Terrible day...

Mercury Mike

Famous Member
Soooo... my starter went out. That's for sure. That's what all the thumping was about when I was starting my car. I pulled the starter and it is torn up. The only thing is.... The last time that I tried to start it and the starter just ran and ran, it broke off two of the flywheel teeth... so...... yeah. I don't know what my next move will be. I got the new starter in there, turned the engine over, and she fired up pretty good, but you can hear where it misses the teeth, so I'm not gonna start her again until I get that fixed. I am depressed about it... =(

Another issue that I'm fumbling around with... once I get her started, she runs reallllly good, but then all of the sudden, she just shuts off, and fuel spits out of the top of the carburetor. So many things at once I'm overwhelmed! =(

Would I be okay to run her with the teeth like that? only a couple of teeth are broken, but I'm afraid of breaking the new starter. Thanks for any help you guys give on the carburetor issue... I have the tranny and bellhousing for the 3 spd... I just need the clutch pedal and that assembly... bahhhhh! :(
 
It could be worse....
crash.jpg
 
to temoprairly fix the starting problem with the flywheel teeth broken, rotate the engine 180* by hand. an engine starts where it stops, most of the time by doing this, the engine will never start or stop on the broken teeth and you can saftly start the engine
 
The carburetor spitting out fuel could be caused by a rusty fuel line between the filter & carburetor. A piece of rust getting to the needle valve will not allow the float to shut off the fuel. Or a sunken float will cause the same problem. On mine it was the rusty fuel line from the pump to the carb. My filter is before the pump. If you have a filter on the input to the carb, then I would guess your float sunk.
 
I have an in-pump filter. And yeah, I did that. But it hits those teeth and it makes me nervous. I can hear when it hits them, and I don't wanna ruin my new starter. I have all the pieces for a 2.77 tranny, so I'm thinking about just swapping it in once I get the clutch pedal and accessories. I have to figure out whether I need to work on that driveshaft or not, though. Thanks for the tip! Do you think it would be safe to drive her with her missing teeth like that?
 
My personal experience with the 2.77 transmission in a 66 Mustang was dismal. The engine was stock and I still went through a couple. By the end, I could have the transmission out and on the bench within 45 minutes of pulling in the garage.

If you get one built with great care, don't do any serious mods to the engine, and drive responsibly, it may last. But if you are going through all the effort to make a swap, I would highly recommend looking elsewhere than the 2.77.
 
The thing is that I have a 2.77 lying on the bench right now, and I am scared to start my car and run it with that torque converter tooth busted off, because I don't wanna ruin another starter. It would be a quick swap, and I would be able to drive that thing into the ground while I get a 3.03 or something. =) I have heard that the 3.03 is a pretty good 3 spd. I will see, I'm gonna change the fuel filter and up the idle a little bit and see if I can't get her running better. Also, have you ever opened the 2.77 up? I'd like to open it up and make sure that everything's in proper order.
 
If I'm not wrong, the manual and auto starters are different. Now for a sermon on car projects:

While a car is running, it may infuriate at times - but the basic function is there. When a car is not running, functionality is zero. Tear down something without a full budget and battle plan and it will be way harder to get it going again. I've learned this the hard way myself.

The only way to be sure that a manual swap will work, is to physically remove everything yourself from a donor driveline, or preassemble. I bet you haven't even got a clutch pedal in there yet. :wink:
 
you can gat a new starter for like $20 and can install it in 15 min... I would not be too worried
 
Starters are cheap and carry a warranty so you may even be able to destroy it and get another for nothing.
Years ago after doing reverse-drop burn outs, I cracked my 1979 Monte Carlo's flywheel. I was in the Air Force at the time. My room mate and I tipped the front of the tranny down form the engine, slid out the old and in with the new. It was easy, but then again he used to rebuild transmissions before joining the USAF.

reverse drop burn outs… while coasting in reverse, you slam the gear selector into D and punch it.
I'll go nuts on my kid if I ever see him do that. What was I thinking?
 
yeah that is a good way to break somthing... and look it did :roll:
 
Cool then. I will get back to having it running like a champ tomorrow. MAN I am going to have to post a video of this starter so you guys can see the extreme damage I did to it somehow. The last time I started it or so it was like thump thump thump thump thump all over the place and then all of the sudden it just wouldn't crank anymore... ridiculous! =)
 
another fun one to try.... drive down the road and build up a little head of steam - say 40 mph. then leave it in gear, take your foot off the gas and switch the key off. Coast down to about 15-20 mph. Then, switch the key back on and fire will shoot out the exhaust pipe!! the muffler will explode! I have heard of many teenage kids doing this for fun and pissing off their old man. Won't work so well if you have a cat converer, though.

kevin
 
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