I'm having a problem starting my '81 after it warms up. It starts just fine if it has been sitting for an hour or more. If I drive it long enough for the engine to warm up and then shut it off and try to start it, it acts like the battery is weak and its hard to crank over. But if I let it sit for an hour and then try to start it, it'll start right away.

I'd appreciate any help.

 

sounds like a starter going bad.you can pull the starter and have someone check it and it will probably show that it is good since they are not going to get a hot starter.i've had the same problem,starter gets hot ,it starts dragging or justs clicks and autozone couldnt find anything wrong with it.i changed it anyway and it fixed the problem.change the solenoid to.

 

I tend to agree with Larry. This is an old problem with Chevy starters, they get hot and stop working.

 

Everything that I have seen points to the starter, but, if I jump start it with another car when it won't start, it'll turn over just fine and still not start. I'll try changing the starter and see what happens.

Thanks

 

Another thing that may or may not be related is that when I turn it off, it keeps running for a few seconds. It seems to run as long as the electric fan keeps spinning. When the fan stops, the car shuts off. A guy at work said that is a classic timing problem and backing off the timing would fix both problems.

 

When you change the starter put a heat sheild around it. I had the same problem, starter got hot because it was right next to the headers and would bind up until it cooled down. Hope this helps.

 

If your car keeps running with the ignition off (dieseling/after running) it is a different problem. Dieseling is the result of either too much compression or a hot spot in the combustion chamber, and either one can set off the fuel charge off without a spark. Spark timing is not involved because the plugs are not firing at this point. You could try some of the gas additives made to get rid of carbon in the combustion chamber, or colder plugs in case the plugs are running too hot. If this does not work, you may have to pull the heads and clean out the combustion chamber and the valves.

 

I had a 67 camaro years back w/327 it had headers and did the same thing the fix was go buy a ford starter solenoid mount it on the firewall or inner fender away from the heat. put a jumper wire across your stock starter terminals (like u would manually jump it) run the stock ignition switch wire to the ford relay, then add a wire from there to the starter. the ford solenoid takes the place of the stock one and never gets hot. Its been awhile but i think u need to run your battery cables to the ford relay also. It really works, If u can handle having a ford part on your car. good luck.

 

it called a hot soak problem and a lot of chevys have it, all you need to do is install a remote solenoid like Zs said. check out this site
http://www.madelectrical.com/catalog/st-1.shtml
thier the first ones to make a kit for it. there is a lot of good electrical info on there also

 

A lot of these problems can be traced to a bracket that goes from the back of the starter to the block. Everyone just throws them away because they are a pain to put on. I went through 12 starters in one year, finally solved when i put this bracket back on. The starter would bind on the flywheel, causing slow starts when warm and unnessary wear on the bindix. You can get them at any GM dealer for $4.20, pn # 3965589