I have a 75 camaro just finaly got finished changing the intake and carb went to start it to try it out and nothing. Car started fine before hand but now the starter will just click. I took off the flywheel cover and watch the starter come out and sometimes get hung up. I've tried shimming it thinking it was to close but with three shims still hangs and doesn't turn the flywheel. You can turn the flywheel by hand. I thought maybe its leaning are misaligned now because the front was on jackstands for like a week but like I said started fine before so I'm stumped. Any ideas or sugestions to try? Anything would be much appreciated just want to hear it run so thanks.

 

The front end could be crushed and it wouldn't affect the engine/starter alignment. These are solidly connected together, and should line up still if they weren't removed during other work.
You can pull the solenoid off the starter, and manually pull the plunger forward to see if the gear engages the flywheel. You may have to turn the starter gear slightly to get it to mesh so you can see if it's good. Disconnect the battery first, so as not to have any issues.
If it lines up and meshes with the flywheel, then the problem is not the starter, but most likely either a weak battery, bad connection, or bad solenoid.

 

Ummmmm...battery ran down from sitting perhaps? Is the car sitting in the cold weather? Have you tried a battery charger or jumping it?

 

I'll have to try that this afternoon thanks. I did take the flywheel cover off and can see the plunger come out and engauge the flywheel but nevr turn just make the normal starter trying to start sound. I can manualy turn the flywheel its a little hard but I assume thats normal and theres no reason for the engine to have locked up anyhow. I have also taken the starter out and taken it to advance and it checks good. I also tried a known good battery to make sure that wasn't a issue. Its got me stumped it worked fine before.

 

oh yeah sorry I forgot to also say that when the gear comes out and engages the flywheel it gets stuck there even after the start switch is let go. I thought this would mean it was to close so i put up to a whole pack of shims on and nothing. I thought it was odd to even have to try the shims, seeing how it started fine just a week earlier.

 

sounds like a bad connection somewhere, positve or ground wire is not connecting right. was the battery ground wire hooked to one of the intake manifold bolts? take a jumper cable and hook one end of one of the cables (black one) to the negative side of the battery hook the other end to the motor and see if the extra ground makes a difference. also wire brush the heck outa the battery terminals and wire ends.

 

Thanks craby I'll give that a look as well. Do you know off hand where it should be hooked up. I thought it grounded to case are something cause when I took it out nothing hapened when I pushed the button nothing happened then when I touched the starter to the chasis starter wound. I currently have 4 wires hooked up to my starter. 1 battery, 1 what I assumed was ignition cause its on the same post as battery, and the other 2 are for a start switch to bypass the one in the column thats gone bad.

 

For the best ground, attach the negative cable from the battery to the engine block. Doesn't matter where on the block, find a convenient bolt (motor mount, intake, etc.). Then make sure you also have a body ground wire (10 gauge is a good size) connected either from the block to the frame, or from the neg battery terminal to the frame.

 

so will the starter have a cable hooked to the block as well, or is it self grounding to the block?

 

The starter will be grounded by being bolted to the engine.