V8 Help, need advice from expert

skline · skline's Garage

I just went up and bought a brand new battery for the car to try to get it fired up. Everything looks like it is in order. I checked all the wiring and it is connected with good solid connections. I get in and turn the key and it turns over really really slow. Its like the battery is dead. I just stuck it on a charger and it said it was about half charged so I let it run for a bit and now it says its fully charged. I get in again and it still barely turns over. As I was assembling the engine I would turn it over by hand every step of the way with nothing binding. The wire to the starter gets hot when I try to start the car. It even smokes if I try too long. It is a high torque starter by the way, not a stock 914. Any suggestions??? Could the timing cause it to do that? Its been about 8 years since I have done any V8 engine stuff. Help me!

ws91420 · 10-14-2004, 12:49 PM

With the starter wire getting hot your drawing high amps. Check the basics. Ground . connections. Is the starter new? High torque draws a lot of current. Also with GM motors you normally need to check clearance to see if you need shims. Your FLAPS should have a shim kit available if one didn't come with the starter. Check in any GM service manual for procedure

914GT · 10-14-2004, 01:55 PM

You have the battery in the front trunk, right? Too much voltage drop. Check your voltage across the starter (case to terminal) while cranking if you can. You may need to significantly increase your wire size from your battery terminal to starter, especially to crank a fresh-built V8. Maybe you could hook the battery up on the floor under the engine and see if it still cranks slow.

skline · skline's Garage

I added a second battery in the rear trunk and wired it directly to the starter and the head for ground, pulled all the plugs and it still turns very slow. I am thinking there is a problem. I turned it by hand the entire build process till I bolted the tranny on, then I bolted it into the car. This is the first time I have tried to start it since the transmission has been bolted to it. I am about ready to give up on it and rip the darn thing back out and start taking stuff apart till I find what the problem is.

SteveStromberg · 06:13 PM

Scott the pressure plate may be binding on the gearbox housing.

914GT · 10-14-2004, 05:49 PM

Before you do, maybe pull that starter and have it checked? Those starters are really strong and can spin a V8 over easy, even a tight one, with a stiff 12V battery connection. Maybe have your FLAPS check it for current draw. Any chance it got too hot while you were cranking it before and maybe smoked a winding? You said your battery cable was starting to smoke, so those windings were getting hot too. Just trying to save you the trouble of dropping the engine, because if it turned over OK by hand with a breaker bar then the starter should be able to handle it. Good luck and hope you find the problem w/o a lot of trouble.

skline · skline's Garage

Steve hit the nail right on the head, I would call but I cant find the number. I pushed in the clutch and it turns over fine. How do I resolve this one???

914GT · 10-14-2004, 05:56 PM

Steve brings up a good point. Did the transaxle fit up to the adapter plate without binding? If the pilot bearing was not installed into the crank far enough it can cause some binding, in other words, the transaxle should have freely fit up to the plate without requiring the bolts to pull it together.

skline · skline's Garage

Steve is the man, he told me to check the clutch fork for binding and I just crawled underneath it and sure enough, I can see where it is rubbing against the clutch pressure plate housing. Now I just need to figure out how to resolve it. Is there a way to do it without pulling the transmission out??? If there is, I cant see how, enlighten me.

914GT · 10-14-2004, 07:07 PM

I think you'll have to pull it. I had to bend my clutch fork on my bearing press to get the correct spacing. I'm surprised you didn't hear some noise coming out of there if it's hitting on the pressure plate.

skline · skline's Garage

I heard grinding but had no idea what was making the noise, now I know. I will try to get it pulled out and fixed tomorrow otherwise, it will be Saturday.

Dave at Pelican Parts · Dave at Pelican Parts's Garage

Did that fix the issue?

If not, I would suggest checking the transmission ground strap. The starter will try to ground any way it can if the connections are not good. Could even be through the clutch/clutch cable...

--DD

skline · skline's Garage

The clutch was not very tight, I adjusted it to where it would engage and dissengage and everything is hunky dory.