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Hello All,
I have a 73 F250 with a 390 and I'm working on replacing my original starter that went out with a Summit XS Torque Mini and need some help. I've gotten the starter and header unbolted, but the header doesn't move enough to get the starter out. It looks like I need to take off the heater blower motor to get the header out (see pics), which is a much more involved process according to the manual that I have - draining the system, etc. As a newb who's learning as I go, I'm hoping that you more experienced folks can let me know if that sounds like the right track or if I'd be opening a can of worms unnecessarily. Should I just be trying to wiggle things around better/harder as is to get the starter out the bottom? Any thoughts would be appreciated. If other pics are needed, let me know and I can get them.
I have a 1976 F-250 with hedders.
The hedder needs to be unbolted from the rest of the exhaust too, not just from the head.
They both have to be moved around to get the starter out. A second person helps a lot.
It is a royal PITA.
I bought a new starter from rockauto.com and it has worked flawlessly.
Good luck.
You may have to loosen or disconnect the motor mounts and lift but you may have to remove the valve cover to get much room upward. Those nice Mickey Thompson valve covers are a little tall with the A/C box intruding into the engine bay. Whatever you figure out please post back with any further progress or thoughts. It will help the next guy.
It’s a good bet that the headers, that keep you from removing the starter, are close enough in proximity that they were probably the cause of an early demise of your current starter in the first place.
The new smaller starter will be good, but when you get to the point of putting the new one in, I would also add some kind of a heat shield to give it a fighting chance for a happier future.
I hate that air-conditioning design. Love air-conditioning of course, but that’s kind of what put me off and caused my heater core replacement to morph into a full engine rebuild, to morph into a very long project when life got in the way otherwise.
I hope I never have to take that engine out, or replace another heater core again!
I had too have a friend take the starter out from under the truck while I held and moved the hedders around until he could get it out.
I went thru 2 remans and then the new one, so I've done it 3 times.
It didn't get any easier each time.
Replacing the starter on a FE with hedders is worse than changing spark plugs on a small block Chevy with hedders.
Try un bolting the engine to frame mount with the engine supported or held up if you have a shop crane. That should give enough room for the starter to come forward and out. The mount bolts have self locking nuts and are a PITA so it is not an easy job.
I've got the starter out of my 78 (400) with headers and exhaust still attached. I don't know if the 390 is more difficult in that regard. I did the starter on a 390 in my 67 galaxie with the stock exhaust manifold attached. That one was difficult.
I've got the starter out of my 78 (400) with headers and exhaust still attached. I don't know if the 390 is more difficult in that regard. I did the starter on a 390 in my 67 galaxie with the stock exhaust manifold attached. That one was difficult.
The frame width on the older trucks isn't as wide as the newer ones.
That's the problem.
I appreciate everyone's input. I was able to get it out without touching the blower motor. It was a tight fit and took some wiggling and rotating back and forth while my boy moved the headers out of the way as much as possible. It ultimately ended up coming out of the wheel well. Since the new one is a mini, it went in much easier. Got it bolted back up and then found out it doesn't fit the space and is blocking the headers from going back on. The body of the original one is inline with the mounting plate, but the new one is offset quite a bit. So now I need to mess with that to see if it needs adjusting (it rotates 360 degrees on the mounting plate) or if it's the wrong one. Even with the smaller unit, it's such an awkward placement that every step is physically straining. If only I had a car lift haha
Try to clock it a different way. Like you said, it’s very versatile in the way it can be mounted. Here’s how mine is oriented. Pretty much the only way it will fit.
So I was able to play around with the positioning of the starter and there's only a single position that it will all come together. Unfortunately, in that position it actually touches both the block and the header. Zero wiggle room to rotate it for even a small gap. I'm assuming touching the header isn't going to lead to a long life so in looking more closely at the orientation that seems "right," which is like Viper Pilots' in the pic above, one of the tabs that are on the corners of the block is preventing it from fitting. Below are some pics. It looks like it might already have had some material taken off of it at some point.
What is the purpose of those tabs? Is it something from casting or does it serve a function on the running engine? I'd be able to rotate the starter and have clearance from the header if it wasn't there. Feels like maybe a dumb question, but still worth asking.
Last edited by norcal390; Feb 13, 2024 at 09:26 PM.
Reason: I edited my original post to make it clearer
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