Starter won't disengage-1981 200 six

[Roddy73]

Hi guys, I have an 81 200 out of a mustang in my 64 ford van. The previous owner replaced the starter, relay, and ignition switch but latley the starter won't disengage if it has to spin for a bit. Sometimes it won't turn over and I have to rock the van in gear a bit for it to release.

I removed the starter lead from the relay and tested it with a multimeter and it stops the voltage as soon as I let go of the key so I think the starter is the problem.

Does the starter need shimming? And how do I properly shim it?

Thanks,

Rod

 

[Asa]

is there any interference when it cranks, does it "scream" at all?

the shims are pretty easy to install, just drop the starter and put the shim between the starter and the bellhousing, then crank down the bolts

you might check the part numbers if you can, there is a difference between an auto and manual starter, that can cause interference

 

[Roddy73]

No it sounds normal when it cranks, just if the motor doesn't fire right away it stays out and winds up to that horrible noise!

So the shims go on all the bolts at once, I thought maybe they were to straighten out an uneven mating surface.

I will check that he bought the right starter too, the bell housing and the motor don't really look like they belong together though. Who knows what they did to rig it up to the old van transmission.

Thanks

 

[Roddy73]

I just crawled under to look and the top of the bellhousing doesn't match up to the back of the block, it doesn't use those two top holes in the block. It looks like they had to use a lower bellhousing to fit in the van's doghouse.

The numbers on the manifold are EDBE 6080-8 (from what I could read) and OR 103460 on the block down by the oil pressure sender. Someone wrote 81 mustang on the exhaust "coffee can" so I guess that's where it came from.

 

[Marine05]

Since the motor is from an 81, I am guessing that it is a low mount starter. They prolly have the wrong starter on it from the parts store. Go down to your local parts store and pick up a starter for 5.0L mustang around those years and it will bolt directly up and you wont have to shim it. No hassles and relatively cheap.

 

[MPGmustang]

Any luck Rod?

 

[Roddy73]

I can't find a shim for it, only for chev's. I might see if I can put thin washers on the bolts to get by.