1997 3.1L new starter issues

[john3mo]

My starter went out on my 3.1L 97' Lumina so I went and got a replacement from NAPA. Ever since I replaced the starter it has made this grinding noise when starting (possibly starter bendix gear misaligned with fly wheel). I have never heard of someone having to shim a starter but I am wondering if I need to shim this replacement starter? Has anyone else had this experience when replacing a 3.1L starter?

Thanks in advance.

[jamesslcx]

John, on a lot of the older ones I have had to add shims, there is always a chance your replacement could be bad.

[john3mo]

Originally Posted by jamesslcx

John, on a lot of the older ones I have had to add shims, there is always a chance your replacement could be bad.

Thanks for the reply, I will buy some shims and put them in this weekend and see if the grinding noise goes away.

[jamesslcx]

John3mo, let us know how it turns out. Best of luck.

[jeffcoslacker]

A lot of things on cast alloy engines are more susceptible to torque than you'd think too. Might wanna see if you can find the torque spec for the starter drawbolts.

Like James said, a lot of older cars you had to experiment with shims to get it to sound right, but not so much anymore.

If your starter was a reman unit, it's possible the case was out of spec and got re-used anyway. Happens sometimes.

[aleekat]

I had the same issue with a 95 cutlass, with a 97 lumina motor. The reman starter bendix gear wasn't the proper tooth angle. We tried the shims first, no luck.(didn't know the angle was wrong) Had a parts guy friend to order another. That one went in with no shims.

[john3mo]

So I tried multiple times to shim the starter and used different sizes (trial and error method) and it still ended up making the same grinding noise, so I went to a Chevy dealership and bought a remanufactured ac delco pro series starter and bolted it on with no shims and now it starts fine with no grinding noise. Before bolting the ac delco unit on, I compared it to the NAPA unit and the bendix gear appeared to have different size teeth. This may have been the problem, or maybe I needed more shims but for the record I am not trying to bash NAPA, this is the first time I have had trouble with any NAPA parts. Thanks for the info on your experiences guys.

[aleekat]

Has nothing to do with the shims. Wrong starter.

[john3mo]

Originally Posted by aleekat

Has nothing to do with the shims. Wrong starter.

Well when I took it back to NAPA the guy confirmed that it was the correct starter, it still had the NAPA part number label on the solenoid.

[jamesslcx]

John3, sometimes that happens, on a whole NAPA parts are usually very good. Glad you fixed it.

[aleekat]

Originally Posted by john3mo

Well when I took it back to NAPA the guy confirmed that it was the correct starter, it still had the NAPA part number label on the solenoid.

I agree that Napa is normally pretty reliable. Had to be mis-marked.