1977 3.0 l mercruiser starter motor problem

[bleach68]

Hi, I have a 1977 Sunray 17' 3.0l mercruiser with a MC1 outdrive. I bought it around x-mas. PO said he had it running but needed a new starter which he had. I have just recently switched the starter and tried to start it on muffs. Turned out the plug wires were on wrong. Corrected that and it started right up (had dumped a bit of gas in carb). Ran it for 15 seconds. Started it again...fired right up. Was getting dusk when the wife pulled in and tried to show her how good it ran...when turned over a terrible shrieking noise came out and it turned over slower than before and didn't fire up. Thinking maybe the gimble bearing or shift cable adjustment was out I removed the outdrive. Still making the loud noise. I have removed the starter and upon inspection discovered a crack in the housing of the starter. Looking at the old one I noticed the same thing (crack). The gimble bearing turns (feels a little rougher than it should- I will change it out)I think the front of the motor is sitting on a bad frame piece and is sitting lower than it should. The floor needs replacing and the interior has been gutted. Any advice thoughts on the starter motor or other issues ? Thank You

 

[Grub54891]

One reason that could be breaking the housing is a hydro lock, but more common is the timing is way advanced, it'll fire to early and try to shove the piston down when the starter is pushing it up. Or the bolts were loose and caused it. The surfaces where the starter bolt up to should be nice and flat too. Sometimes the starter needs a shim to get the gear spacing just right, but I've never had to shim a 3.0.

 

[bleach68]

I checked the oil-,all good, not milky, cranked the motor over with plugs out no water or anything ejected from the cylinders.(before it started up) Is there any chance the starters are the wrong ones? There is nine teeth on the starter pinion. It did start the motor 2 or 3 times without any problem or noises. I am going to jb weld the crack on the starter and try again. (I have lifted the front of the motor by 3/8 " ) It is sitting on a steel bar- temporarily. I will have to replace the cross-member when I am doing the floor. Just need to make sure it is worth doing. (fingers crossed) I have not rotated the distributor or checked timing with a light. Yet!!

 

[Silvertip]

JB weld will not hold up to the stress -- especially si9nce the housing broke. Make sure the bolt holes have not been stripped or the starter mounting surface on the engine is not cracked. Anything that can allow the starter to shift is what's causing the break (assuming timing and hydro-lock aren't the issue). The screech you heard was the pinion on the starter no longer making proper contact with the ring gear. The prior owner probably knew there was an "issue" somewhere which is why he didn't install the starter -- because he knew the new one would break. I know that's not what you want to hear but that's my take on the situation.

 

[bleach68]

Thank you! I appreciate the help! I will look with the help of a mirror at the mating surface. One of the mounting bolts did not seem as tight as it could be-maybe that was the issue.

 

[bajuski]

Use the shims that come with the new starter. You're lucky it didn't shear a mount bolt like mine did, I had to pull the engine to get the remaining part of the bolt out.

 

[bleach68]

I have found a guy with 3.0l parts that were coupled with an OMC outdrive. Will the starter and intake manifold (exhaust) be compatible with my mercruiser 3.0l ?

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... Starter should be, the manifolds will Not be the same, nor fit yer set up,....

 

[Maclin]

Not wanting to get this sidetracked too far, but, isn't there an extra separate mounting bracket for the 3.0 ?

 

[bleach68]

There was on the starter I tookoff, but the new one I put on did not have the third bolt into the side of the block.

 

[bleach68]

I wonder if I can take the guts that are good, and just replace the nose piece that is cracked on the original ,with the OMC?

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... Hard to say,.... just because the entire starter will swap, don't mean the starters are exactly the same, could be different manufacturers,....

 

[bleach68]

Thanks for the help! At least with another starter I can find TDC with plugs out and see if I didn't screw up the timing.

 

[JerryIrons]

It might be worth throwing a new distributor cap and rotor on there as well to eliminate a cracked cap causing problems. Who knows how old the existing one is. Might even check cylinder compression levels, even if the engine is cold.

 

[bleach68]

The starter I bought that was from an OMC has the threaded hole for the stud to go into for the third support to the block. I will do a compression check before checking timing. Thanks

 

[bajuski]

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engi...gines-outdrives/365651-starter-opinion-please

Check out this thread from 2009, the starter is still working perfectly and you can get them real cheap on Ebay.