying 500 bucks three times.............
thus speaks the mighty thor!

 

what did you find out on your problem??
was it the 6 cylinder fly wheel?
just curious.
thanks!
hope you got it fixed!!

 

Come to find out the flywheel was bent. I took it to a repair shop and they looked at it for 3 days then decided to start the car and then pull off the starter to see if the flywheel was straight which it was not causing the starter problem. Bought a new steel flywheel and another starter and all seems to be good. I've already gone through 4 starters since I purchased the car a month ago. All four of them keepmakinga whinning noise for a couple seconds after you start the engine.I was hoping I could find one that was quiet, however not such the luck. I've even gone with 3 different auto supply stores.