1999 K2500 Suburban 7.4 - no crank

[Schurkey]

I wasn't able to get the factory heat shield off of the original starter because I don't have the star sockets. Is it really necessary?

ABSOLUTELY. Not only does it shield the starter solenoid from heat, it also shields the knock sensor and wire harness on the 5.0 and 5.7; I'm thinking it does on the 7.4 also.

Take the old starter with the heat shield to the parts store--or a home-improvement/hardware store. I bet you can match-up an individual Torx socket for under ten dollars. Maybe under five.

 

[TexasAggie]

4mm socket pulled it right off. Now that I know how the starter hooks up, I can drop it down in about 10 minutes (especially in the drieway and not the rock patch it was on earlier). I'll pull it tomorrow and put it back on.

 

[TexasAggie]

Got the heat shield back on this afternoon. Changing parts is so much easier the second time you do it! Only had to crawl under the truck twice and was totally done and cleaned up in 20 minutes.