i got a question regarding a fe starter. ever since i built the motor it goes through starters like stupid!! havent really got to drive it this week, ill explain my issue from the point of a new starter. so i installed my starter reman stock type, go to crank the truck it spins and it starts, turn it off however then try to restart again it will crank for 3 secionds get slower and slower then quit, turn the key and all you get is a click and sometimes a buzzing noise from the starter, the wire from the starter gets pretty warm same as the positive cable on the battery, now once all this happens i exchange it for another starter repeat process and the same thing happens again, im at a true loss here..

 

Is the starter grounded properly? High resistance in the circuits will cause voltage drop and make things get hot.

Run a ground strap from a starter bolt to the frame/cab. You could even go back to the battery.

 

2X. It sounds like when you put the engine back in you forgot to hook up the firewall to block (or starter bolt) ground cable.

 

What they said, also go with larger battery cables.

 

I have the block grounded to the frame and cab firewall, but the starter isn't ground to anything other than starter wire to the solenoid. when I get home ill post pics

 

I thought maybe shimming it with some washers could fix it maybe it wasn't engaging all the way or getting hung up but again im no professional

 

If you painted the block recently you might have painted the threads that that ground cable is bolted to. You might chase those threads with a tap to clean the paint off of them. Ensuring a good ground.

 

I wouldn't think that should be the issue, when it was in the booth getting paint I did have bolts threaded in the block holes and head bolt holes for this very reason

 

Ford starters don't require shims. I'm not certain if this also applies to FEs but, there is at least a difference in Ford small-block starters for an automatic transmission vs one for a manual transmission.

The manual trans starter will have a shorter snout compared to a starter for an automatic. If you get the wrong starter for the application, it usually results in the Bendix dragging on the flexplate/flywheel ring gear teeth when you go to start the engine and the Bendix doesn't want to suck back up into the snout after the key moves to the Run position. --the Bendix makes a loud grinding noise on the flexplate/flywheel ring gear teeth.

It doesn't sound like by your description that this is what's happening in your case --you should just be aware that there are differences in starters (depending on the transmission application) that may also apply to an FE engine.

Your description sounds more like a high resistance problem in the cabling. If you have battery cables with the bolted on ends, get rid of them and get some cables that have factory ends crimped to the cables. The bolted type are bad to loosen up and/or develop corrosion where the bolted terminal ends contacts the copper wire of the cables. This will cause a high current draw on the circuit and starter, can make the starter drag or make for long cranking cycles before the engine fires up. This is all bad on the start circuit, starter and the battery.

 

FE starter same for A/T & M/T, but the 1958/62 starter is different than the 1963/76 starter, due to the huge Bendix inertia starter drive.

 

Good to know. I got bitten by this years ago in my '68 Mustang when I went from a C4 automatic to a Top-Loader manual 4-spd. At the time, I didn't know there were two different starter lengths for a 289/302, depending on if it had an automatic or a manual transmission.

 

The starter grounds to the block

 

To the transmission technically. If there's a bunch of dirt/ oil/ grime between the engine and trans that won't make a good connection.

 

Technically.

 

and We don't wanna get all technical. That's a big can of worms

Last time things got technical in here, we had technical difficulties from a technicality, resulting in a technical breakdown.