After 10 years, I finally fixed my starter....
Ever since I've had this '82 engine, the starter has never engaged the teeth on the flexplate properly. It's always made an awful grinding noise. I always thought it was due to the fact that the outer starter mounting ear on the block had been broken off and welded back on. I had tried new (reman) starters, various shim combinations, new flexplates, and all the other ideas, but never did any of them help until last night.
My starter failed (again...one of those lifetime reman units), this week, but this time I decided to buy a new 6.5L starter, not reman, from DB Electrical. I installed a DB electrical starter on my Tahoe back in April, and was really pleased with it. Well, the new DB starter bolted up to the block with no shims and no noise! It's extremely quiet, so much so that I can't believe it! After all these years, I finally have a starter that sounds sweet!
If you guys ever need a new starter or alternator, I highly recommend DB Electrical. They're great to work with, reply quickly to emails, and have fast shipping. Their products seem like really high quality. You can't beat the prices either.
And yes, I did install the proper starter bracket for the new gear-reduction starter.
Casey
