6.5 starter issues revisited

[Robyn]

Hello to all those unhappy souls having issues with starters on the 6.5 diesel

Getting to the starter wiring and the front support bracket are not at all hard, and need not result in hair pulling, blood letting and all manner of misery.

The secret is to jack up the RIGHT FRONT WHEEL (Block the rig for safety)
Remove the tire/wheel, then remove the rubber inner fender flap.

You will then have a great view of the wiring, the front starter support bracket and a whole host of other items you were thoroughly convinced were impossible to reach with normal human hands and tools.

The one item that can wreak havoc on your starter, starter main bolts and from there to the engine block, followed closely by a serious evacuation of your wallet is the front starter bracket.

I commonly refer to this little beast as the "TAIL HOOK"

This little piece of steel angle is a very important item and should NEVER NEVER BE LEFT OFF.

Did I say NEVER LEAVE IT OFF

The tail hook takes a lot of torque load off the starter while it cranks the engine.

The starter pinion is trying to climb the ring gear and thus it really strains the two main bolts.

The hook supports the front facing end of the starter.

You will see in the one piccy a shot looking in to the area where the starter fits and there is a RED colored bolt. This is where the one end of the hook fastens, and the other end bolts to the long stud on the starters forward facing end cap.

You can buy a hook from GM (Part #23502557) or you can easily make one from a piece of steel angle.

The pix show the dimensions well.
The bolt hole/slot are 5/16"
The steel is 1/8" thick

You can use 1/8" x 1"x 1" angle or 1-1/4" angle The actual GM PART WAS A STAMPING and is about 1-1/8"

The size need not be perfect, just the location of the holes is the important part.

The included pix show the starter with the hook attached as well as all the dimensions.

You dont have to cut the nice radius in the one side if you don't want to.

The factory part has changed over the years some, but the function is the same.

Be sure to use a metric bolt in the block and use a grade 5 or equiv.

Adding some never seaze to the threads is a good idea.

More pix on the next post

[Robyn]

More piccy's for the starter Shtufffff

[Robyn]

We will leave this tutorial up here for a time then maybe move it to the tech forum for easier access.

I do hope that the explanation and pix help alleviate the mysteries of the 6.5 starter.


Missy

[Robyn]

Here is the final installment.

The pix show a great shot of the tail hook on the block and the starter, as well as the routing of the wiring down under the formed area of the rear of the heat shield.

Also shown is the little loop strap that fastens the wiring to the top of the frame.

With the starter in place, all the wiring should lay nice and easy with enough slack to allow the solenoid wire (little one) to connect easily, as well as the main 12 cable.

Note

The OEM 12v cable has an alignment tab on it that faces to the outside.

The piccy shows the orientation well

All this is easily reached with the rubber flap off the inner fender.

Even the tail hook bracket bolt on the block is an easy task with the fingers.
An extension and a 13 mm wiggle socket will allow the bolt on the side of the block to be tightened with minimal bother.

Task complete

Missy

[a5150nut]

That CAT yellow sure shows the rest well.

[Robyn]

Yup

I thought about using the old CAT WHITE but ??????

Just tired of the black.

The Cat yellow is always good when engaging in a BS session with the young stud muffins that are bragging up their BRAND X bada$$ trucks and calling trash on the old six and a half's

I just tell them about my Cat powered DAHOOOOLEY

Most of these guys don't have a clue and are certain that some old lady certainly can't rebuild or transplant an engine

The Son in law wants to repaint the Rig Black and put a really nice flat bed on it.

It would look good to badge it up with some "Cat Power" stickers .

The Widdle yellow motor would cinch the BS story eh ???

Missy

[a5150nut]

Best way to shovel BS is to toss in just a few facts. . . .

[Robyn]

Facts

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat, and ruin a good BS story

[a5150nut]

A few Facts just make it believable!

[Robyn]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Ok

Ahhhhh, it's yellow, so it has to be a Cat