so i was having starter issues...went thru 3 remans...took inspection cover off bellhousing and diagnosed it to be flexplate/driveplate. Replaced flexplate/driveplate with correct part for a C6. engine is a 302. 1983 bronco. put everything back together with proper torque on all bolts and nuts. Started the truck and it started great....the first time. seemed to be making a tapping sound generating from the trans. turned it off, went to start it again and the starter just scraped against the flexplate like it was bald.... i DO NOT want to have to take the trans off AGAIN.... but i cant figure out what it could be. i installed the new driveplate in the same orientation that i took the old one out... any ideas? at this point i can only imagine that the new driveplate was manufactured poorly, or the auto parts store keeps giving me the wrong starter. the motor mounts dont appear to be in bad shape....however i'm starting to question everything now... like maybe i was lied to about the engine...but i assume the 289, 302, and 351w all use the same exact starter.

thanks all,

ac

 

Have you pulled the starter this time to look at the teeth on the flax plate? Also, what was wrong with the flex plate you removed? You can look at the difference in the starters just by asking at a parts store.

 

the original flexplate was worn out at an angle. the inside being more worn than the outside of the ring gear. this is probably due to the fact that starter bolts loosened and the original starter was hanging funny. or could the ins cover being slightly bent cause the starter to sit funny?

 

where are you buying your parts? the flexplate will only fit on there one way. there will be 2 different starts either for a manual or auto tranny. so if the parts store is giving you a starter for a manual tranny that could be the issue. You might consider going to ford for the starter this time and just get your money back from the current autoparts store.

I have heard that some starters need to be shimmed but honestly i have not dealt with this ever and i have owned a few fords both with auto and manual trannys.

 

I am having similar problems on my "85" bronco with the 351W and C6.

So I will tag along and maybe we can both get this figured out.

You may try posting here as well Small Block V8 (221, 260, 289, 5.0/302, 5.8/351W)

 

Sounds to me like the first starter came loose and ruined the ring gear.

How is this newer one since the starter tore it up?

You might take both a manual and auto starter and compare the differences to see how they fit.

I know on the classic Mustangs, the man. and auto starter part numbers are reversed at some parts houses.

 

shucks/oreillys. they assured me it was a starter for an automatic. the flexplate is the 157 tooth for the auto tranny.... the new flexplate worked great for 1 start. when i look thru the ins cover when someone turns the key it just looks like the bendix is skating overtop the driveplate. i'm gonna try shimming the starter on the right hand side to see if that helps it engage properly. for all i know, before the original one loosened there was a shim on that side that is now laying somewhere on 101.

 

The teeth have to engage fully or the ring gear will suffer again. Shimming the starter may set it in crooked. How is the block plate. I have seen them bent and screw up the starter alignment.

Parts houses only go by what the computer says. Might check at another parts place and compare the one you have. They all swear the parts are correct and most have no idea where the parts go on a vehicle.

 

It won't help, but i figured i wold mention that when my brother had an 84 and went though 3-5 starters due to the grinding. He never did figured it out and went through a bunch of starters and a flexplate.

 

By 85 Bronco has done this from day one.

 

I have only had it happen once with my 78 after my new starter. Other than that it has been fine save for it cranking super slow when it is hot.

 

the plate the starter mounts thru is bent slightly in the bottom left corner, but its only about 2 mil off the bellhousing. maybe it is that plate? the only way i see to fix it is cut around where the starter mounts with a cutting wheel and compensate for the thickness with a standard shim. the other issue i had after the original starter went bad was the threading on the bellhouse was stripped and i had to get longer bolts and put a nut and lock washer on the back... maybe i'll look into brand new motor mounts, but that seems pointless if the bellhousing is torqued to the block properly...

also trying to figure out what that weird tapping was when the truck actually started after the work was performed ???... i assure you i DID not rotate the engine backwards at any point in the process. a breaker bar with a piece of black pipe over it compensates pretty well for someone holding the crank in place near the fan.

el bronco had no tap issues before the work was performed. however i did lose 1/3 of a quart of trans fluid in the process (you ever remount a tranny and transfer case and cross member by yourself?)..dont see why the trans would make noise...but its hard to diagnose the noise without a stethoscope.

the trans and engine are aligned and torqued properly. to ease reassembly and safety i bought a piece of 7/8" all thread, cut it into foot long sections and threaded two of the pieces into the middle mounting holes on the bellhousing to the engine block. this kept the trans from rolling (although it was ratchet strapped to the trans jack) after the cross member was off, u could slide the jack back between transfer case and tranny and move it around easier. *note engine is supported w/ a jack as well. very helpful for replacing rear main seal too, although u'd have to figure something else out to support engine w/ the pan off. this trick eliminated messing around to get the alignment pins in and torque converter bolts thru driveplate. also no need to remove transfer case.

 

i think you may have the incorrect flexplate count. 157 tooth isnt correct. we run a 164 tooth count flexplate or flywheels.

I would also make sure you have the torque converter alignment studs running thru the correct holes on the flexplate. When i did my motor rebuild summer before last there was 2 sets of holes on the flexplate that those stud fit thru. 1 set worked but the hole itself was much larger. Might want to check that and snap us some pics of what your seeing

do not cut that plate either. even if its bent, when you tighten the bolts it wouldnt make any difference at that point.

 

you also need to confirm what ounce weight your old flexplate was. your 83 may very well be a late 82yr model. this is about the time that the 302 went from a 28oz imbalance to a 50oz imbalance. that could cause the knocking perhaps. hate to say it but you have some work cut out for you.

 

Both the above are right on the money. Looks like ya got more work ahead of you.

A bit of tranny fluid loss will not cause a noise as long as it is not a great amount. Refill and move on. The motor mounts should have nothing to do with the starter working proper either. Rotating the engine backwards is no problem either, as long as it is not trying to run that way....lol