HELP!!!!!! starter going out

[gorge]

My dad's 94 Trans Am has about 140k miles and has broke the base on about 3 or 4 starters, it cranks normally but after a while it brakes the aluminum base on it, I'm talking about new starters and he has torque them to specs so We have no idea of what is going on, the flex plate looks a lil bit beat up, so we think that might be the problem, what do ya'll think? Anybody has had this happen before?

[WarBird]

Have you rePlaced the distributor prior to this happening?

[gorge]

yes, the whole opti was replaced a couple of years before, like in 2008

[tleed]

does he have headers?if so its gitting to hot try putting a starter wrap/blanket on it.it has happened to my before.

[Some_Random_Guy]

are you using f-body or y-body starters?

[SupafastR]

Has the flywheel been changed in this car? If so, you may need to shim it the right amount so it is not putting excessive stress on the starter body.

My stock starter broke in that area as well, but I had replaced the flywheel and ran it without shimming it properly for too long.

If it is still stock flywheel, have you examined the teeth while hand turning or bumping the engine over?

If the starter is just overheating, the wrap may work.

Either way, I think it goes without saying now that you need to properly diagnose your issue before installing a new one...

I would also suggest replacing the starter with a high torque mini starter. I heard there's something wrong with the ones at Summit, but the Jegs one and some others are good as well. Jegs lists it as a P/N 555-10001 CHEVY STARTER 153-168 TH. I bought it for $142 inc. shipping/tax.

This particular model can also be rotated so you can mount the starter in different positions for clearance / heat issues. It also feels way stronger than stock in some key areas.

I have a stroker with pretty high compression and my engine doesn't even make the "turn over" noise at all now, it just fires up seemingly instantly.

Craig
SupafastR