My new starter!

[dakonthemountain]

Hi all,

Nothing major, just wanted you to know I put a new Beck Arnley gear reduction starter on Burt yesterday. I didn't have my ramps at the city house where he is garaged now though, so what a pain it was contorting my body under him to reach the top bolt. It all went fine though ( a very simple job) I also didn't realize how worn out my old original starter was until I put this one in. What a difference; and of course the gear reduction makes it whir faster. I sanded the starter wire connector and cleaned the trans flywheel housing (am I describing this correctly?>>>) , inspected the gear teeth, etc. Today I drove him 75 miles to work and after I got here I shut him off and on a few times..... FINALLY!!! NO HEAT SOAK!!!

It was fun to finally have some time to play with Burt! Now I think just for the fun of it I'll replace the starter solenoid. It's original also..
Dak

 

[Ridgerunner]

Glad to hear you are on the road again with Burt

 

[Blade]

Glad to hear you are on the road again with Bert

Burt, man, Burt
glad to hear that you got Burt back on the road

 

[Ridgerunner]

Burt, man, Burt
glad to hear that you got Burt back on the road

Dang can't you spell Burt?

 

[dakonthemountain]

Thanks guys... Actually I wasn't stranded or anything, and the original starter worked. It was just that after driving for a time and the engine getting hot I couldn't get him to start for 20-30 minutes until it cooled down. All better now!
Dak

 

[LEB Ben]

Glad to hear the heat soak issue is now solved. You planning on any shields or heat wrap to prevent it happening again in the future? The way I understand it...the older the starter becomes (the more heat cycles)...the more at risk it is from experiencing heat soak again.

 

[dakonthemountain]

Ben,
At this point I don't have further plans. I figure it took over 30 years for the old one to start, so I'll take my chances right now. Given the fact that I have only put 20k miles on my truck in over 10 years there is a chance I won't ever have to replace it again... at least I hope not! The gear reduction helps also even when it gets hot.
Dak

 

[dakonthemountain]

Oh, I forgot to say...

This was a very expensive starter, starting at almost $200, but with the sale it was on, plus the $100 gift card for Amazon.com that I had, with tax (shipping was a super saver free perk!) it only cost me $21 delivered to my door. It is really a substantial unit... and it seems quite a bit heavier than the original.
Dak

 

[LEB Ben]

Ben,
At this point I don't have further plans. I figure it took over 30 years for the old one to start, so I'll take my chances right now. Given the fact that I have only put 20k miles on my truck in over 10 years there is a chance I won't ever have to replace it again... at least I hope not! The gear reduction helps also even when it gets hot.
Dak

Sounds good man...I hope it is the last starter for you.

Oh, I forgot to say...

This was a very expensive starter, starting at almost $200, but with the sale it was on, plus the $100 gift card for Amazon.com that I had, with tax (shipping was a super saver free perk!) it only cost me $21 delivered to my door. It is really a substantial unit... and it seems quite a bit heavier than the original.
Dak

You lucky SOB. What's the name brand of that starter????

 

[dakonthemountain]

Ben,
It's a Beck Arnley.

Their products are also carried by Advance Auto, but those are all rebuilt ones. Mine is new, with no core charge. That's why it was so expensive in the first place.

Here is a link to their company.
http://www.beckarnley.com/aboutbeckarnley.html

Dak

 

[UNRULEE]

Great work Dak!

IIRC later model 460 starters will fit 351m400's and I believe that they're gear reduction units. Not sure how much more they cost over a standard "M" starter?