broken starter bolt

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unclesamsurplus
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broken starter bolt

Post by unclesamsurplus » Wed Jun 28, 2006 8:28 pm

if anyone has broken a starter bolt on ther hummer, here is my experience.
my 86 hmmwv made a terrible sound yesterday when i turned the key like RRRRRRRR. i drove it home and shut it down, went to start it and the sound got worse. it wouldn't even roll over.
i got under the truck and rapped on the starter with a pipe but no difference. i took a good look at the bolts and noticed there was only 1 bolt holding the starter on. so i removed it thinking i could go up to the hardware store and buy another but as with most mechanical work, it's never that easy. the second bolt had broken off in the block.
so, i drove up to lowes hardware to pick up a bolt and an easy-out and discovered the bolt was metric and they didn't have one. so i headed over to bay bolt and screw. (a mom and pop shop with every bolt, screw and fastner in the world.) i bought a grade 5 metric bolt identical to the original for $1.50 and a left handed drill bit for $5.00.
got home, shot it wit PB blaster penetrating oil, hit it with a center punch a few times and put the left handed drill bit in reverse.
in 10 seconds the broken bolt pulled right out, 15 minutes to reinstall the starter, shim, wires, and flywheel cover and i was back on the road.
if anyone else out there breaks a starter bolt, hopefully you will have similar ease as i did.
btw: i have always driven ford trucks and never would have had this problem with a ford motor. 3 horizantal bolts seems to me a better design than 2 vertical bolts with a shim but i still would not trade my hmmwv for a ford.


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dilvoy
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broken starter bolt

Post by dilvoy » Wed Jun 28, 2006 9:06 pm

unclesamssurplus, The bolts for the diesel starters are hardened and have a nurled portoin on their shank so they fit tight in the starter bolt holes. The diesel bolts are stronger than the "same looking" gas engine starter bolts. Does your Humvee still have the starter support bracket at it's forward end?
George D. Paxinos

M998
M1123A2

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unclesamsurplus
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Post by unclesamsurplus » Wed Jun 28, 2006 9:49 pm

ruh roh! there was no support bracket. i have 2 spare 6.2's and a spare hydromatic transmission but no bolts or support brackets.
and i thought i was gonna sleep good tonight.
do you have a pic of the support bracket or know where to get 1?

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Post by dunsbr » Wed Jun 28, 2006 10:01 pm

Uncle Sam,

As well as the support braket at the front not being fastened, another source of starter motor bolt failure is incorrect shimming of the starter.

Did you notice if your starter had a shim fitted?
(Its a long plate with an angled end and 2 holes in it)
If so, was it under both bolts?
(They often go askew while being fitted giving an assymetrical load on the bolts.)

Cheers
Brad Dunstan
RHD '87 M1026
(with 4L80E Trans, 242 T/case, 12K hubs, CTIS, A2 wiring, Air Con, A2 ebrake, 9k Winch,
Serpentine Belt Accessory Drive & Eaton e-lockers)

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unclesamsurplus
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Post by unclesamsurplus » Wed Jun 28, 2006 10:38 pm

yes it has a shim and i alligned it correctly during re-assembly. it was properly seated prior to the broken bolt as well.

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Post by dunsbr » Wed Jun 28, 2006 11:31 pm

That's good.

How about the little brace at the front of the starter?

One of the Aussie owners had both bolts break and the starter dropped onto the chassis rails and shorted out! This in turn melted his battery terminal. As all this happened in the outback he had to jack up the truck get a rock and chunk of wood to prop the starter in place while he lowered the truck. The rock and the wood held the starter with enough pressure that he could get the truck started! :shock:

He then removed the wood & rock, insulated the starter connectors and drove home without turning the truck off till he got home 8 hours later!

True story!

Cheers
Brad Dunstan
RHD '87 M1026
(with 4L80E Trans, 242 T/case, 12K hubs, CTIS, A2 wiring, Air Con, A2 ebrake, 9k Winch,
Serpentine Belt Accessory Drive & Eaton e-lockers)

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Post by dunsbr » Wed Jun 28, 2006 11:32 pm

BTW, he never bothered to refit the little bracket on the front of the starter after he had dropped the starter a year or so prior.

Cheers
Brad Dunstan
RHD '87 M1026
(with 4L80E Trans, 242 T/case, 12K hubs, CTIS, A2 wiring, Air Con, A2 ebrake, 9k Winch,
Serpentine Belt Accessory Drive & Eaton e-lockers)

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unclesamsurplus
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Post by unclesamsurplus » Thu Jun 29, 2006 7:40 am

thats unreal. i once broke the throttle linkage in my racecar between qualifying and the main event and had to use one of my boot laces, finished the race in 2nd and trailered it home. the next saturday i was loading it back on the trailer and my girl asked me if i'd changed the throttle linkage. i said, "are you crazy? that bootlace is goodluck."
anyways, i dont have a starter brace and don't see where it would mount. got any pics? i can probably make something up.

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starter bolts

Post by Kurt Lesser » Thu Jun 29, 2006 8:22 am

I was fuelling up one day when I heard a "tink" under the truck. I looked underneath and there was one of the starter bolts laying on the ground!

I've had broken bolts before but attributed it to a missing shim and no front bracket.
Kurt Lesser
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dilvoy
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Broken starter bolt

Post by dilvoy » Thu Jun 29, 2006 8:57 am

I can take a foto tonight and post it tomorrow. The support bracket is held in place at the rear of the square metal engine mount bracket that is attached to the right side of the engine block. It is held in place with the rear two bolts that hold the rubber engine mount (isloator), but the bracket is inside of the square opening of the engine mount bracket. It looks like an upside down "J" and the starter has a bolt that sticks through it. It is just about impossible to see the bracket with the starter installed, but you can if you look through the square engine mount bracket from the front. That's where you would have to go through to attach the nut onto the starter stud.
George D. Paxinos

M998
M1123A2

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hmrbri
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Post by hmrbri » Thu Jun 29, 2006 8:30 pm

i picked up the special bolts from GM for about 20$.
b
'85 M998 converted to M1026
"Back" at 'er!!!

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Post by dunsbr » Thu Jun 29, 2006 9:44 pm

unclesamsurplus wrote:thats unreal. i once broke the throttle linkage in my racecar between qualifying and the main event and had to use one of my boot laces, finished the race in 2nd and trailered it home. the next saturday i was loading it back on the trailer and my girl asked me if i'd changed the throttle linkage. i said, "are you crazy? that bootlace is goodluck."
anyways, i dont have a starter brace and don't see where it would mount. got any pics? i can probably make something up.
Uncle Sam,

here's an illustration out of the TM showing the starter.

It's an odd view and takes a minute or two to get the orientation sorted... :?
( it's drawn as if you are looking through the passenger footwell and chassis rail!!)

But the front bracket we are all talking about is in the "bubble" market "New configuration".

Image

Hope this helps

Cheers
Brad Dunstan
RHD '87 M1026
(with 4L80E Trans, 242 T/case, 12K hubs, CTIS, A2 wiring, Air Con, A2 ebrake, 9k Winch,
Serpentine Belt Accessory Drive & Eaton e-lockers)

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Post by dunsbr » Thu Jun 29, 2006 9:48 pm

Sounds like it's probably a good PM idea to change the bolts occasionally given the experience of such a large percentage of list members.

Cheers
Brad Dunstan
RHD '87 M1026
(with 4L80E Trans, 242 T/case, 12K hubs, CTIS, A2 wiring, Air Con, A2 ebrake, 9k Winch,
Serpentine Belt Accessory Drive & Eaton e-lockers)

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unclesamsurplus
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Post by unclesamsurplus » Sat Jul 01, 2006 10:54 pm

thanks for the helpful advice and illustration. i may make a slight modification to prevent future problems.

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Post by ReconHumvee » Tue Jul 04, 2006 11:28 pm

When I first got my vehicle and drove it home 540 miles, about three days later the starter would not engage and upon discovery found one bolt missing and the other in bad shape, out of desperation I had it towed to the Chevy dealer in Sonoma and the mechanics had a blast fixing the problem and putting it back in the right way with the right bolts and some good ole' locktite, I still check every now and again but knock on wood no further problems that was November 2001. Happy 4th to all and I am tired of doing all these parades. Semper Fi


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