Starter Won't Engage

[Anonymous]

I'm stumped by this one. The starter on my 62 Falcon with 170/Dagenham won't engage. When I turn the key, the starter spins but just grinds against the flywheel.

I've tried replacing the starter (rebuilt from Autozone) and upgrading the starter electrical circut (cables, solenoid), but no go. (It grinds better though!)

The engine and flywheel were swapped from a 65 mustang a year ago and started fine till recently.

Any ideas?

-Scott

 

[CobraSix]

Did you put the shims back in when you replaced the starter?

It sounds like it may be out of adjustment.

THe other option, is the starter you got new may be bad as well and the starter is not fully engaging. It happens more often then you think with rebuilt electrical parts like starters and alternators.

YOu can always whack it a few times with a hammer and see if that fixes it.

Slade

 

[MustangSix]

Or you got a short nose (2") starter when you needed a long nose (2 3/8").

 

[XFlow_Fairlane]

my 62 had a rubber "spacer" that went between the starter and bell. without it the starter sits farther in...

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the ideas on shims and starter nose sizes!

I don't remember having any shims, but I tried out some to see if it made any difference. I tried 1/64, 1/32, and 1/16 in the center bolt of the three - to angle the the starter drive gear away from the flywheel. No change. I tried 1/16 in the two end bolts to move it in. No change. There are lots of possible shim arrangements! Any ideas for how to try different combinations?

On the different starter nose lengths - is there a measurement I can do to see which one I need? What year/vehicle/engine combinations had the longer length? The same part # comes up for both 62 Falcon 170 and 65 Mustang 170...

The engine and flywheel are from a 65 mustang. The bellhousing is the original 62 dagenman. Everything worked fine after the engine swap a year ago, but it seems that something has worn since then...

When I look at the flywheel, I see wear along the front edge, but no major damage. How bad does the ring gear need to be worn before it is messed up?

Any other thoughts? I really don't want to have to pull the transmission and mess with the flywheel, but is that the next step?

 

[XFlow_Fairlane]

did you bench test the starter to see if it is even kicking the gear out? I had one go bad that wouldn't kick out. I have one of those cheapy lifetime ones go out once a year on my car. mostly the windings get shot and they just have nothing to crank it over. but I did have one puke the gear and all into my bellhousing.