Does anyone have a link to example pictures or catalog of the "L
shaped starter bracket" referred to earlier by billgran (Bill
Grannis)?

I have a 1999 Sylvan 21’ bow-rider with a 5.7L Mercruiser which I
purchased used last year. I have had numerous problems with the
starter failing to engage properly with the flywheel, have replaced
starter motor 3 times, replaced the flywheel, had 2 different licensed
Mercruiser mechanics charge me over 2K in repair bills and they both
threw their hands up and stated they don’t know what is causing it to
fail continually.

I read these messages which got me thinking about the possibility of
the starter shifting / flexing away from the flywheel. I jammed a
wooden wedge between the starter housing and a longitudinal rib on the
boat frame and I have not had a problem since. I am cautiously
optimistic this is the cause of my problems and would like to locate a
bracket to fix the starter robustly to the engine block and prevent
shifting.

If anyone has pictures or a link to a site showing this type of
bracket, I would really appreciate it. I would prefer to buy a bracket
off the shelf if possible or I could have one made up. Example
pictures would be really useful in that case.

Thanks,

Mark

"Billgran" wrote:
"Larry W" wrote in message
...
Just a heads-up to anyone replacing a starter in an I/O
Mercrusier.


I replaced one in a 3.0 about a month ago and it was the
first starter
that came with new mounting bolts.

Customer called Sunday with a complaint that the starter was
making a
funny noise. Turns out the long mounting bolt had
failed/sheared off (see
link below). There was nothing unusual about the install and
I know I
didn't over tighten it.



Quite a few years back, MercCruiser, Volvo, and OMC had
starter bolt
breakage problems with the 3.0L motor due to vibration the
first year GM
changed to the small-diameter permanent-magnet starter
housing. Each company
sent out service bulletins about, and incorporated into the
following years
line-up, an L-shaped bracket from the back of the new starter
to the engine
block. The bracket kept the starter from wobbling when the
motor was idling,
thus keeping the bolts intact without breaking.

See your dealer for the bracket and hardware as I'm guessing
that it was
probably not installed and tightened like it should have been.
One bolt on
the back of the correct starter has a threaded stud for the
bracket,
lockwasher, and nut. There is a threaded hole in the engine
block for a
bolt to fasten the other end of the bracket.

Bill Grannis
service manager

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