Starter Explodes

yea....what jim said

The drive gear on the distbitor is different as well on the reverse engine.

Tleed, keep in mind that if your marine engine is a reverse rotation engine, and I am 99% sure it is, the cam from an auto will not work. You will need a special grind cam designed for reverse rotation engines.

Jim, The starter mounts on top of the flyhousing above the transmission, the starter is turned around backwards w/the starter gear toward the front. I wish the ford's had a top mounted starter, its a sweet setup. I have looked for a flywheel housing that uses that set up, found them for GM & Mopar but no Ford!

After checking around it seems my starter is NOT the same as a regular 318 auto starter. The snout is different. But it does turn the same direction as a regular car starter.

The gear on mine shattered, jammed in the snout, and broke the end of the snout off. So much for a good core to rebuild. There is a good rebuild shop near me, but unless they have another core with a good snout, I'm in for a new starter.

Yes, it was an original starter.

They're out there, but they're not cheap: about $180-190.

Yes, Jim, I had the cover off, but I was very careful. No moving about while underway. I left it off because it's terribly heavy, and not easy to move out in the water, and I had to monitor the tranny & impeller pump to see if they were cooling properly. The impeller was, tranny wasn't.

Thanks, Keno. No interest here in big BOOMS, and am taking all good advice to heart.

Thomas

Thomas,

As far as the starter goes, You can have them rebuilt for a fraction of the cost of a new one. The Marine starters are different than the automotive units, and it is always best to stick with the marine version so as not to have any exposed sparks that can ignite gas fumes. Same goes for the alternator. I had my starter rebuilt this year for $70, and they even beefed up the windings. A new one would have set me back over $200. Look in the Yellow Pages under Alternator to find a rebuild shop in your area. This assumes that the correct part was in the boat to start with. Hope this helps and Happy Boating!

The starter is at the top of the bellhousing, about 2 o'clock.

Thanks, Chuck. Now that's helpful advice.

And thanks, too, 64 Skier. I'm an experienced backyard wrench-turner on cars, but this is the first boat I've had, and I'm slowly learning the differences.

Yes, my engine is reversed, so, 64 Skier, I should be able to use an auto starter. Now where can I get one of those light-weight gear reduction starter?

Took my tranny & bellhousing off yesterday. The snout on the starter broke off. Starter gear was in the bottom of the bellhousing in pieces. I swear it didn't sound anything like that was going on. No core there.

Thomas

tleed, I have the same engine in my SN, a 1968 318. Mine is reverse rotation. Here are a couple of web sites that sells Chrysler Marine:
Hurrikain.com
basicpower.com/
There is another, must be on my other computer. Send me an email if you want.
Chuck

79nautique illustrates one of the difficulties of owning an old boat like this: not only do you have to face the challenge of finding basic information, but you sometimes have to discard information that's just plain false, hopefully before you rely on it to your detriment. In this case, the front of my motor (at the pointy end of the boat), where the vibration damper is, has no timing mark, either on the damper, or on any scale on the block. Instead, you remove a round access cover on the top of the bellhousing to view the stationary timing mark attached to the bellhousing. The scale is on the flywheel. Which, boys and girls, is at the flat end of the boat. The one with the propeller. Pay no attention to anyone who says otherwise.

I'm on this site to gain and pass on helpful information. It's a community activity. Give some; get some. Of course I open myself up to criticism, both helpful and destructive, when I do so, but I'm committed to the idea that we can all benefit from pooled experiences. Scorn makes people afraid to share what they're doing, and we all lose.

As for sorting out my boat, I'm working out a lot of sins the previous owner visited upon it (for instance, yesterday I just discovered he removed the thermostat completely), and there's a significant learning curve involved. I'm hoping the info I gain here will shorten that curve. And maybe what I pass on will shorten someone else's.

As for the point of my original post, I'm still wondering if this starter turns the same as a car. Nobody's weighed in on that yet. It's a Chrysler 318. Shoulda put that in the original post.

Thomas

there are no timing marks on the bell housing, and the impeller and the tran pump are both bi-directional. The Timing marks are on the front of the motor not rear (bell housing) if you don't know which end is which leave it on the trailer or the dock


Find someone that knows how to fix a Boat before you kill your self. You list to many Dumb ass mistakes, I'm glad you are not on my lake or the same body of water I frequent.