starter question May 25, 2008, 11:39:34 PM Alright this isnt a hur hur question... it may sound like it but here goes..the ONLY thing other than insurance that is keeping me from driving the bird right now is the starter.It has its moments, it'll spin perfect, but it wont turn the motor. I loosen up the bolts, push the starter towards the flywheel more and tighten back up.... she'll crank and stay running. kill it, and i have to loosen everything back up and so it all over again....everything is tight when i start the car, im a strong person.... the starter was tight it just seems to vibrate back every time.any ideas? Quote Selected
starter question Reply #1 – May 26, 2008, 01:17:04 AM AC Delco 1992 mustang starter my old on in my 87 T-bird locked up so i changed to that never another probelm and starts up like a new car everytime. Quote Selected
starter question Reply #2 – May 26, 2008, 02:41:07 AM I would guess that maybe the starter isn't sitting right so its not engaged all of the way, and might have messed up your fly wheel... It could also be a bad starter. Try hammering on it with something while its cranking. Maybe the arm swing thing is stuck or doesn't always engage... I'd try a new starter to see if the problem changes... Quote Selected
starter question Reply #3 – May 26, 2008, 08:06:48 AM Could be a bad bendix (the part with the gear that engages to spin the flywheel).New starter time. Quote Selected
starter question Reply #4 – May 26, 2008, 10:55:23 AM you all make it sound so easy to change my starter on my car lmao..gotta drop the passengerside header to do it :D lol Quote Selected
starter question Reply #5 – May 26, 2008, 11:00:39 AM But the mini starters are so much smaller.I just bought a brand new one (with the little extra wire needed) for $57.00 shipped from Ebay...brand new.It was 6 pounds. Quote Selected
starter question Reply #6 – May 29, 2008, 09:03:02 AM are you not running the serperator plate between the block and tranny? If you are there should be NO play to even move the starter towards the flywheel AT ALL.... Quote Selected
starter question Reply #7 – May 29, 2008, 10:20:17 AM Quote from: 1WLD BRD;221110are you not running the serperator plate between the block and tranny? If you are there should be NO play to even move the starter towards the flywheel AT ALL....x2 but you beat me to it.your sig (Demon) says you have a 5 speed. A little secret here ill share>>Automatic starters are different than standard starters. ALSO AND THE IMPORTANT PART IS>>THe diameter of a standard starter ***nose*** is about 1/16 - 1/8'' larger than an auto starter.WHat this means is if your hole in the separater plate is too large for your starter nose to set in and not move, the mounting ears on your starter has play and will allow it to move.My first thoughts when you posted was this,,,,,,,,,,,At some point in time, someone replaced the tranny with a 5sd but did not install the standard drive separator plate. Yes the PN's are different for this reason. I can only assume that since the standard starter did not fit in the little "automatic" hole, the opening was ground out just a little so the standard starter would fit. Doing this leads you down the path to future failure of the ring gear as well as the bendix. This is what happened to me when a shop in NC did my 5sd swap in the wifes bronco. They just made the separator plate starter hole larger. From this point forward my alignment issue cropped up to the end result of 3 starters/two flywheels and one ring gear before i figured it all out.The separater plate hole for the starter is smaller for the auto starter.The separator plate hole for the starter is larger for the standard starter.What you need to do and what i did for my 351 5speed swap>>>Remove the aluminium nose off your starter ( you will thank me later)carry the nose with you to several bone yards until you find a separator plate that allows your starter nose to fit nice and snuggly. once you found the separator that works,, install it and your issue will be solved.The bendix will get worn out if you keep this up and as well the ring gear on the flywheel. The bendix is cheap to be had and the flywheel ring gear is to.hope this helps but my thoughts are your 5spd is not original and this minor issue gets overlooked often when people do 5spd swaps.I know your thinking, "whats this guy talking about, he's crazy". Your problem boils down to one thing and one thing only. STARTERS must fit in the hole provided with NO side to side play. If you have side to side play, you have just found your problem. Now to find out if the existing separator plate is just simply worn out / has been modified in the past / is not original / is missing ect ect is up to you. Happy hunting but this is going to be a challenge to figure out if you dont have much verbal or written history on the car.nonetheless, you do have a problem that will require a day of down time to fix. Quote Selected
starter question Reply #8 – May 29, 2008, 11:40:11 AM Quote from: 87thunderbirdBlackJack;220685I loosen up the bolts, push the starter towards the flywheel more and tighten back up.... she'll crank and stay running. I have to go with 1_Wld_Bird and jcassidy on this one.That one sentence above told the whole story for me… soon as I read that I thought “THAT’S not right” that starter should only mount in one spot, there should be no play, you should not be able to “push the starter towards the flywheel” or anywhere else for that matter. If you can, then you need to find out why. The plate Aligns the starter with the flywheel, and holds it in place. The bolts simply hold it up in there, they will not align it, nor were they ever intended to.Your combination of PLATE, STARTER, FLYWHEEL is incorrect. Since you can move the starter the PLATE/STARTER combo is defiantly wrong.Your PLATE “or” your STARTER may be the correct one for the Flywheel. Your biggest dilemma, what piece(s) of the three part combo are incorrect. IF as jcassidy suggest you find the STARTER(nose) that matches your PLATE this doesn’t mean you have the correct FLYWHEEL, and if not it still won’t work.FLYWHEEL/PLATE match , wrong STARTER, still won’t workFLYWHEEL/STARTER match , wrong PLATE, still won’t workPLATE/STARTER match , wrong FLYWHEEL, still won’t work Fella on the FFCobra web site named NiceGuyEddie chased this for Months a year or two ago, I believe his final resolution involved finding a complete factory setup in a u-pull it and buying the whole set. Searched for his thread but couldn’t find it. Quote Selected
starter question Reply #9 – May 31, 2008, 09:30:33 PM E1 flywheelM/T spacerA/T starterI orderd a mini starter, my header rubbed up against my starter throwing the pitch off. Quote Selected
starter question Reply #10 – June 04, 2008, 09:28:10 AM Quote from: 87thunderbirdBlackJack;221479E1 flywheelM/T spacerA/T starterI orderd a mini starter, my header rubbed up against my starter throwing the pitch off.you still have not metnioned which car you are talking about.Does M/T mean manual transmission?Does A/T mean Automatic tranmission?how did you end up with an automatic starter and a manual transmission spacer in the first place?I'm not sure why you think getting a mini starter will cure anything, its still going go move until you get it properly mounted. The spacer hole is too large for an automatic starter. Your combo says you have the wrong spacer per my post earliler and the reasons why its wrong. Quote Selected
starter question Reply #11 – June 04, 2008, 10:45:40 AM Quote from: 87thunderbirdBlackJack;220685the ONLY thing other than insurance that is keeping me from driving the bird right now is the starter.look guy.I bought a specific M/T (manual transmission) block plate. I just did the 5speed conversion over the winter. and i just reused my starter to save me some money at the time. I figured it would work, and it did all winter.just until recently it decided to be a little [insert word here] Quote Selected
starter question Reply #12 – June 04, 2008, 11:01:49 AM I swapped mine a while back. The T5 separator plate came from an 88 mustang GT. I re-used my automatic starter and it works fine. I might be an isolated case. I haven't had to monkey with it at all. It engages perfectly every time on the first crank and never grinds. I just threw it in there, sinched it up, and it works great. I guess if it goes out I'll probably do what VinnietBird did and get a mini starter off ebay. Quote Selected
starter question Reply #13 – June 04, 2008, 11:18:12 AM The T5 starter and the auto starter are exactly the same Quote Selected
starter question Reply #14 – June 04, 2008, 03:04:13 PM hell, the mini starter from ebay is cheaper than a reman at advance...hell yeah. mine should be in today sometime...and possibly in the car tomorow. Quote Selected
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