Hi everyone, I just installed a new offset high torque gear reduction starter on my 2000 Excursion, and I noticed it starts much faster, but it sounds like the starter is knocking against something. Is this a straight swap out with the old style starter, or do I need to modify something?

 

I think I found the issue. The old starter has twelve teeth, the new one has 13 teeth. Yet I was told that it was compatible with this truck.

 

The high torque I used was a 2-bolt from O'Reilly's. Cost a bit more than stock but was well worth it IMO. Didn't have any knocking issues though. How's your flywheel looking? Razzi had an occasional knock and it turned out his flywheel was missing teeth.

 

Everything tight including electrical connections?

 

What engine ?

If I recall correctly on the 7.3 you need to grind a small notch in the cross member to run the Denso style starter.

 

My truck has the 7.3l . I don't follow, why notch the cross member? The new starter fit, however, does it make a difference if it has 13 teeth or 12? The old one has 12 the new one 13. My old starter still works, I just wanted to up grade.
If the 13 tooth is not compatible, is there a way to change the gear to a 12 tooth gear?

 

If it fits then no need to trim. There is a clearance issue with some 7.3s

13 tooth will work,

As far as the "knocking" If you have one of the Chinese knockoffs of the denso then it's possible it is just a bad starter. They are known to be low quality. The real Made in Japan Denso starters are somewhat hard to find and cost about $400.

Just me but I stick the Mitsubishi style from somewhere with a warranty that is easy to use. ( autozone or the like ) unless you are going to pony up for a real Denso unit. The Mitsubishi style starter your 7.3 came with is a gear reduction stater and they come in 2 power ratings, 2.5 kW and 3.6 kW motors. ( pretty sure the 2.5 was only used on the IDI 7.3 )

If I recall the real Denso is a 4kw motor. Unknown what power the China knockoff motors are.

 

The Mitsubishi style starters that come in the 7.3 are a PLGR and use planatary gear inline with the armature to achieve the gear reduction.

 

The Denso is a OSGR and uses a gear off set from the armature to achieve its gear reduction.

As far as your desire to "upgrade" your starter.

The gear on these is more audible and makes a whirling sound which people have somehow associated with being better. They have the same 4:1 gear reduction as the PLGR setup. In truth they are not better, just different. For the purpose of starting your diesel the power or KW rating of the motor, your batteries CCA and reserve capacity as well as the size and condition of the starter cables is far more important then which style of gear reduction your starter uses.

 

Just for comparison.

A real made in Japan high quality 4kw Denso starter would be a .4 kW upgrade in power over the OEM ford 3.6kw starter supplied by Mitsubishi.

 

And the notorious low quality Chicom knockoff.
I'll go out on a limb and say a downgrade in power and certainly quality to your OEM starter.

 

Thanks for all the info pirate4x4_camo, you're probably right, this starter probably is a knock off. I won it at an auction for $70.00 and thought it would be a good thing. Live and learn, old starter is back in and I've gained some knowledge. Thanks for the help.
George

 

My genuine Denso starter has 13 teeth also and I have not experienced any unusual noises other than the sound of the engine turning over incredibly fast. My guess would be a bad starter. Here's a pic of a real Denso starter:

<a href="http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r624/weeves/denso-starter_zpsgfghdmnm.jpg" target="_blank"><img height="400" src="http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r624/weeves/denso-starter_zpsgfghdmnm.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo denso-starter_zpsgfghdmnm.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r624/weeves/denso-starter2_zpslmjdojv8.jpg" target="_blank"><img height="400" src="http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r624/weeves/denso-starter2_zpslmjdojv8.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo denso-starter2_zpslmjdojv8.jpg"/></a>

 

With a 164 tooth flexplate a 12 tooth starter gear the final reduction is 13.6:1
With the 13 tooth 12.6 :1 reduction

If you use the ford cold start spec of 100 engine rpm to start the starter is turning at:

12 tooth 1260 rpm
13 tooth 1360 rpm

 

Having just replaced the worn out starter with a OEM I don't see a need for a starter "upgrade". In working condition the original model spins the engine pretty darn fast.