I Thought This Would Be A Great Time To Show This !! 

I can watch videos of wrenching all over the internet but NONE have the same touch of common sense that KENNY offers... Appreciate ya sir... Hope you're enjoying the new shop and co-workers

Good for your shop working on that truck being so rough. Many would pass.

Your customers are very lucky to have a mechanic who thinks about everything and is prepared to work on something like that.

Wow! Thank you Kenny! As a life long "hot rodder" I never even thought of shimming one side to pull the starter gear away from the flywheel/flexplate (tomato/tomato) lol! Congratulations on the new house! It's amazing how life can change in just a few moments! Good job my friend!

Dayum that looks just like my old ‘84 that was the best truck I ever had drove it daily for 25 yrs basically trouble free. Yes had to do starter rhey used to come wit a variety of shims in the box - of course when you turned it started right up thats how those trucks always were

Man,I remember putting a starter in my 89 Cheyanne,super easy! Got the startsr from N-pa and it was done in 15 to 20 minutes. The next day I did it again and a week later I did it again! I never bought a starter from them again after that. Truck went on to run and drive till 2018 with 426,000 miles.

Thats a clean looking shop that you are working in now Kenny, it definitely brightens your videos, which are always great by the way.

You had it right with regardless. Irrespective of that, "keep wrenching". 🙂

Tapered connections at the battery, I can't believe I didn't know that. These are the kind of trucks I grew up on, with a low enough tailgate you could easily sit down on.

Look at that nice, clean, newly painted shop! I was so focused on that shop I could hardly listen to you. Lol. Wish my personal home shop had a floor and walls that looked like that. 😊

Dear Goddess the goober wiring! That poor truck needs a hell of a lot of lovin!

2:58 "It's not rotted". Me looking at the wiper fluid box.

Without transmission in you can check bendix engagement by hooking starter button to solenoid but don’t put main battery cable to the big terminal. Push button and it will throw the bendix out and you can see how it engages without engine spinning.

Great video as always, but I really wanted to hear that truck running!

Hmm I've always measured by ear, never had one too loose. Good information to know!

Air Conditioned shop!!! Happy for you Kenny!

Good job Kenny and hoping you the best in your new job.

For some reason this is the first video I've seen from you pop up for a little while. Looks like you have a new shop. Looks a lot brighter.

How many times I had to measure and shim starters I cannot remember. After about 75 the need to shim became less and less as they made the engines and starters to better tolerances. I do not remember having to shim a starter after the 1985 model year. It was rare from 1975 to 1985. Before 75 we kept shims in stock and often in our toolboxes. Tool companies made gauges to measure the spacing so you could get the exact spacing, but I don't know of anyone who had one.

While you had the 1/8 Allen wrench out you could have shown us how to measure torque converter flex plate gap to help us properly install automatics.

Good topic for a video, you are right thats not a bad square body, fairly well optioned as well with power windows cruise and tilt

Kenny, it looks like the customer has the spirit but not the know how. Maybe he would be a good guy to get on a race team so he can learn what he's doing. Keep the good stuff coming buddy.

I had to adjust the tooth clearance for the starter on my 1986 Monte Carlo. It has a 3.8 liter V6 Buick. I did it by the factory manual procedure. It allowed .020" -.040". I got it to .028". I figured that was close enough. Works great. Wasn't easy but it worked out okay.

Thank you kenny!

Flex exhaust pipe between headers and mufflers, not exactly legal in some states. Excellent explanation on the starter clearance, never seen a gauge of any kind included with a starter though. Good job!

Someone has probably mentioned this before, but irregardless is not a word.

Great opportunity to explain how it works with the transmission removed. I did one of these recently on a late 90's G Van and luckily didnt need the included shim kit.

You were correct with regardless. There is no irregardless. But it’s used a lot by a lot

Hi Kenny, thank you for the interesting video. Next time it would be nice to show what these shims look like and where to put them to tilt the starter's drive gear into proper alignment with the ring gear (maybe while the starter is still on the bench.) Another way would be to put a bit of paint on the drive gear to show the proper contact pattern.

I know,in Australia Holden bolted the T5; Borg Warner 5 speed manual transmission in behind the 3.8 litre Buick LN3 to L27 V6 engines & the 5 speed manual Getrag transmission behind the L36 engines. They had fitted the Mitsubishi type of starter motor into the manual cars because the nose of the Bosch starter motor would foul on the bell housing in the manual cars but the manual starter motor could be fitted into the automatic models !

Nice to show the range of us older guys! Most younger techs have little experience working on the older models. One of the greatest things about non rust belt areas - Classic cars all over ! Nice work!

I still have my Chevy '73, G20, with the same 4bbl Rochester & 350 tm. The starter would CONSTANTLY get out of adjustment, so I had to shimmy underneath (have taller tires than stock) to correct it. You may want to mention this to the owner.

Usually you can use a 3/8th washer to get the proper clearance for stater and flywheel. It goes on the outside bolt on top of the starter between the engine block and starter.

Late one night at a construction site I helped an electrician fix his S10 so he could get home. Had a couple rotten wires we pulled apart and put wire nuts on them. He said he’d do it right later. Saw him like 2 or 3 years later at another site same truck. Asked him if he fixed it right? No still the nuts and tape?

Thank you Kenny, love the tips

Thanks, Kenny always great and informative videos! I wish i could find a technician of your caliber, knowledge, experience, experience and integrity here locally!

Hello Kenny, thank you for the video. Always informative.

OLD Leather Smith here, Kenny it's a FLY WHEEL! I am old school 2. Only 20 years older than you. GOD'S BLESSINGS ✝️⚾🙃

My 454 uses the same 1/8 allen 😮 great tip

Hey Kenny, great video I had no idea about adjusting the starter on GM products! Please make a video of you adjusting the carburetor. I know how to do it, but a lot of the younger guys don’t I think it could be helpful.

Someone brought me a”project” Branco with the same situation had a ford 460 big block and had an issue with the starter basically they didn’t have the shim in place and they had burned up like 5 starters before they brought it in just added the shim kinda looks like a metal gasket but it worked fine after that the gear on the starter had obvious signs of grinding and after ten starts it would be jammed or too hot and useless

Looks like it’s going to be wiring nightmare. Your work is always top notch though!

Great information video. Thank you again ,.

Old skool. Should be fun!!

Kenny thats the BEST VIDEO to date how to check the clearance on a starter I ever saw yes have used shims in the past can the allen key be used on other applications ?? for clerance

Interesting

ac there!!!! ahhhhhh shop looks awesome

NEVER IRREGARDLESS!!

Did someone not have enough coffee today?

Nice wire nut.

Ive had to mill starters to get the best cleace

Say ring gear. Flywheel and flex plate both have them. That will stop the complainers 😁

OK Ken, Another fine video.Thank you for the expert advice on Chevy starter shims. I have heard some Chevy's that just screamed on startup. And sometimes they would go "Zing" and grind because there just wasn't enough room between the starter drive gear and the starter ring gear and the gears would fail to engage. I never mentioned anything because I always drove Mopars and I didn't want to bring an avalanche of rude remarks on myself. I never minded the whine of the gear reduction Chrysler starter, but I heard plenty of comments on it. I always associated that whine w/ reverse in a manual transmission and what can you do about that? Thank you for showing. ben/ michigan

Cool old truck, nice work. Where are these folks finding these old rides? I need to come around that area an find me one.

Rubber fuel line between fuel pump and carburetor is definitely asking for trouble later on.

I'm gonna say something that, if you are a Chebby guy, you will dislike a whole bunch but I just gotta say it. I'm a MoPar guy and some years back I bought an 83 Chevy Malibu wagon mostly because I have a soft spot for wagons. It had a little V-6 with a metric 3 speed. I installed a 350 & a 700R-4. Now for the starter debacle. I installed a reman unit & cranked the engine over. Result, a loud screaming noise. What the . . . . .? I contacted a guy I know who has a lot of experience rebuilding rebuilding Chevy transmissions & asked what was going on. He said that you have to shim starters on that year engine (I was using an late 80s 350). Shim???? He explained & gave me the instructions. Never, never have I had to shim a starter on a Dodge or Plymouth. So I get a package of shims & set the clearance as instructed and the damn thing still screamed when cranking the engine. Not a constant scream but intermittent now. So I get under the car & watch the flex plate as I crank the engine. The ring gear had runout, a lot. I get my handy dandy little dial indicator with a button head & locate it on the outer part of the ring gear & bumped the engine over. Holy crap, over .060" run out. That's 1/16", or close. My thoughts at that time: "How the hell do you set the proper clearance with that?". I study the situation closer and see that there is a noticeable gap on one side between the plate & the ring gear. I went to 2 different transmission parts stores & looked at piles of Chevy flex plates and every one was made exactly like the one I had, a large gap between the plate & ring gear. I suspect that when they weld them at the factory they just start welding at one point and continue around in a circle pushing the ring, due to heat expansion, until there is a gap on a portion of the assembly. I even checked one at a speed shop & it was made exactly the same. I can't remember the name but it was gold colored. I set the clearance on the highest part of the gear & let it ride. It was still noisy but acceptable. What a Mickey Mouse arrangement, very aggravating. You are right, with a transmission in place it is difficult to check the clearance.

The 'flywheel' attaches behind the 'motor'. There I said it.😃

Looks like someone changed the battery cables from GM side post to top post. GM went side post in the 70s and AFAIK didn't go back to top post until after 2000.

How about a flexwheel ?

We wanted to hear it crank

Irregardless it's a FlexiFlywheel. !! 😅

Anyone try the new holly electronic programmable carburetor

i need a link for a small good grease gun

🤗👍👌👏

Loved the "irregardless" joke. Just hearing it usually drives me nuts.

You got to love wire nuts

The only thing that sounds worse to my ears than an old chrysler gear reduction starter....is a GM starter that isn't shimmed properly.

Flexplate or flywheel same dam thing

Oh no ,irregardless lol

A flywheel is a weighted disk to smooth out the minor variations in the engine output. When you design one with starter gear teeth it’s still primary a flywheel but with a secondary function A flexplate is a relatively thin circular disk with the only job to provide a mount for the ring gear for the starter to engage. Calling a flexplate a flywheel is as silly as calling a wheel a flywheel. Love your videos but calling something mechanical by the wrong term is going to get comments for as long as you continue

Irregardless is not a word , just saying

If you have a steady customer base, why do you spend time on these vehicles?

irregardless is not a legitimate term, the "ire" part is not recognized as correct english

Not hard to measure

It’s not bad, looks like a POS to me. Definitely a money pit.