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Cracked ears for starter mount.

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DudeWithThe82

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The starter kept coming loose and in an attempt to make it stay we dogged down on the rear bolt and cracked the block. Afterwards we did a little research to learn there’s supposed to be a brace to prevent things like this from happening that an incompetent previous owner decided wasn’t important and failed to reinstall it. Any quick fix ideas to at least get the truck moving? Will post pictures soon if necessary.
 
I hate to say it but you already know the ultimate fix is an un-cracked block.

I’m not sure if something like JB Weld would be able to hold under the torque of the starter when cranking.
 
ZooMad75 said:
I hate to say it but you already know the ultimate fix is an un-cracked block.

I’m not sure if something like JB Weld would be able to hold under the torque of the starter when cranking.
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Hah yea unfortunately that is the one true fix. A bit frustrating because moments before this I thought of asking google about the starter coming loose and would have learned about a $15 part before cracking a $$$ block but such is life.

I’ve got little faith in JB weld, perhaps brazing so we could at least get it somewhere to actually work on it but it would be tough job under a truck.
 
That starter support bracket is not the be all end all fix. I’ve ran many without it and never cracked the block. Using the incorrect bolts is more likely to cause the crack. Too long and the bolt gets bottomed out in the block and doesn’t clamp the starter. That allows the starter to move.

Or using regular bolts without the knurling and they back off allowing the starter to move under torque.

I don’t think brazing will put enough heat in the cast iron to penetrate enough to hold long term.
 
ZooMad75 said:
That starter support bracket is not the be all end all fix. I’ve ran many without it and never cracked the block. Using the incorrect bolts is more likely to cause the crack. Too long and the bolt gets bottomed out in the block and doesn’t clamp the starter. That allows the starter to move.

Or using regular bolts without the knurling and they back off allowing the starter to move under torque.

I don’t think brazing will put enough heat in the cast iron to penetrate enough to hold long term.
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Ah, I wasn’t the one doing the work but yes the offending bolt was a regular one with the head ground down to fit properly. Guess that’s what you get working with other peoples messes. And being ignorant of what’s supposed to be under there.
 
DudeWithThe82 said:
Ah, I wasn’t the one doing the work but yes the offending bolt was a regular one with the head ground down to fit properly. Guess that’s what you get working with other peoples messes. And being ignorant of what’s supposed to be under there.
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No blame on you bud. We've all had a case of the previous owner blues.

Right now, you really can't screw it up any worse than it is right now. Time to experiment. Let us know the results.
 
I’ve rewelded the starter mounts back onto blocks more than once. For some reason it was very common back home. Never had one fail after welding. Just v the crack preheat and weld it.
 
You should pull the motor to do it right. I’ve never heard of a starter strap as you describe. GM never used anything like that—that I know of on SBC blocks anyways.
 
Most SBC’s & BBC’s have lost these over the years but they are a good idea ( like said earlier the proper bolts are the main thing) - goes at the front of the housing on the little stud on one (upper) of the through starter case retention bolts (that’s why it’s a stud and not a regular bolt-head in that position).
As mentioned above proper heating on the cast iron and welding it up has a good chance of working and at this point it ain’t gonna hurt to try - get one of these braces as added insurance too.

E65B8AB4-99B3-4EC1-8ECF-39F3510E8503.png
 
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tarussell said:
Most SBC’s & BBC’s have lost these over the years but they are a good idea ( like said earlier the proper bolts are the main thing) - goes at the front of the housing on the little stud on one (upper) of the through starter case retention bolts (that’s why it’s a stud and not a regular bolt-head in that position).
As mentioned above proper heating on the cast iron and welding it up has a good chance of working and at this point it ain’t gonna hurt to try - get one of these braces as added insurance too.

View attachment 428780
Click to expand...
Wow, I have never seen one of those. Probably one of the first things that gets lost lol
 
If you use a smaller gear reduction style starter the support bracket won’t reach. But then again, not being giant like an original starter it’s not needed.

All the cars I’ve had with small blocks lacked the extra bracket. But I did add it to my 307 when it kept eating starters back when I was in high school. As it turned out though the issue was caused by a cracked flex plate.
 
I always just torqued the starter with the correct ft lbs I believe 50 or 30 ft lbs off the top of my head and never had any issues. But I did buy many a car with cracked starter mounts. Never cracked one myself.
 
I had a 6.5 that I got with the outside ear cracked. I took a factory 6.2 starter bolt, cut the head off, put threads on the shaft and then brazed it to the block. It worked with the support bracket installed for about 30 starts. Then I put the engine in a can to store until I have the right manual transmission project truck to put it in.
 
K5Devil said:
You should pull the motor to do it right. I’ve never heard of a starter strap as you describe. GM never used anything like that—that I know of on SBC blocks anyways.
Click to expand...
tarussell said:
Most SBC’s & BBC’s have lost these over the years but they are a good idea ( like said earlier the proper bolts are the main thing) - goes at the front of the housing on the little stud on one (upper) of the through starter case retention bolts (that’s why it’s a stud and not a regular bolt-head in that position).
As mentioned above proper heating on the cast iron and welding it up has a good chance of working and at this point it ain’t gonna hurt to try - get one of these braces as added insurance too.

View attachment 428780
Click to expand...
ZooMad75 said:
If you use a smaller gear reduction style starter the support bracket won’t reach. But then again, not being giant like an original starter it’s not needed.

All the cars I’ve had with small blocks lacked the extra bracket. But I did add it to my 307 when it kept eating starters back when I was in high school. As it turned out though the issue was caused by a cracked flex plate.
Click to expand...


he has a 6.2 diesel
 
fourwheelerjeff said:
he has a 6.2 diesel
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Well damn….don’t know if the ole Detroits used those brackets or not - I would think they would since so much else is in common.
Did we miss this or was it not mentioned ?
Either way I hope the welding job works for ya’.
 
Looks like they did make ‘em for the 6.2/6.5 diesel starters as well.

7131BD0A-B65B-48AB-B751-E5214020EC6E.png
 
tarussell said:
Most SBC’s & BBC’s have lost these over the years but they are a good idea ( like said earlier the proper bolts are the main thing) - goes at the front of the housing on the little stud on one (upper) of the through starter case retention bolts (that’s why it’s a stud and not a regular bolt-head in that position).
As mentioned above proper heating on the cast iron and welding it up has a good chance of working and at this point it ain’t gonna hurt to try - get one of these braces as added insurance too.

View attachment 428780
Click to expand...
I have never seen those before. Learned something new today.
 
That is the reduction drive starter bracket. GM stopped making the direct drive starter bracket about 10 years ago. If you have a direct drive starter. Check eBay or make one once you see a picture. Otherwise it will happen again.

A note of trivia here. Gas engines need to spin around 60 rpm to start. Diesel engines need around 180 rpm. Add in the 21.5:1 compression ratio of the 6.2 and 6.5 And you can realize why that bracket has to be there and why Diesel engine starters always sound like they are angry.
 
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