I've had a Powermaster starter in my 73 GTO for about 7 years now & it works great. I had a problem with it when new because somehow I got one that was suppose to go back as a defect & Powermaster gave me a new one & it's again been in for about 7 years with no problems. Plus my 73 GTO has to have a high TQ starter because the engine is about 510 HP at 10+ to 1 compression. Because of his lack of knowledge of Pontiac it's probably his fault why the starters are going out for him. He talks about having to drop the exhaust to install a stater which you don't have to do. I really think the problem is him not the starter.
Let me make sure I have this right. 1. You got an initial starter that was a defect, just like I did. 2. You got a second starter that works perfectly, just like I did. But I have a lack of knowledge about Pontiacs, like that has anything to do with installing a starter? You car sounds awesome though. I love the 73 body style. For whatever reason, I just like the tail light arrangement so much better than the other years. Are you anywhere close to NE Ohio, I would love to come out and see your car and maybe shoot a video of it. Does it run?
I don't know why you would have to lower your exhaust. I have RAIV exhaust manifolds which are even bigger then the reg. manifolds & mine will come right out with no problem. Also when I had the old heads on which were # 48's RAIII's it came in & out with no problem at all. As far as having to send mine back in ,, the reason was because the place I bought it gave me a starter that was a return & somehow I got it as it was suppose to have gone back way before I got it & somehow they sold me the bad one, the only thing I could think was it got put on the wrong shelf & got put back on the sale shelf instead of the return shelf.
Not everything is factory Rex. Who ever had the car before me, cut the exhaust pipe just below the manifold flange (probably so they wouldn't have to go through what I went through with replacing the exhaust manifold studs) and welded on new pipe. The pipe goes directly under the starter. That meant the starter either had to go one way...where the engine is....or the other way....where the frame rail is. There is not enough room in either direction. So it had to go straight down where the new exhaust pipe was. And to your point about the starter. Don't you find it ironic that you got a defective starter, regardless of the reason? Just because you got someone else's return (if the retailer was really being honest with you) still implies that someone else got a brand new defective starter. Or you got a defective starter and the counter guy lied to you. Like that never happened. If you know your stuff, you could have looked at that starter and saw some signs of installation. Powermaster asked me to bench test it....which I did. When you spark it with a battery, it leaves little arc marks. You for sure would have seen those.
As for the water pump depending on the rebuilder you can get one with or without the cast impeller. The cast impeller units are by far much better then the ones with the steel impeller. Also you didn't point out about the fact you need to make sure the plate is clearanced between the impeller & plate for the best possible fit to ensure that the water pump will flow the best. As for you comment about the impeller blade caveating that is no where near what could have happened as the only way it will do that is being very low on water. As for the rubbing it would have had to have someone who didn't know how to clearance the plate against the impeller & it was to close & rubbed on the plate.
The water pump was given to me with the car and was from some local auto parts store. Yes, I know you can still get the cast impeller, but it's not that important to me. In the water pump (in a 1970 Lemans I had a couple years ago) that suffered from cavitation, it wasn't the impeller that was damaged, it was the plate between the pump and the engine. It was a high flow water pump. Yes, air is a culprit, but my radiator was always full as I had no coolant leaks. I was just sharing my experience with the high flow pump. It could be that the coolant never reached a high enough temperature to create the pressure needed to keep cavitation from happening. I don't know. Few car guys have the kind of equipment needed to study that. That is why I threw it out there, for discussions sake and get some constructive feedback. Thank you for coming back and for providing some feedback.
Just because you had a high flow water pump , isn't the reason for the damage to the water pump. Who ever put it in didn't know how to clearance the water pump & divider plate correctly. Thats what caused the damage to the plate not the water pump itself. If that was the case everyone with a high flow water pump would have the same problem. It was a clearance problem from the person who didn't know what he was doing when it was put in.
