5.4 with Starting / Starter issue
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Cross-Country
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 82
Likes: 1
5.4 with Starting / Starter issue
Hey all, just purchased a 97 F150 4x4 automatic w/ 5.4 motor.
I am having an issue starting the truck. Starter begins to crank, but then it kicks out and I get that freewheeling grinding sound you get when a starter begins going bad. Usually it will start after the second or third try, but today its gotten worse. It just free wheeled and didnt even try to catch the flywheel.
The guy I bought the truck from told me to wiggle the shift lever when it does that. He said it's the neutral safety switch on the side of the trans.
I have also figured out if I put the truck in neutral it will start every time.
Does replacing the neutral safety switch sound right to you folks? He's been wrong about everything else he told me the truck needed LOL. So I figured i would ask here before I spend the money and effort on replacing that part.
I am having an issue starting the truck. Starter begins to crank, but then it kicks out and I get that freewheeling grinding sound you get when a starter begins going bad. Usually it will start after the second or third try, but today its gotten worse. It just free wheeled and didnt even try to catch the flywheel.
The guy I bought the truck from told me to wiggle the shift lever when it does that. He said it's the neutral safety switch on the side of the trans.
I have also figured out if I put the truck in neutral it will start every time.
Does replacing the neutral safety switch sound right to you folks? He's been wrong about everything else he told me the truck needed LOL. So I figured i would ask here before I spend the money and effort on replacing that part.
Elder User
Joined: Mar 2010
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Sounds like the starter drive is bad/weak, if the starter motor itself is still cranking but can't stay engaged to the flywheel. We used to be able to buy just that part and change it ( Bendix spring ). Haven't done one in a long time, so maybe now, you have to get the whole starter. If the neutral safety switch was bad, it wouldn't turn over at all, in park or neutral.
Dave
Dave
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Cross-Country
Joined: Oct 2005
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Dave, that's kinda the part I dont understand. I would think if the neutral safety switch was bad, it wouldn't start in P or N. But, it starts 100% of the time (the first try) in Neutral.
There inst another switch or linkage adjustment in the steering column somewhere that's causing this, is there?
There inst another switch or linkage adjustment in the steering column somewhere that's causing this, is there?
Elder User
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 601
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If you can get at the shift cable from the column to the transmission, check the clips that hold the cable jacket to the brackets. If either f them break/fall out, you may not be able to shift all the way into park. The starter disengaging during cranking cycle doesn't sound like the neutral safety switch. The starter won't work at all if the neutral switch is bad.
Dave
Dave
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 152
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From: York, PA
If the gear lever seems a bit sloppy there is another place to look. Laying with your head down by the brake pedal, follow the shift column up to a point where two torx screws are (about half way from the floor to the dash). If these screws become loose the selector is loose and the truck may not start in Park. Not that this has anything to do with the starter problem but it may be the cause of why you have problem starting in Park.
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