Starters?

[Dirtslinger20]

For some reason we seem to go through 4-5 starters a year, and then I see some people gets 3-4 years out of one? Ive tried Power Master, Bert, Allstar, done the Toyota Starter deal, and nothing seems to work very long. Is anyone else flying through Starters?? We buy as many Starters as Tires lolIve added grounds, covered when washing, took off when washing, 12v Battery, 16v battery, keep the Idler gear lubricated.... just to name a few... what am I missing??

[billetbirdcage]

For some reason we seem to go through 4-5 starters a year, and then I see some people gets 3-4 years out of one? Ive tried Power Master, Bert, Allstar, done the Toyota Starter deal, and nothing seems to work very long. Is anyone else flying through Starters?? We buy as many Starters as Tires lolIve added grounds, covered when washing, took off when washing, 12v Battery, 16v battery, keep the Idler gear lubricated.... just to name a few... what am I missing??

What's the major problem or is it several different problems? Is it just after a while the starter doesn't seem to engage the flywheel and does the grind of death and won't engage to spin the engine?

[Dirtslinger20]

We’ve never really had a problem with engaging the fly wheel, it just seems the starters get weak, almost like the battery is dead, won’t hardly spin the motor over. Ive prolly bought 10 brand new ones in the past 3- 4 years. Just got a new to us car, came with the tranny, belhousing, and starter..... 2nd race out... wouldn’t crank lol

[billetbirdcage]

I got nothing specific for you, if it was the engaging that is usually the gap between flywheel and idler too large and needs shims on crank to flywheel

It does seem like you get a decent starter or a crap one. Only thing comes to mind is are you using a small battery like the half size ones (non lithium) and just low on voltage (assume not the case since you said 12 or 16 volt batteries) or cable size is small and starters get hot. Then possibly using starter too much to get oil pressure if dry sump and getting them hot and wearing them out fast.

Sorry, probably not much help. Also check solenoild or battery cut off switch as they are notorious for not making good contact at times and being general POS. Also ground to engine

[Punisher88]

FWIW, my thoughts would align with too small of wire going to the starter causing too much amp draw. My father owns a starter/alternator rebuild shop and we run the Toyota starters. We can usually get 2 seasons on a starter. Not that I race a whole ton though..

[grt74]

when we went to a 16volt, never had another problem, low voltage will kill one of these style starters every time, charge batt every week , zero problems, let it get low 1 or 2 times and crank hard, borrowed time, thats my experience 4 yrs on one cranking 450 wide bore

[LIS20]

Starter

I would check with dbr performance and machine 931-724-9201 cconcerning your starter - they have done several for me and have had no problems

[dirtdobberrr]

First off, make sure the starter is grounded very well, run a heavy gauge copper wire from one of the starter mount bolts to a known good ground. Second off, I very much prefer to use a ford style starter solenoid located very near the starter. Check all connections very well. Agree with the above poster who says low voltage will kill a race starter. The brushes in the starter and the starter drive itself can get bad spots on them, these bad spots are usually caused by holding the starter button an excessive amount of time, probably because you have a bad connection somewhere in the system, could be on the negative, could be on the possitive.

[Mopar DLM]

Always make sure the idler gear is getting disengaged from the flywheel. If the shaft in the bell housing is not or hasn't been greased in a while the idler will stay engaged and i don't care what starter you buy none of them like RPM over cranking speed.

[Lizardracing]

Maybe helpful I don't know But I use AWG 2 welding ground cable(stranded) and solder the ends on. I use Dialectric grease on all the connections. I check the frame grounds for shiny metal several times a year. I have the QM reverse mount starter, bought it used 10 years ago.

[JustAddDirt]

do you cover it when washing?
the Toyota starters have a drain hole in them for when they are on the normal car, but it points up when we use them. I always pull out the grommet and put clear silicone in that hole so no moisture or debris gets inside motor case.
until I done this I would go through a couple a year, as well as covering with Walmart bag when washing.

[Krooser]

Ditch any Chicom switches, wiring, solenoids etc.
Stuff from Quickcar is mostly Chinese and causes havoc...

[Dirtslinger20]

Krooser there’s several things from China causing Havoc Thanks to the ones who have offered advice. I always cover the Starter when washing. The car we have now has adequate gauge of wiring but i will check all grounds for secure connections. The guy that took the starter off at the track and replaced it, didn’t realize the gear was broken off, so there’s another problem to figure out. Prolly made in China!

[over4T]

The Asian made mini alternators are as bad as the starters. I practically keep my local starter/alternator repair shop in business between the two.

Got a Quartermaster reverse rotation starter in one car that, so far, has about 15 nights with no problems so maybe that will last a while compared to most of them that are lucky to get half a dozen before problems.

The mini Denso type alternators often fail on the first or second outings while our other car has a full size AC Delco alternator that I've had in 4 or 5 different cars for over 18 years with zero issues. I'll take the couple of pounds of extra weight any day.

And I won't even get started on the life of batteries.

[CCHIEF]

Pressure washers, low voltage, dirty/ sticky idler in bell housing. The killers of starters. Did I mention pressure washers? What part of the starter are you damaging? If their weak cranking, but still cranks, likely 2 brushes aren't working inside....easy fix. External Loose/poor connections are pretty easy to find with voltage drop test, and get hot when cranking. Once a connection gets hot it's all down hill from there unless it gets cleaned up first and re tightened. But, every good electrical diagnosis starts at the BATTERY!