starter will not fully engage

[LuckyPenny]

I have a 1977 mercuriser 5.7L and a new problem arose. I was having battery problems and several times tried to start with a low battery, got the cliscking. recharged the battery and now the starter will not fully engage just enough to grind.<br /><br />the starter was just rebuilt. if it is the selonoid can it be changed in place or do I have to pull the starter?

 

[Don S]

Re: starter will not fully engage

Make sure all the battery connections are "TIGHT" and "CLEAN" this also includes the negative cable.<br />Even though you recharged the battery, it could still be bad. Have it load tested. If it's got a dead cell or sulphated, no amount of charging will help.<br />If you find your problem is actually a starter problem, it will have to be removed for repairs, and since all boats are not created equal, that may or may not be an easy job...... I've run into a few boats that had to have the engine pulled to remove the starter.

 

[Trent]

Re: starter will not fully engage

If you used a auto starter rebuild shop. Did they replace the bendix? If so, Was the same teeth bendix installed? Did they install the shims as required? Some starters require shimming to the engine block... Did you see any shims when you removed the starter?

 

[LuckyPenny]

Re: starter will not fully engage

I am going back and recheck all the connections. I really hope it is that simple. To get my starter out it seems like it would be easier to pull the engine, but I would rather do some bulge crawling first.<br />As for shims, there were none when I originally pull the starter off. And until today had no problems with it, other then the bulge pump running the battery down.

 

[waterone1@aol.com]

Re: starter will not fully engage

You said that the bilge pump ran the battery down. Is there any chance the starter got wet ?<br />Sounds to me like there might be some rust or corrosion in the bendix. If you are sure that full battery voltage is getting to the starter,<br />you could pull the starter, clean and lube the shaft and bendix, but I would recomend just replacing the starter. We have a shop here in Cincy that sells reman. marine starters for under $150.00. I would rather spend the money, than worry about a "maybe" starter.

 

[Don S]

Re: starter will not fully engage

The bilge pump shouldn't be running down a battery. Did you get that battery load tested?