Starter won't disengage

[Rapid]

65 289 w/C4 and new starter. There is a lot of noise after the car starts that is coming from the bell housing. I replaced the starter because the starter gear was not retracting but the noise is still there. The ring gear around the TC looks OK but it may be binding??

 

[spirockp]

Man that can be alot of things. 1. Starter in or out too far. 2. Flexplate teeth are bad and you need a new Flexplate. (ask me how I know). 3. The Wrong stater. 4. Wrong bell housing on the C4.

The list goes on and on ......

I went for the trial by error rule. Just keep throwing money into it until you fix the broken part.

 

[drbobj67]

I think you need to check the things that spirockp mentioned. But even though the odds are slim if the new starter was a rebuilt/remanufactured they can be bad also. Just one more thing to consider.

 

[truck90278]

A bad solenoid can also cause this to happen. I've fried a starter this way due to a bad solenoid. spirockp covers a number of items that can also cause this

 

[red65]

Some late-model starters - the kind with the solenoid attached - extend further in toward the gear than older-style starters, which could explain its reluctance to disengage. Did you replace with the original style, or one of the newer style starters?

 

[Rapid]

Some late-model starters - the kind with the solenoid attached - extend further in toward the gear than older-style starters, which could explain its reluctance to disengage. Did you replace with the original style, or one of the newer style starters?

I replaced it with the original style. The NAPA guy and I both caompared them. The teeth on the flexplate are rough. I think I will work them with a file before starting the money throwing.

Thanks guys!

 

[krash kendall]

You probably don't have the drain plug for the torque convertor lined up with the hole in the flexplate, causing the ring gear to strike the starter every revolution. Pull the dust cover off and rotate the motor with a ratchet on the balancer nut and watch the flex plate to check.

EDIT: I modified the bendix gear on my starter to fix this problem a few years ago because I didn't know about the drain plug antill after. It wasn't untill I bought a new starter that I pulled the tranny back and fixed it properly. Your old starter may have been modified in the same manner.