Advice for '82

[amgeorg]

Hi,

I have an '82 Blazer, 6.2, dead on the road 100 mi. away. It was towed to the shop and mechanic claims the starter has broken itself off the block. He stated that he has seen this quite often. I have not heard nor read of this. We discussed my problem more, in that the fuel system took in air and the engine died. Rather than follow the proper bleeding procedure, I shot in WD40. The hot engine could have flashed the wd...causing the engine to momentarily freeze or backfire breaking the starter mount off the block? Please comment on this being plausible. Anyway I will check the problem myself when I get a free afternoon. Is there any option beside powerplant replacement if this is indeed the case?

Thanks in advance,

Aaron

[arveetek]

Actually, this is a common problem. There is supposed to be a bracket on the front of the starter to help support it and prevent this from happening. A lot of times these brackets get left off during starter swaps.

What probably happened is one of two things: the starter bolts could have broken off, or worse yet, the outer starter bolt ear actually broke off of the block. When I bought my 6.2L engine from a scrap yard, I didn't notice until partway through the rebuild that the outer starter ear was broken off. This is probably why the engine was pulled in the first place. I had the machine shop weld up a new ear, and then I used a longer bolt with a nut on top. This, along with the bracket, has held up fine for over 100K miles.

It all depends on what is actually broken to know if it's repairable or not. I don't know if the WD-40 shot had anything to do with the starter problem or not. If it's just the bolts broken, that's no big deal, but if the block is actually busted, that's a more serious problem.

I would imagine that it would be hard to repair the block in the truck, if that's what is required.

Casey

[amgeorg]

Hi Casey,

Thanks for the reply. I will inspect the damage and give a report. Also I am careful to make sure the third bracket at the rear of the starter is in place. The arm wrestling of the starter is such a pain, that is why I'm sure to be careful about it. To quote the mechanic in our phone conversation, "lot's of folks try to repair the problem by welding, but you can't weld cast iron. Then a few miles down the road you're stuck with the same problem." Any comments here?

Thanks

Aaron

[ropinfool]

Welding cast iron is not impossible, but it is not something a novice can do. You will need an experienced welder who has welded cast and the repair should last you a long time. John

[amgeorg]

Thanks for the eye opener, John.

You guys are putting the fun back into this diesel Blazer for me.
You may have saved me quite a bit of cash, and sanity.

Big question is how to find a welder in Raleigh, NC with a good track record with *cast*. Can anyone provide a name?

By the way here's a thread with nice discussions of welding cast iron:

http://www.enginads.com/extras/2003stor.cgi/noframes/read/49207

Casey when the time comes I may ask for details on the weld and bolt repair. I'll try to get you a picture to get your take on my situation.

Thanks,

Aaron

[arveetek]

As far as the welding job holding up, like I said, mine's held up for over 100,000 miles and 7 years.

A welder may not be able to repair the block in the truck, though. Mine was already at the machine shop.

The critical part is getting the starter lined up properly. I think my repaired starter bolt hole is off just a fraction of an inch. My starter grinds no matter what I do, but it's not too bad.

Casey

[Larry Andrews]

Wish I could point you to a welder in Raleigh. (went to State way back when, but moved away years ago) I do know that there are a few good race shops out by the airport and around Garner. It's been my experience that the race guys usually know who does great work and who doesn't...but I may be biased. smile.gif There's also a couple really good machine shops on Capitol close to downtown and by the beltline. Calling the machine shops to see who they'd recommend might be a good idea.