71 valiant /6 starter not engaging

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MCPObr44

MCPObr44

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Hello

I was out doing some work on the ignition system of my 71 valiant 225 slant six trying to resolve a misfire it's been having. I replaced the cap, rotor, and plug wires. When I went to test fire the car it didn't want to start and chuffed a little. I went back and double, triple, and quadruple checked the firing order and it looks right. 1-5-3-6-2-4
I used this as reference....
slant6dist.jpg


I used these parts....
Standard Motor Spark Plug Wire Sets 29613
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/SMP-CH410
Standard Motor Distributor Rotors CH303

So I would crank a couple seconds... wait a while to let the starter rest. Then crank a couple seconds more.

Now the starter won't engage the flywheel and just spins. There are no grinding or clicking noises.... just the electric motor spinning.

Did I just destroy my starter or is there something I can try first? This couldn't have possibly happened at a worse time because I am starting the fall semester in 4 days.
 
Update

I pulled the starter and the teeth were fine on the flywheel. Whew! *wipes away sweat on brow*

From the markings I think it is the original starter. It has the Chrysler star on it and it's dated 1970.
 
with the starter off the engine, can you bench test it?
i wonder if vatozone does that?
 
diymirage said:
with the starter off the engine, can you bench test it?
i wonder if vatozone does that?
Click to expand...
well my level of testing involves hooking up jumper cables to it and then shorting that one little post to make it spin. It appears to work fine... although I can't say I have ever had a starter out to test like that before, so I am not sure what I am looking at. I even tried bypassing the wiring of the car and jumping it while it was bolted on and I still got the same result. Thank goodness the /6 starter is stupidly easy to remove and install.

I might mention now that I have had time to think on it... that the starter has made some funky noises in the past. Sort of a CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK sound that starters make when they are falling out. I suspect that this thing has been warning me for some time and it finally said "peace out" and left the building. I hope I didn't break something by doing my cap and rotor :eek:
 
diymirage said:
Well, toss a new one in and see what you got
Click to expand...
*throws money at summit racing
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.
.
Yep it's on it's way. Until then I guess I am walkin to school! I'll update in a week or two when I have a chance to slap the new starter in.
 
I meant to grab one at AutoZone and slap that one...tonite
 
diymirage said:
I meant to grab one at AutoZone and slap that one...tonite
Click to expand...
autozone is 50 miles away and they likely don't have it in stock. I would check but my ISP blocks their website. I tried napa (100 miles away) and they didn't have one.
 
Do a search, I'm almost certain one for a mid 90s Dakota will fit just ducky
(At least they do on the LAs)
 
Bro, you live in the sticks! Where do you go to school? It soulds like your starter pinion (bendix) drive is out...you can diagnose it by taking it apart and lube it, ot check solenoid for operation.
s-l300.jpg

01.gif
 
pishta said:
Bro, you live in the sticks! Where do you go to school? It soulds like your starter pinion (bendix) drive is out...you can diagnose it by taking it apart and lube it, ot check solenoid for operation.
View attachment 1715211424
View attachment 1715211425
Click to expand...

I agree... the bendix is probably out. I already ordered a brand new starter from summit and it's on it's way. My plan was to drive my car to the nearby major city in a day or so with the last few possessions of mine to stay at a pre established apartment so I could go to school. Coincidentally that city is the one with NAPA, and is roughly 100 miles away. The work I was doing was prepping for that stay because the landlord said no working on cars on apartment property. Now I am wondering if I got the firing order right, because the picture doesn't quite 100% match up with what my cap looks like.
 
Well the wiring should match up exactly in the rotation and order but can be a little off in the clocking as the pickup can be slightly rotated. There are 2 adjustments on the slant distributor, the lower one is not usually moved but the top one does get adjusted for your ignition timing. When you bench test your starter does the bendix shoot out and spin or does it just spin in place? The flywheel takes up the space between the bendix drive and the nose of the starter.
 
pishta said:
Well the wiring should match up exactly in the rotation and order but can be a little off in the clocking as the pickup can be slightly rotated. There are 2 adjustments on the slant distributor, the lower one is not usually moved but the top one does get adjusted for your ignition timing. When you bench test your starter does the bendix shoot out and spin or does it just spin in place? The flywheel takes up the space between the bendix drive and the nose of the starter.
Click to expand...
would changing the cap and rotor alter those settings? The only reason why I replaced them was because they looked worn and old, and the cap had a chunk missing. Besides an inconsistent miss which I attribute to the worn parts it ran just fine.

The starter spun and popped out, but wouldn't engage the flywheel. The bendix looks very worn and when I move it with my fingers it feels like it's broken somewhere. I reinstalled it on the car again to prevent critters making a nest on my flywheel... or I would take pictures.
 
no, if you changed the cap and moved the wires over 1:1 then you should be OK. They only go on 1 way. Does your flywheel/ring gear look OK in there, all the teeth still on it?
 
pishta said:
no, if you changed the cap and moved the wires over 1:1 then you should be OK. They only go on 1 way. Does your flywheel/ring gear look OK in there, all the teeth still on it?
Click to expand...

Yeah they seemed fine. I looked with a really bright flashlight and then felt around with my finger on the back side looking for any missing chunks or other oddities. Nothing.
 
Update

So I finally got done with my first week of classes and got a chance to install the new starter. This is the one I bought....
Powermaster OEM-Style High-Torque Replacement Starters 3257

It cranks like nobodies business and fired that engine up almost instantly and I didn't even pump the pedal! I was just trying to see if it would crank by bumping the key a bit but it fired and ran. Turns out my starting issue was just the old starter dying and not an incorrect firing order. As I sat there and let it idle a while and warm up it felt like it was running a bit fast and missing irregularly. I went over and checked that vacuum line going to the dist and it turns out I accidentally knocked it off. Plugged that back in and the misfire seems to be gone. The vacuum line was definitely connected before I did the cap and rotor, and was not part of the original problem. Now I just need to finish attaching my homebrew grille and incorrect fender and I am down the road. Oh and change the oil. *sigh.... back to work!
 
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