1976 f-150 360 4x4 auto starter was fine and never acted up. I took the truck to an exhaust shop to have them install a set of hooker headers and an exhaust. They called me after a couple hours and said that upon removal of the starter they noticed that the two of the ears were cracked and suggested that i replace the starter. I ran to autozone, bought a starter and dropped it off. they keep the truck overnight because they were having trouble installing the starter.
They ended up having to use washers to space the starter back. They also used 5/16 bolts through with nuts on the end. After starting it for maybe the tenth time after getting it back it wont start. The starter just chirps on the edge. I removed the passenger header and the starter. both the gear and the ring look fine. I just cant seem to seat the starter well. I dont see why they needed the washers.
also the starter says on it to use 3/8 bolts and the holes on the starter are even larger than that. any tips or ideas are appreciated. i could tap the bell housing because those threads are toast but im not sure what size they were?

 

The starter should seat fairly easily. Make sure that the teeth on the starter line up with the teeth on the ring gear. Also, check and make sure autozone gave you the correct starter. When I put Hooker Headers on my 76 F-100 4x4 428, I had to kinda hold the header at an angle I think with a bolt or two started and had to shimmy the starter up into place. I believe that the bolts are in fact 3/8's. Use a 1/2" size wrench to bolt them down. It makes it easier if you have a few long extensions to tighten them down from the very front of the motor. The far bolt on the passenger side of the bell housing can be held with a nut on the back side. I'm not much help. It took a few tries of holding and rotating the starter the right way to get it in right and get the header on. I had to do both at the same time. Had help holding the header while I was underneath rotating and pushing the starter up into place. Good luck.

 

I cant get a 3/8 bolt through the bell housing unless i tap it, but i didnt ant to tap it until i know what size it was suppose to be 5/16 or 3/8. Like i said they had it bolted in with 5/16 and spaced with washers and it seems like it moved and became unaligned.

Should the starter bolt directly to the bell housing or is there suppose to some sort of spacer?

 

It bolts directly to the bell housing. No spacer. Three bolts. Tighten them in a sequence. The bolts may be 5/16's I'm not the best with bolt sizes. I do know that the head on the stock bolts is for a 1/2" size wrench. It seems like the automatic trans vs manual trans starters are different on these motors. I'd check part numbers and make sure it is the correct starter. Shouldn't have any trouble getting it in. They may have had it spaced with washers because the bolts were the incorrect length and were too long and were bottoming out before it got tight?