5.7L starter issue.

[sandkicker]

For about half this season, the 24ft Privateer inboard that belongs to my YC and I "drive" for the Sunday afternoon races has had a intermittent starter issue. Turn the key and sometimes the starter spins but does not engage the flywheel. Of late been getting worse. Someone else is responsible for the maintenance. This Saturday and Sunday, we ran a ISSA qualifying regatta ("The Cressy"... for high school kids) and Saturday am, uncharacteristically, I was able to get to the boat an hour before it had to leave the dock. While doing the usual check fluids, belts check, I looked @ the starter ( top mount) and found a nut and lock washer laying there (see pix)... and a bolt in the bilge. I reinserted the bolt (this time from the top...without the nut) thinking I had found the random failure to engage problem when much to my surprise, the starter now engaged all the time ( 4 tries) but would not trun the flywheel. I removed the bolt, and the starter worked normally for the next half dozen times. Running sailboat races as the "start" boat often results in multiple start engine cycles. Then it went back to its random spin/no engage for a few trys, then work mode.

The bolt looks to me as if its the pivot bolt for the engage arm of the solenoid. Did I somehow manage to install the bolt so that I did not engage the pivot point? I was very time limited over the weekend ( 2 days of racing, 12 races 36 boats total in two classes) so was not able to investigate further, and today its pouring.

 

[sandkicker]

Forgive spelling and grammar errors, ME.com would not allow correction... Got "too short" message and cancellation even after I added "This is filler because me.com said my change was too short". Note to Sysadmin... "Not all changes are improvements"

 

[Bt Doctur]

that is where a pin/bolt goes to hold the arm that forces the bendix into the flywheel, replace the starter and you`ll be just fine.
It appears to be a gm type starter that is rear mounted so you need a reverse rotation starter for that standard engine

 

[sandkicker]

Epilogue ... This afternoon I had some time. This time I inserted a tapered pin into the top hole to align the hole in the center of the pivot arm with the top/bottom holes and then inserted the bolt from the bottom again. Could not get a tapered pin in from the bottom in order to insert the bolt from the top. To prevent a recurrence of the problem, I replaced the regular nut with a "nylok" nut. Starter now works correctly, every time.