Starter will not disengage / 1987 Jeep wrangler yj 4.2L inline 6 / manual transmission

Hello, I just bought a new starter from autozone for my jeep. The starter turns the engine perfectly, but if the vehicle starts than it does not disengage from the flywheel. I did not have this issue with my old starter (which I regrettably used for a core charge), and I only replaced it because I am doing a rebuild.

I traded in my new starter for another one and the same issue persisted. shimming the starter has no effect.

Im not sure if the flywheel is aftermarket so maybe its the bendix?

I have a new starter solenoid that worked perfectly on the old starter. I also put on a new ignition coil with the starter. I tried using the old coil however and again no luck.

The only thing that may have messed with it is that I did some work to my steering column, but all I did was replace the blinker switch.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated!

 

Welcome @JBrantley ...think there was a similar thread in the past on this forum. The auto parts store referenced the correct replacement starter for the make, model, year and motor but the problem was discovered when it did not match the original starter resulting in issues.

 

@aggrex Thanks that helps a lot! Autozone sells a different brand of the same starter. I will give that a try and let you know how it goes.

 

I'm thinking a wiring problem to the relay as it is not disengaging and not a mechanical issue.

 

@Jim Beam The 87 wranglers have a solenoid on the fire wall and to not have one on the starter its self (at least not one that you run wires to). There is only 1 positive wire going to the starter and the starter is always grounded.

I replaced the solenoid about 2 months prior to buying a new starter without any issues. Unless I am misunderstanding what you mean by "relay," than I do not think that is the issue.

I did use different new bolts that might not be conductive. It's very doubtful, but maybe it is only grounding to the flywheel causing it to get stuck.

I'm going to try the new starter with the original bolts first and let you know how it goes. Please let me know if I am mistaken about what a relay is.

 

The starter relay is what activates the starter solenoid. If you think you have a starter grounding issue you can run a jumper wire from the battery negative post to the bellhousing or a starter hold down bolt.

 

I believe I fixed the issue. The starter does disengage now.

When I first took the original starter off, I remember a bunch of washers falling and I wasn't sure where they came from. I also noticed dirt in my bell housing. lastly, I realized that the gear on the starter was already engaged to the flywheel just by mounting the starter.

What I concluded is that I had to use washers to distance my starter from the flywheel (and that I should always take pictures before removing a part!). I will also have to make a gasket to bridge the gap so that I don't continue to get dirt on my flywheel.

The one thing I am worried about is getting the starter to far away from the flywheel and only engaging the end of my starter gear. However, I don't think this is the case because I added one washer at a time, and as previously stated, the starter was already engaged when it was properly mounted.

Any guesses why I had to do this? un-properly mounted flywheel, after market flywheel cover plate, ETC?

 

Thank you for all the help! @aggrex @Jim Beam

 

These may not be the correct threads but do a search to get some ideas

https://www.jeeps.net/threads/installed-a-new-starter-now-theres-a-gap.4520/#post-34955

https://www.jeeps.net/threads/im-in-87-yj-starter-hell-please-help.76/#post-27068

 

Interesting, glad you figured it out. These might help:https://www.oreillyauto.com/shop/b/...er-bolts--shims---hardware-17573/4e4dacdcbb9d
I have not had any issues replacing starters as of yet, I guess it like setting up differential gears where a clearance distance is required:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucG-yh4oiLU