alright so i just finished my z6 swap and I went to start it and the car would barely turn over. the starter was really straining so I thought I had the wrong one and went and got one out of a del sol s. same thing was happening. the motor was fine before I put it in the car, but now that its in, I can barely move it. Im wondering if I mistakinly put the clutch in backwards. is this even possible? Im just getting really frustrated and any info would be appreciated.

 

Yes its possible to put the clutch plate in backwards, but its very hard to do. The clutch springs face twords the pressure plate. Make sure you use a clutch alignment tool btw, everything has to be aligned.

 

thanks for the info.

 

Make sure all your cables are in good shape, connected correctly and that they have not rust on them whatsoever. Ensure that you have a ground wire from the transmission case to the chassis. Honda starters tend to be very picky about stuff like that. Also ensure your battery is fully charged.

You should be able to turn the crank pulley by hand, or you can put a socket on it and turn it, it should turn with little resistance. Make sure the transmission is in neutral.

Putting a clutch in backwards would be possible, but very unlikely as the disk would hit the flywheel, and be very noticeable.

 

if its having trouble cranking in neutral its not the clutch. is there enough power gettin to the starter? grounds? maybe its just been sitting and it needs to be driven abd broken in

 

the motor turned over fine when it was on the engine stand but once I got it int the car I had all I could to turn it with a 1/2 inch drive ratchet. its getting enough power to the starter, but it just cranks slow like some thing is bound up.any other ideas you guys might have?

 

IF you tried another starter, there has to be a problem in the cabling to the starter. Run a direct ground from the transmission case to the battery negative, and see if that improves it. Check your power wire for cuts and nicks as well.

What did you use to make sure that the power is actually getting to the starter, and not being lost "en route" due to resistance?

 

i used my voltmeter. but I dont think its something with the wiringthe starter is just straining to turn the motor. I cant turn it over even by hand but I could before I put it in

 

What was the voltage drop across the starter motor itself?

I would start wondering if the clutch has something to do with it, does it grind at all near the bellhousing?

 

yes unfortunatly I found this motor in a junkyard and the part of the motor that the bottom starter bolt threads into was broken. there is a big hole right where the starter is at. i stuck a bolt through and put a nut on the back of it through the hole.(I made absolute sure the nut didnt hit the flywheel)when I had the first starter in it I noticed that the gear was not fully retracting. the teeth were binding. got another starter. made the same noise, but was retracting which leads me to believe that something is wrong with the clutch/flywheel.

 

Even if the starter pinion stays meshed with the flywheel/flexplate, it would overrun and produce a lot of noise, not harmful, but annoying. There is a one way clutch that locks to turn the flywheel, and freewheels in the opposite direction if the engine tries to drive the starter to protect itself.

 

so just got another trans and guess what? SAME GOD DAMN THING!!! im about ready to push this car off a cliff.anyone ever used a remanned crankshaft from advance auto?thats what I got and I think the thing is juiced. maybe the bottom end is out of round? causing tomuch pressure on the crank? does this sound like a reasonable assumption?

 

since you had to rig the starter it might not be aligned perfectly as it would be originally... maybe too much pressure against the flywheel and its straining the starter. it could be off by as little as just a millimeter or less, which could be enough to give you this problem.