On a 1971 F250 300 4.9L motor how many starter shims & size might be used? Just trying to get an idea before I pull the starter.

Are the shims installed on the front snout or from the top of the front case?

 

What shims? It's not a GM

 

BINGO

only Gm uses shims

 

We don't neeed noo steeenking shims.

 

Boy am I sorry for causing so much high blood pressure.
So I guess you just stab it in and hope the starter teeth & flex plate teeth match up..

 

Ford's tolerances are way more precise than GM's.

 

Yupper! It is Ford's magic from way, way back. Just push it into position and bolt it up. Done.

 

So if the starter is making a grinding noise for a few seconds when you hit the key then it turns the motor over and starts the engine, is the problem more than likely a starter going bad, does this sound right?

Can the starter gear teeth that mate with the flex plate cause this noise / problem?

 

Think I would check and make sure the starter is bolted up tight to the block. Not that unusual for the starter to get loose and make a grinding noise as it starts up. Happened last winter on the 82 that I have. Finally decided I better get to it before the starter actually feel off it was getting that bad.

 

Could also be starter worn out , it's Bendix drive bad, or the flex plate's (flywheel) teeth are messed up. I'd check the starter bolts first.

 

ihc1470 & FEFFFAFA ---- Thanks guys, I will check all the stuff first, then remove and test the starter motor to see if the Bendix drive is dragging.

Also Fordman75 reminded me to check an see if the proper "Block Spacer Plate" is installed, I need one for an automatic. If I remove the starter measure it to be sure it is for an automatic and not a manual setup.

As I just purchased the truck two weeks ago I'm still learning on what it has and is it correct.

 

When I buy an old vehicle like these rigs I like to replace as much as my wallet will let me. With QUALITY parts. So I have a basis on everything. Example would be a complete tune up. And I mean complete. Then I know exactly the age and condition of the cap,rotor,wires,etc. Check how tight those starter bolts are. But you might also consider doing what I would do. Go straight to buying a new QUALITY and correct starter.

 

Ya I am with you on the new starter. NAPA has there own brand of rebuilt starters at a good price and this way I will know it is the correct one for an automatic application.

I have the auto trans pan drawings & bolt count so I can see if it is a C6 or C4 trans that is in there. While the truck is on the lift I will check to make sure it has an automatic block plate.

In getting truck back to a solid operation place I am going to remove the FL-299A (32 microns) oil filter that the former owner installed and go back to the tried and true FL-1A (20 microns) oil filter with a better check valve.

Lots of small stuff but we will get it done.

 

Is the shape of the hole and bolt-pattern for the 4.9 the same as the 302/351W engines by any chance? Looks like the part numbers are different for the two families, but I'm not as familiar with the six as I am with the V8's.
And I'm sorry to say, but while they're correct about the need for shims never having been a Ford thing, it might be that way now.

For 40 years nobody ever had to shim a Ford starter that I'm aware of. About ten years ago now though, I started seeing special shims on the Dorman "HELP" racks at parts stores. And about 6 years ago or so, I had a customer that just could not get his starter to work right in his Bronco (302 w/auto) and shims helped. Ford Starter Shim for Windsor
In point of fact, he didn't even know he had a problem until I heard him try to start his truck one day! He just wasn't that familiar/savvy about that stuff, but his starter sounded like poop (kind of like a mis-aligned GM starter) so I told him he had to figure out what was wrong, but maybe try a set of the shims I'd just seen. He did and the starter worked perfect after that.

I have no idea why, but as a purely speculative guess, I'd say it's because of the crap parts we are getting imported these days. Like the others said already, never had to shim a Ford starter. They mount completely different from the GM starters, which made them way more prone to misalignment. Way too common in fact. Guess we got away with it for years, until we started buying everything based on who could sell it the cheapest and who could import the cheapest parts.
Then again, maybe I'm whining up the wrong tree and it's just a result of all the different engine/tranny combination swaps we're trying to fit into our trucks. But yours sounds stock though old28. So that's probably not the case.
Whine over (for now)...

Good luck.

Paul

 

Paul,
Thanks for the comment and information. I'm with you on the after market crap coming over this way. I am sure that is why Dorman started carrying front facing shims to get the correct OEM snout alignment. Tom