Metal on metal ticking sound???

[lakeholme]

Any suggestions as to what could cause an occasional metal on metal ticking sound in the general area of the fly wheel?
It is not constant and seems to go away well before the PG shifts.
I've pulled the cover and do not see anything wrong....
Thanks in advance for any suggestions as to what it might be.

[My68SS]

Is it a 'per crank revolution' tick? Thin 'tinny' sound or harder, more solid metal sound?
Crack in the flexplate maybe? Starter motor throwout not fully retracting? ummm.....

[JohnZ]

Are all three converter-to-flexplate bolts tight?

[lakeholme]

The bolts are tight. I've never thought of them working loose. Do they tend to do that? That would be worth knowing. Thanks John.
The sound is more solid metal.
The flexplate looks all right as best one can tell without more than just taking the cover off.
The starter throwout may very well be it...
Going to check that next. Thanks!

[lakeholme]

It was the starter throwout. All I had to do was realign it and tighten the bolts. A lot easier and cheaper than some other possibilities. Thanks again.

[My68SS]

It was the starter throwout. All I had to do was realign it and tighten the bolts. A lot easier and cheaper than some other possibilities. Thanks again.

Excellent!

[JohnZ]

It was the starter throwout. All I had to do was realign it and tighten the bolts. A lot easier and cheaper than some other possibilities. Thanks again.

Do you have the starter brace installed from the forward end of the case to the block? If you leave that off, it causes lots of problems - the two-bolt attachment at the nose wasn't designed to support the cantilevered weight of the entire starter.

[lakeholme]

Which explains why the problem came on gradually!  Thanks, John.
In my defense, I did not install this one, my mechanic's son did. And they did not charge me to do it.  So, I guess you get what you pay for...
I drove the car on two AACA tours of over 500 miles each this summer, but before the first one we switched out the starter attempting to deal with the 68 starter heat problems.  Both trips the temperature in the shade was in the high 90s, which played havoc with several of the other 50s and 60s  cars on the tours. 

[jdv69z]

I've replaced several starters over the years in my Chevys, and I have never taken one out that actually had that brace in place. Seems common? Are there that many Bubbas out there that are too lazy, or whatever to put it back in? If it weren't for reading about it here, I would know it existed, cause I've never removed one from any car I've worked on.

Jimmy V.

[JohnZ]

I've replaced several starters over the years in my Chevys, and I have never taken one out that actually had that brace in place. Seems common? Are there that many Bubbas out there that are too lazy, or whatever to put it back in? If it weren't for reading about it here, I would know it existed, cause I've never removed one from any car I've worked on.

Jimmy V.

It's VERY common for Bubba not to put that brace back on when changing the starter, because it takes extra time and effort. It was put there originally to support the cantilevered weight of the armature case, maintain starter alignment, and to prevent damage to the Bendix drive and the starter nose. Chevrolet didn't add the cost of the boss on the block, drilling and tapping the 5/16"-18 hole in the boss, adding the brace, and adding the threaded stud extension on the starter armature case top bolt because it wasn't necessary.

[lakeholme]

Thanks John, for the fix and the explanation.

[click]

 My car was missing the brace too. suppliers had 3 different kinds, part numbers. Got it right on the 2nd try.