Does anybody know where I can find a starter heat sheild for a 1988 Bronco 351efi? because I am having problems with warm starts. the battery has been tested right after being run and is just fine I checked all electrical connections or am I better off upgrading the starter to a high torque starter? please help

 

Install new primary and ground battery cables. They fill up with corrosion. I run a 460 with full headers wrapping around the starter and have had no starter problems living in 115 degree temperatures.

 

And buy the largest gauge wires you can find. Bigger wire = more current carrying capability.

 

Where is a good/cheap place to get new automotive wiring? What about the fittings?

I need to replace my wires.

Tim

 

no, its not because of the temperature outside, its the trucks exaust being so close to the starter which causes it to do so.
you guys have no idea where I can find a heat sheild?

 

Unless you have a faulty starter, the starter being close to the exhaust is not going to cause you problems with starting after the engine has reached operating temperatures. This subject has been addressed more times than I can remember on this forum and others, including vehicles of other makes, with the solution always being in the battery, primary wires, solenoid, ground(s) or the starter itself. Too many vehicles run tube headers wrapped around starters and generate far more heat into the starter without hot starting problems than you'd ever experience with stock, cast iron manifolds.

With correct voltage reaching it, that starter should operate regardless of how hot the manifold or headers are. I've seen lean running 460s with cherry red header tubes that fired right back up after being shut down.

If you want a heat shield, just buy a small piece of aluminum sheet, use tin snips to get the shape you want, bend it around the starter and drill a couple of holes to mount it.

 

Summit/Jegs have a heat shield blanket for starters- attaches with velcro. About $26.

Randy

 

I had the same problem with the exhaust and the warm / hot starting problems associated with the starter. I don't have a shield either but know for a fact that the extreme heat of the exhaust is much worse on some starters that any outside temps can be. Once I replaced my starter, I never had another problem with starts when hot.

 

Funny that this thread comes up right when I have the same problem. My starter wouldn't crank over yesterday at about 4:45pm after dirving home being hot. I tryed for about 20 minutes to get it to crank over, and the starter just seemed to get weaker and wouldn't start. While it was colling off, I climbed under my rig to check wiring and the starter. Well the starter was so hot I couldn't touch it, but the oil pan and exhaust pipes between the cats and manifolds were luke warm. after about another 20 minutes of letting it cool off, I went to crank it over once again and with a little effort from the starter, the engine finally cranked over and started. When it's cold the engine would fire right up.

As far as using a heat sheild I don't think that it would help. If it would have been more of a problem, I'm sure that the engineers at Ford would have mounted a one around the starter. I don't know about your rig but on mine the exhaust pipes are a few inchs away. If they were about 1/2-1 inch apart or closer, Then I could see that there would be aproblem with weat from exhaust pipes. But were to get the sheilds, I am not sure where.

Also, I have notice in the past couple of weeks, that the my starter seemed to have been getting weaker through time. So as I'm wrighting this post I was just ordering a new powermaster starter moter. I'll find out Monday when it will be in.

Hope this helps