new clutch, and now intermittent starting issues

[mishikwest]

Did a clutch job myself, new flywheel too. Now I have an intermittent starting problem. Starts fine in the morning, but then will frequently not start when hot. Hear the click of the solenoid throwing. If I rock the thing in gear and turn the ignition it will fire. (Whacking the starter alone with a hammer doesn't do anything.) Trying to determine if there is something weird with the new flywheel teeth or my starter is going bad. Seems like a strange coincidence though. any ideas?

[MY1PATH]

the whacking trick doesn't seem to work on these rigs unless you have stuck solenoid. My 89 just took a dump too, I pulled it out and found the motor brushes were far too worn out. (250k on one starter) But if its a heat related problem you may need a replacement.

 

I can't imagine having any teeth issues the starter only goes in one way and as long as you used a pathfinder flywheel (not one for another VG; M30,Z31, z32, etc...) the flywheel teeth are the same.

[Precise1]

Check you connections and wires, move any as far away from the exhaust manifolds as possible. When you had the starter out, did you flush it out? I used 2 cans of electrical cleaner on mine...

 

B

[BowTied]

Speaking from experience on other vehicles, X2 on connections from the battery all the way to the starter. Also make sure you don't have a wire that is touching the manifold or other hot surface and is shorting out when hot. Or it could be coincidence the starter was on its way out when you did the clutch.

[BowTied]

And clean all the grounds.