Drill a hole in your engine block???

[Flyman 27]

I had the problem with an intermittent no-start condition. After a few days of trouble shooting I figured out that it was the starter itself. So I was well on my way to my first plenum pull and did quite a bit of searching online to see what I could find.

I found a GM Service Bulletin #92-307-6 (09/21/1992) that describes the starter fail and what the GM recommendations are to the Dealers. Obviously they recommend replacing the starter with the corroded Solenoid and say that the problem was caused by insufficient drainage in the "Vee" area of the block (where the starter resides). My drain was plugged solid.

The Bulletin recommends cleaning out the valley drain and also recommends drilling a 3/8" diameter hole in the valley at the rear of the block to add additional/necessary drainage.
It took me awhile to adjust to the idea of drilling a hole in my lt5 engine block, it seemed kinda gutsy.
BUT, I had no luck in cleaning out the OEM drain, no matter what I tried, carb cleaner, brake cleaner, degreaser, etc. Nothing would loosen the clog and it was hard as a rock, I couldn't poke anything through it no matter how I tried. I was able to drill out the clog up to the 90 degree turn, but that was it.

So, I drilled the hole to the dimensions in the SB and it worked great without hitting anything unintended. So the service bulletin was correct and it did work.

If you suffer a starter fail, maybe you should consider the same?

You can do your own search online for "GM Service Bulletin #92-307-6" it is fairly easy to find. So you can verify it yourself.