G.m. starter bolts

[jch7450]

Heres a good one..i broke the long stater bolt on my 4 cyl gm 3.0 engine, it has a braket on the back of it..a car mecanic told me just replace the short bolt with a stainless steel bolt.. beings it's only a 4 banger it will hold ok... what do you guys think of that?? thanks .......

 

[Don S]

Re: G.m. starter bolts

Get the proper bolt. They are designed to fit the bolt hole in the starter tighter and allow less "Slop" and excess movement of the starter. Also hook up the bracket.<br /><br />Why do people take their boats to "CAR" mechanics?????<br />The insides of the engines are "Mostly" the same, after that every thing is different. And car mechanics (as a rule) don't understand the differences.

 

[jch7450]

Re: G.m. starter bolts

thanks but it didn't answer the real question.will one hardened bolt holt it? thanks again

 

[Don S]

Re: G.m. starter bolts

NO, if it would, they would have been designed with one bolt not two

 

[ron7000]

Re: G.m. starter bolts

I'm confused by what you are asking.<br />I have a 3.0L but I haven't played with the starter yet so I'm unfamiliar with it's mounting.<br />But if all you are asking is will stainless bolts work, then I would say yes if it's a standard hex head bolt. From reading other's posts, it sounds like it has some kind of enlarged shank, like if the thread size is smaller than the mounting hole in the starter housing? If the bolt is the only think keeping the starter from rotating when powered, then you would need that specific kind of bolt to secure it properly. Otherwise it's going to want to rotate out of the flywheel housing when you turn the key to start.<br /> <br />If you get stainless hardware, get 316 stainless bolts not the weaker 18-8. Been using them on the starter on my 351 V-8 for the past 15 years with no problems. Use anti-sieze on the threads and lock washers, stainless threads gall easily and also have a tendancy to loosen over time without lockwashers.

 

[MH9371B]

Re: G.m. starter bolts

Hey this same thing happened to me. I thought I could run on only the short bolt, but then it put so much stress on it that the entire starter snapped off. I have the same engine, too. Definitely replace the bolt. It will probably require the engine to be removed, but it's worth it.

 

[DHPMARINE]

Re: G.m. starter bolts

time for a new mechanic.even the original bolts aren't stainless.Even if they were one won't work.<br />Before you talk to him again,one titainium bolt won't work either.It needs two bolts.<br />DHP

 

[cobra 3.0]

Re: G.m. starter bolts

When I changed my starter I noticved I only had one bolt. The other was broken off by the previous owner. I didn't think much of it and only used the single bolt.<br /><br />What ended up happening is that the starter couldn't align properly with the flywheel and caused broken teeth and gear. It eventually also ended up hanging and never disengaged the flywheel. The starter burned out inside a week of use.<br /><br />To fix it, I tried to drill the old bolt out and was real lucky and ended up spinning it out with my drill!

 

[rodbolt]

Re: G.m. starter bolts

hello<br /> yep its gotta have two bolts of the original design. the shanks are knurled to assist in keeping the starter secured, dont even try plain bolts. even a rookie car mechanic should know that. that is why the rest of us techs get a bad reputation because some techs have a tool box and thats about it.<br /> good luck and keep posting