i have a 1999 ford f250 psd with a 7.3l and i just returned from a deployment in afghanistan and the first day im back i take my truck out for a drive it started fine but made a little noise starting up then it was fine i drove around for awhile then i went to the bank wen i went there i turned off the truck and went inside then wen i came out and tried to start it it made a horrific grinding noise i immediatley new it was the starter so i took the inspection plate off to see if there was anything wrong. there was nothing so i had my wife start it while i was underneath and the pinon gear was contacting the flywheel but it wouldnt turn the flywheell it would just spin and grind against it. so i manually turned the flywheel a little and tryed it again and it started with some horrific grinding noise with it so i took it home and removed the starter and it didnt look bad. so i thought it might have been the starter being loose so i installed it again and made sure it was tight and went to start it and the same grinding happend and the flywheel would not turn so i went to autozone got a new starter and replaced it and again the same grinding noise with no start to fallow so i just got back from returning the starter and just want to know if there is any other options other then replacing the flywheel because thats gonna be a job lol...any incite would be very appreciated......ford trucks rule!

 

I have not heard of any fly wheels going bad on this forum. I would have to dig deep to help you out on this one. I would start a new thread titled flywheel problem and then copy and paste your first post from this thread to the new thread so you get a few more people that may have some experience with replacing the flywheel. Sorry to hear about this. I am positive that if this is the true problem that you have to drop the transmission. I would love to see a picture of the old flywheel sitting on top of the new flywheel to see the difference in tooth depth only if you have to do that job.
Edit: I forgot to ask how many miles are on your truck?
Dwayne

 

thats a good idea i will do that, and in hoping that i dont have to replace the flywheel i will defanitley take pictures of the job to show the difference in new and old. my truck has 183000 miles on it and it was perfectly fine wen i left 6months ago and now all of a sudden its doing this....appreciate ur reply thank you.

 

About 18 months ago I had the same problem with my 99. Engaged the starter and it would grind against the flywheel. The problem would be intermittent. Sometimes grind sometimes not. Eventually, I too pulled the starter and rotated the flywheel and found that several teeth on the flywheel were worn down. I decided to replace the flywheel however I kept the old starter. Then in October of last year I decided to changed out the starter with one from Napa #STR7006 built by NSA. Fast forward to 2 weeks ago. I started having starter grind again.
Yesterday, I pulled the starter and found that the starter was wearing off the teeth in several locations on the new flywheel. The starter will grind down the teeth rather fast. I recall the grinding only happened about 10 times in the past 2 weeks. I took the starter back to Napa. Napa then traded straight across for a new Napa #4N-6770 gear reduction starter. The starter price is $189.79. Installed the starter and what a difference in starting the truck and so far no grinding. I still may replace the flywheel but will wait for now. It is a big job.
The reason for the starter grinding is that the Bendix is weak and doesn't allow the gear to come out far enough to engage the flywheel. I would recommend that you replace with a gear reduction starter. It will reduce the draw on the batteries and start your truck faster than the stock unit. I think you'll be happier. Also, the part number I gave for the gear reduction starter is a Napa lifetime warranty starter.
Hope this helps out.
Jeff

 

The selenoid is probably weak as stated above. Both types of starters are gear reduction. One is planitary, the other is off set. Get the 3 bolt your truck came with. OEM. The rebuilder I use gets (new) motorcraft for 225.00. Tousley has reman. in the US for Ford for about 175 with core. I have one for my spare. Don't quote me on the price, but thats close. Got it this summer.

 

figured out its the flywheel turned the crankshaft a little bit then started right up but after two starts in wont so i turn it manually again then bam starts again....got a new problem now though wen i take my key out a relay goes crazy and wen i turn it to the on position i lose all power.....damn this truck is cursed i swear

 

I had a similar problem a while back. A local rebuilder repaired the starter by replacing the drive (of the starter) .

 

these damn trucks lol i put a new starter in and it wasnt the problem but now i gotta pull the tranny to replace the flywheel fml......probably just gonna upgrade the tranny while its out too