Dragging starter

[70383ChargerSE]

Need some help everyone, I have a recently rebuilt 440 and the starter drags when I start the car. It has 10.5:1 compression, aluminum heads and a hydraulic roller cam in the [email protected] range. I had a oem mini starter out of a Dakota and then switched to a powermaster.

The timing was set at 16 initial and I brought it back to 12. The starting got a lot better and it no longer drags but the gear doesn't retract as fast as it should and stays in for a second until it retracts.

My batter is rated at 700CCA and is about 4 years old.

When I added a battery jumper to give it more power, it started faster and didn't drag as much.

Am I missing something?

Are my only only options to bring back the timing a little more, Check battery, check grounds(already did), starter relay?

Is there anything else that would cause this?

Thank you all in advance.

 

[66383]

Four years? It might be giving up the ghost. However mine will be five years old in April.

 

[RemCharger]

The amount of voltage available should have nothing to do with the mechanical retraction of the gear.
The common problem with a new style starter is interference at the block, forcing the gear in sideways towards the ring gear.
The area was never precision machined.

 

[Fran Blacker]

As Remcharger said check block clearance. Did your starter come with a plastic piece covering a second set of terminals? If you didn't remove that and use the 2nd terminals could be a problem. If you added an extra wire from battery to starter and it cranked better your wire is corroded. Might want to look into a new battery to starter wire. Getting a quality one is an issue, look for someone who can make one. Edit: Full size starters don't have a block fitment issue.

 

[sam dupont]

try the jumper alone and see what it does. I would add jumper cables from the battery to the starter to eliminate the power cable as the issue.

 

[dvw]

First you have to determine if you have a mechanical issue or an electrical issue. You say it drags. What do yo mean by drags? Does is sound strange or just crank slow? As stated in post #4. Does the starter set flush on the trans? Sometimes there is interference at the side of the case at the block. That will not allow the starter to set flat and square on the trans case face. Grind clearance as needed. I'd start there, as it is rare to have an electrical issue causing the starter to stay engaged for extra amount of time when the key is released. The Dakota starter should have been fine. Why did you switch? I have a 11 year old one in my 580", 15-1, with 35 degrees of timing locked out. Cranks with no issue.
Doug

 

[Geoff 2]

Sounds like the mesh is too tight.

 

[70383ChargerSE]

Thank you all for the information and advice in helping diagnose this. It sounds strange like the gear is stripping the teeth. Definitely like it isn't lining up.

I will check the starter if it sits flush against the block and I will also take a look at all the teeth on th flywheel and starter for damage.