1993 6.5 broken cracked starter bolt hole

Hello everyone I'm new to this form I'm 21 and enjoy working on older trucks, and is a truck collector myself of a few different breeds of classics, I'm dealing with a cracked starter bolt hole and I'm wondering what my options are if I can have it welded in the truck or if there's something I can do to make it solid again, I really need this truck operational ASAP as I don't want to be driving my old square body's around in the salt, it's my 3rd diesel I've owned, anyways going forward I purchased this truck a week ago and before I got it home the darn starter started grinding and found the rear brace was just dangling from the block as someone in the past was too lazy in to re connect it, it's a nice truck clean interior engine has 288k runs amazing starts amazing from what I've noticed so far. was owned by a 90 year old man before me and had some local traveling mechanic work on it from what I heard. I really don't want to pull the engine if I don't have to, I'm very mechanically inclined and can do it but I'm on a time crunch of needing it, it's a 1993 GMC 3500 dually manual transmission. I thought of getting a starter relocation kit for it but don't know if it's worth it for the miles it has and money is tight right now

Welcome aboard!

That crack looks fairly early. Not too bad for a fix. Have a local machine shop install a Lock-n-Stitch insert. You can DIY, but it has to be perfect to be effective, and a one-off doesn't justify the tooling required. From there, new OEM starter bolts and a functional support bracket should get you past this. Check the ring gear for damage, while you're in the neighborhood.

Here's another unique option:

https://leroydiesel.com/products/sta...broken-blocks/

However, it's still a bunch of work; you'll have to remove the transmission to install this kit, and then you end up with a unique starter that won't be readily available if you ever need to replace it. But it might be an easier option than pulling the engine and having the block repaired, and is fully DIY.

Casey

I've seen some good welding repairs for this problem. I recommend finding someone who is experienced with it. Now's not the time to learn how to weld cast iron.

Going forward, this kind of problem is always because #1 - The front starter support bracket has broken over time and is no longer supporting the weight of the front of the starter - allowing it to flex up/down due to vibration till there's a bolt problem, #2 - Or, someone didn't reinstall the front support bracket when changing the starter.

This problem used to be epidemic back in the 1980s, when the 6.2L diesel used a much heavier starter. Nowadays, it's a much rarer problem with the 6.5 and it's lighter starter. But...