hello, i have recently had to drill and tap both starter mounting holes and i went up in size to 7/16 using heli coils. to make matters worse the ear of the outside hole has been snapped off. the vehical is a 1997 awd blazer 4.3l vortek. the starter will mount up tight but however its not catching,just a little scrape then spins. any ideas would be helpfull. i realy would hate to get rid of my truck over a starter.thanks!

If it bolts up tight AND lined up, sounds like a starter issue

The ear on the starter is broken off?


Are the teeth on the starter stripped? Or the flywheel?


Might be best to replace the starter if the ear is broken off, if the teeth are stripped then you really need to replace the starter. If the flywheel teeth are stripped then it's a bigger repair.

its not lined up properly and i need some ideas on how to line it up. it seems as if its about 1/8 away from the wheel towards the outside of truck

the ear on the block is broken. teeth are fine on starter and flywheel. it seems like the starter is to far away from the flywheel. any ideas on how to get it closer

adapt a bigger gear onto the starter?

or get the starter lined up and weld it on

adapt a bigger gear on starter sounds like a good idea but is it possible to do and where would i find such a thing. welding would be an option but can you weld aluminum to steel

if the holes on the engine block are to far back now, maybe grinding larger holes into the starter will allow you to bolt it up closer to the flywheel with the holes currently on the truck

good luck

i will give that a try and thank you. i am a little worried about the nose cone snapping if i take away its material but i am at a point where i have to try anything i can. i like my truck and dont want to loose it over this

Dude your not gonna lose it. If anything bring it to a garage

do you happen to know if there is a starter that will have the same gear but also have larger mounting bracket?