TONY stuck in IOWA with aarons car

[xtremelumina92]

Hey guys Tony just called me (5speedZ34) and he is stuck in Iowa with the Z34 he just bought, he thinks it is a starter, My question is, DOES the 3X00 starter bolt up and which one would work with the compression on that car? 10:1. I hope someone can respond asap cuz he is awaiting my call. Later All Jay

[Doubt_Incarnate]

i tried cross referencing numbers at carparts.com. the numbers are different for a 99 3100 and a 92 tdc starter, but that doesnt mean it wont work. I'd try it if its all i had to work with.

[xtremelumina92]

I told him to just keep driving and try not to shut it off, the way he explains it it sounds like the solonoid on the starter, he said he;s gonna be at Bens tomorrow so i said just fix it there. He sortta wanted to have it fixed at a shop, and i told him it's his call, hes in the middle of no where. SO i think he is gonna tough it out and drive to bens and just keep a hammer with him to hit it a little if it won't start. Thanks Jay

[Fierobsessed]

Throw it on, it will work. I used a 2.5L starter on mine and it didnt give me any trouble. and thats a little POS 8.5:1 4 cyl.

[Kohburn]

most gm starters will work - I was going to use the fiero 2.8 starter on my dohc till I stipped the cable stud ont he solenoid - when I swapped it out for the dohc starter the only real difference was the stud diameter and threading..

[SappySE107]

It will swap over just fine. I bet the problem is with the battery being in the trunk. Been there, done that.

[BlueShift]

My 2.5, 2.8, and 3.4TDC starters all appear to be the same thing, at least functionally. I might very well try a 3x00 starter sometime, as I hear they're smaller (Gear reduction?). Heard that the power stud will be a different diameter than the TDC's but it should work.

[your_I.D.]

It will swap over just fine. I bet the problem is with the battery being in the trunk. Been there, done that.

Ditto, gotta run a 1/0 battery cable to remedy that. Along with a ford type starter solinoid inline. Jump the starter solinoid wire to starter battery post. Run original solinoid wire to ford solinoid "S" connection.

[5speedz34]

Well, when I was at Ben's shop Ben and I ran some new starter cables. The car was ran like a re-re.

Last night I tried starting it after a 2-day hiatus and it still wouldn't start. So a friend and I bypassed it all with jumper cables and tried jumping the car off it's own battery, and that didn't work. Then we hit the starter and that worked fine. So we figured starter.

I went to the local auto parts place, and they have maybe about 1000x different starters for the 3x00 line. I ended up finding the smallest one being for a '99 Malibu and bought that. We got the starter out (yeah remove oil cooler!) and got it tested and it was fine, so I guess I'm going to replace the starter anyways and rewire the battery cables.

Some people are just stupid.

[5speedz34]

Well, my friend ended up replacing the starter while I was in class today....

It cranks awesome now, the only thing is when I turn the key the tach jumps everywhere but it starts and idle's fine. Any ideas?

[BMFH]

Hello 5speedz34 and all

Check "ALL YOUR GROUND CONNECTIONS" with a DVOM and make sure you have a "0" resistance conncetion. Bad grounds cause more problems on these high tech electronicly controlled cars than anything else.

Check that the tach wiring is not routed close to the starter/battery cables, The high amperage draw from the starter during starting may be induced into the tach wiring and effecting the tach signal. If the tach has 12 volts supplied to it, make sure that the voltage supplied is not being interrupted during starting. Check all tach wiring connections for a GOOD, tite and secure connection and or splice.

I know that you will get the bugs out, just perservere.

Take Care, hope this helps

John

[5speedz34]

Thanks, well I'll look at the tach wires and see what's up with it.

[your_I.D.]

body grounds , body grounds check and double check

Did you run a new ground cable from battery to block?