News:

Due to a technical issue, some recently uploaded pictures have been lost. We are investigating why this happened but the issue has been resolved so that future uploads should be safe.  You can also Modify your post (MORE...) and re-upload the pictures in your post.

Main Menu

'66 starter motor reinstallation

Started by Greg McDonnell, December 03, 2011, 01:22:22 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Greg McDonnell

A mechanic/friend removed my starter from my '66 Eldorado for rebuilding and detailing...I was not under the car with him when he removed it so I didn't see it in place...I am unsure where the bracket and brace go  Any help/suggestions will be most appreciated as I attempt to reinstall it Saturday!  The shop manual specifically mentions these two parts and how to install them but a pic is worth a thousand words! 

Thank you!

Greg McDonnell
CLC#20841
Greg McDonnell
CLC #20841

Dave Shepherd

Greg there is an obvious threaded  larger hole in the starter housing, line the bracket up with that, then you will see the threaded hole that the bracket matches up to at the other end.

Greg McDonnell

#2
Thanks Dave, for your excellent suggestion.  I am going to attempt to attach photos of the parts in question.  As I recall from the shop manual's step by step installation instructions, the bracket (top pic) attaches to the upper part of the starter and to the block.  The brace attaches to the lower part and to the transmission housing.  Maybe once I'm under the car working with the parts, I will see it.  But, as I mentioned in my first post, a picture (in this case) would be most appreciated! 

Thanks! 

Greg McDonnell
Greg McDonnell
CLC #20841

Greg McDonnell

Installed the starter Saturday evening.  I'm not that mechanical but this was not as complicated as the mechanic said it would be (for me)... :o  The shop manual failed to mention the fact the upper support brace needs to be attached to the top of the starter case prior to installing the starter...that little step would have been very helpful if it had been stated in the manual...oh well, live and learn!  The job is finished, and all parts are present and accounted for and in their proper place!

Greg McDonnell
Greg McDonnell
CLC #20841

The Tassie Devil(le)

G'day Greg,

Congratulations on the installation.

It is a wonder that the Workshop Manual doesn't detail the fitting of the braces.   Could it be that the braces were a "mid-production" addition, and therefore weren't included in the initial publication of the Manuals.

This is where the "Serviceman" updates were introduced to cover things found out during the model year, and even later on as mechanics, and engineers, found solutions and upgrades.

Bruce. >:D
'72 Eldorado Convertible (LHD)
'70 Ranchero Squire (RHD)
'74 Chris Craft Gull Wing (SH)
'02 VX Series II Holden Commodore SS Sedan
(Past President Modified Chapter)

Past Cars of significance - to me
1935 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1936 Ford 5 Window Coupe
1937 Chevrolet Sports Coupe
1955 Chevrolet Convertible
1959 Ford Fairlane Ranch Wagon
1960 Cadillac CDV
1972 Cadillac Eldorado Coupe

Greg McDonnell

#5
Hi Bruce! 

Thanks for your congrats!  Regardless of the size or scope of the project, success always feels good.  Lying on my back under a car is not my idea of Heaven on Earth (I am somewhat claustrophobic) but the job had to be done as I am using the car in a wedding in six days.  My so-called friend, the mechanic who removed the starter and rehabbed/detailed it, kept putting me off due to Fall car shows and Alabama football.  Since I am not a fan of college or pro football, I began to lose patience.  As time wore on, my lost patience turned me into a 'shadetree' and I decided to finish reinstalling all the parts myself (NOS fuel pump/lines, ps pump, various other nonmechanical parts, hoses, etc and of course the starter (which, as I mentioned, I did not remove).  Not being all that mechanical but blessed with a decent amount of common sense, I figured it was going to be a total nightmare for me.  I was pleasantly surprised to find it was not.  Actually it was kind of fun if you want the total story ;D  The darn thing is heavy of course and positioning it between the block and frame with the trans cooler lines and exhaust pipe thrown into the mix was no walk in the park.  Finally I held my face right-lol-and found the one and only position it had to be in to fit into the small space and attach to the flywheel housing (if that is the correct name for the part of the car where it fits?).  Of course, as I stated in my previous post, the shop manual author did not plainly state the upper support bracket should be attached to the starter case prior to installing the starter.  Had I been the one removing it from the car in the first place, I would have known that important part of the process.  But such was not the case and that fact put me at a distinct disadvantage.  So, out the starter came after all my wrestling to get it in place the first time! I attached the bracket to the case and started the process all over again-Oh joy! LOL!  In the end, it was a good workout and I have no regrets other than thinking all this time I wasn't capable of doing it and needed the lackadaisical, nonchalant mechanic.  That proved not to be the case and that mechanic 'friend' can go pound sand in a hole!  LOLOL!

As for the Serviceman bulletins, I have a complete set but have not found anything in them pertaining to the bracket/brace.  Their installation is plainly stated in the installation process in the shop manual but it would have been nice, as a novice, to know about the bracket needing to be installed on the starter prior to attaching it to the block.  Other than that, it was not such a bad experience!

Greg McDonnell
not too bad of a shadetree after all  ;D ;D ;D
Greg McDonnell
CLC #20841

The Tassie Devil(le)

Boy, you will be doing all your own work sooner than later, and then your Mechanic will be able to watch as much football as he likes, seeing as he will have that much spare time.

Bruce. >:D
'72 Eldorado Convertible (LHD)
'70 Ranchero Squire (RHD)
'74 Chris Craft Gull Wing (SH)
'02 VX Series II Holden Commodore SS Sedan
(Past President Modified Chapter)

Past Cars of significance - to me
1935 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1936 Ford 5 Window Coupe
1937 Chevrolet Sports Coupe
1955 Chevrolet Convertible
1959 Ford Fairlane Ranch Wagon
1960 Cadillac CDV
1972 Cadillac Eldorado Coupe

Rob Troxel

Greg,

Interested in doing my Eldorado starter?  Sounds like you could do well!

Regards,

Rob