Starter Bolts breaking on 1994 Signature 170

[Frank from Philly]

Yo guys!,
Anybody have problems with the Starter bolts breaking off on the 4 cylinder GM Engine in a 1994 Signature 170?
This has happened to me 4 times, and 3 times I hadda pull the engine out to drill the broken bolts outta the block!
I wanted to kill myself!

Now I'm gonna tighten and torque the bolts each time I use the boat.
That's a pain in the wazoo, but I don't know what else to do...

Any suggestions?

-------FfP

 

[OldSkool]

Sounds like a poor fit of the starter or the bendix gear is wrong. Do the bolts loosen up before they break or just snap off? Does the engine try to backfire while starting? This could cause stress on the starter. Can you trace the problem back to when a component was changed or modified on the engine? If you recently replaced the starter make sure you have the correct one. Make sure you have the correct rotation starter if you just replaced it. Starters just don't come loose without outside help.