Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Brand New Nippon Denso Starter Grinding

[Mike Ellis]

My starter on the Ram had been getting slower and slower, after checking everything it appeared the starter was bad. The truck would start, never any grinding, but just turning over slow.



So I contact foster truck and get a new Nippon Denso replacement starter, with the Larry B super contacts already installed. I remove the old one, pop in the new one, then go to start it. Result: loud grinding / scraping noise, like the one you may have heard when somebody engages a starter while the engine is running.



I guess in the morning I will remove the starter and reinstall. Really chaps my hide because I have put more than 200K on the truck and the old starter never made that noise a single time.



Have any of you run across this problem when installing a brand new starter??

 

[Missouri Mule]

Some vehicles need the starter shimmed, I been lucky and never had to shim one or it could be a deffective starter.



Put some juice to it after you take it out and make sure the gear that contacts fly wheel is comming all the way out.

 

[Mike Ellis]

I removed the new starter this morning and checked out the gear teeth on the fly wheel, sure enough could see some evidence of grinding on the leading edge of the teeth as if the starter's gear teeth were not engaging.



Looking at the starter on the bench, I could see similar wear on the leading edge of its teeth. Clearly the gears were not engaged, but why? It was bolted up nice and tight, no shims or anything else different between removing the old starter and putting on the new one. Could the solenoid on this one be weak? Doesn't seem to be an electrical problem on the truck side, as I have checked everything under the sun AND the old starter engaged the flywheel just fine - had enough juice to operate the solenoid fine on the old one, seems like it ought to have enough to engage the new one, especially considering this one is supposed to have the Larry B super contacts pre-installed.



I will go out and apply juice to it on the truck here in a bit and see if the starter is running and solenoid properly stroking with the actual truck electrics.

 

[Mike Ellis]

Problem Solved

Well, I applied power to the starter and it worked just fine on the bench - solenoid snapped the gear out with authority, motor spun up like a Swiss watch - couldn't find the slightest issue.



Took it back to the truck again and re-installed, this time putting a bit of grease on the gear. Did everything else EXACTLY the same. Result - this time the starter worked great, and the truck is back to its former "starts in a fraction of a second" routine. At last!



Don't know why the 2nd time was the charm, but I'll take it!

 

[tp0d]

Are you sure you didnt have it cocked a bit when you installed it the first time? This could do it easily.



Thats the only thing I can think of. Theres no rotation adjustment on the starter, far as I know. .



-j