I recently purchased a 1970 F700 with an FT 330 HD engine and an Allison automatic transmission. When I got this truck I was told by the seller that the ring gear on the flexplate was tore up, and that was given as the reason that the engine could not be started.

After some troubleshooting, I discovered that the starter was probably not original to the truck. When I removed it, there were two teeth broken off of the Bendix and the majority of the teeth on the flexplate were either damaged or destroyed. There were piles of metal shavings inside the bellhousing.

I suspect the starter was probably incorrect and was the cause of all of the damage. I need to know exactly what starter I need to look for and purchase to put on this thing. Somebody already pointed me to a ring gear that I need in a different thread.

P.S. I'd be willing to pay someone $25 to pull this motor for me so I can replace the ring gear on the flexplate. Might even buy lunch!

 

Probably best to keep all your truck stuff in one thread. Maybe Ed will merge this.

I posted some stuff about FT starters (and links to Bill's older info on them) here:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post21327348

 

Well, I searched first and didn't find what I was looking for, so I decided to create the new thread with keywords in the title.

Thanks for the link.

 

After reading through this thread until I had a headache, I decided I’m just going to have to wait until I get this thing all tore apart and see what I got. I’m finding a lot of conflicting information all over the place about the flywheel tooth count and the starter drive tooth count. I decided what I need to do is get the engine out out of it and mount the starter to the Bellhousing adapter and see just how it interfaces with the existing flywheel. Then I guess I’ll decide what parts I need to buy.

In the meantime, I need to figure out just how in the hell I’m going to get this engine out. The Allison has an SAE number three type Bellhousing on it, it appears, and has an adapter between that and the back of the engine. I have to figure out how all that comes apart. I’m getting blood blisters on my fingers just thinking about it.

 

You'll probably end up tearing the engine apart inside the truck to figure out why it’s locked up
To pull the engine you need to remove the torque converter bolts from the flywheel, to do that the crankshaft must be turned
That SAE bell housing is also the rear engine mount, leave it and the transmission in place
Support the back of the transmission, remove the torque converter bolts, unbolt the bell housing from the engine, remove the bolts holding the engines front saddle mount to the crossmember and once all the normal items (exhaust, wiring, hoses, radiator, ect) are removed/disconnected the engine is ready to lift
Those engines weight around 700 lbs, a standard engine lift (cherry picker) set for 1000 lbs lift won’t raise the engine high enough to clear the core support, so you’ll need to plan for that

 

My understanding is that either the core support has to be removed (to use a picker), or the hood has to come off (to use a bridge crane or jib hoist, etc.).

Is it possible that starter gear teeth debris is packed up on the bottom of the lower bellhousing cover, masquerading as the engine seized?

 

I've already got the engine freed up. I dropped the oil pan the other day to look inside and discovered that the inside of this engine looks brand new. It appears that a little bit of moisture got into one cylinder and a small amount of rust formed, which stuck the engine. Once I made that discovery, it was easy to get it freed up. You all know that drill I'm sure.

Thanks for the tips on the engine removal, I pretty much arrived at those same conclusions. I'll unbolt the FT adapter from the front of the SAE bellhousing on the Allison and I figure I'll probably make some sort of a semi permanent rear support for the transmission so it can stay in place when I lift the engine out. I'm planning to just take the hood off and use a gantry to pull it out.

When I'll get around to this task is another story. lol

I think it'll probably also be a good idea to pull the torque converter out of the front of the transmission and replace the lip seal that's behind it. I'm sure it's 56 years old. I did do a little bit of reading about that and it appears that the torque converter does not just pull out of the front of the transmission. It looks like I'll have to disassemble the torque converter. (it's bolt together) and then unbolt it from the front of the input shaft and pull it out. Anybody got any experience with that?

 

Leave what your calling the adapter bolted to the crossmember, it’s extra thickness adds to much length to the engine, it also leaves not support to hold the transmission up, just unbolt it from the engine block
I understand wanting to replace the torque converter seal but personally I wouldn’t mess with it on a Allison, especially one that old

 

The Bellhousing that is on the Allison transmission is where the mounts are bolted, not to the adapter. Also, that adapter bolts to the back of the engine block from the inside. You cannot unbolt it from the engine until the transmission is unbolted from the adapter and the engine is separated from the transmission by enough distance to get your arms up in there.

 

Ok I stand corrected
Never worked on a truck with a Allison behind a FT

 

This'll do. It telescopes up another 4 feet above it's current position.

 

Yeah, that looks like a tool that can do the job. I do hate anything with wheels being off concrete, as then you're left to roll the truck away from the engine, but it can be done, just . . . non-optimal. You can't move the gantry, because those casters won't roll in dirt/gravel, and the thing will want to tip over. BTDT.

Is that the 62510 (alt. SKUs 41188, 69513), 2000 lb ($850 here)?
https://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-...ane-62510.html
612 lbs shipping weight, so I assume it's got sufficient steel in it for a vertical lift.

[later]
Most of the 1-star reviews are about the hoist cable disconnecting or the crank star breaking, so I'd be real gentle raising it to working height. Didja borrow it (the best way to use tools!)?

 

Surely you don't think I'm that incompetent, do you? Lol

it's just parked where it's at in this picture for the time being. I'm planning to remove the casters and sit on some 6 x 6 blocks when I get ready to do the work.

it is from Harbor freight but I bought it secondhand for a fraction of the price. It is in new condition. Any fault that they might have is usually going to be a result of someone hamfisting it when they put it together. I had to drive 65 miles to get this one this morning, of course I had to disassemble it the haul at home in the bed of my pick up. After I put it together, I had to stand it back up with the end loader on the front of my Kubota. While I was doing that, I had the bucket chained to the overhead and used the hydraulics to lift the front of my Kabota completely off the ground as a load test and it didn't even flinch.

 

It's hard to judge someone's experience over the internet, so don't be offended if I started too low

Used tools is my go-to strategy, when I have time to plan ahead.