3rd starter issue: Sport 98 GT40 EFI

There's a bushing at the very end of the nose piece that may be worn. Some have a needle bearing instead of a bushing but they wear out too.

That lets the shaft move radially when it shouldn't (when the gears are trying to mesh) and leads to grinding like you describe.

You can buy a new bushing and replace the old one

Or it could be corrosion on the shaft which prevented the pinion gear from fully extending outward on the shaft

Since you didn't say anything about loose mounting bolts letting the starter move around, we'll assume that wasn't the problem .

Myself, I'd say 3 strikes,,,,,,,you're outta there, buy a new starter like mentioned in your other thread and then take this one and let the kid tear into it, do some learning and maybe you'll have a decent spare. with a little work and some parts

Those spare parts come in handy at times like this

Normal CCW rotation GT40 engine, use an Arco 70200 CW rotating starter or anything that cross references to that.

Here's a link to make sure you get the correct rotation starter in case you're confused

link

rakerdeal wrote: It was interesting though how the boat started after replacing that solonoid. I have never had a boat start as quick as that thing was firing up before the grinding episode!

Charles,
I'd say the old start relay had some burnt contacts that didn't allow the full voltage to get to the starter. Bad contacts can be caused by several things but what's common is bad cable connections at the battery, bad and or undersized cables, a bad and or low charged battery or even a deep cycle battery. Many times the contacts in the relay will actually weld together keeping power running to the starter.