How much skin will I lose on my knuckles while changing the starter? The manual makes it sound like an easy job but if you take a peek at where the starter is, it looks like it will be a real b@$stard to change. There ain't no room.

Are there any tricks? Will it take long? I'm trying to decide whether I do it tonight or let it go until the weekend.

 

Mike,

Well, maybe you started already and maybe you didn't. Let us know how it goes. I have changed the starter in my 91 Ranger 4x4 w/ 4.0 and auto, similar setup and wasn't too bad. Definitely want to do the work from underneath, probably need to put on jack stands. There really isn't much, 2 or 3 bolts and another on the cable.

Not much, but I hope it helps.

 

Well, it SHOULD have been an easy job but the guy who replaced the front pinion seal a year ago tightened the heck out of the driveshaft flange bolts (my van is 4WD). I tried to get them off until the socket broke (without removing even 1 bolt) and decided to stop removing the driveshaft befoe I either rounded the bolt heads or sheared off the bolt. So, instead, I tried to remove part of the exhaust and managed to shear off one stud on an exhaust hanger. Then, I ruined two high speed steel drill bits trying to drill out the stud and had to remove the hanger and pound the stud out with a punch. So, a job which should have taken about an hour turned into a four hour job. But, I didn't bust any knuckles. Instead, I just ended up swearing a lot at the guy who over tightened the driveshaft flange bolts. I'm still pissed.

 

Whew!
Listening to that tale makes me doubly glad that I've got a 2WD -- '89 3.0l A4LD.

I had to replace the starter drive yesterday (every time I call a parts store and ask for a "starter drive", they almost invariably hear "starter" and quote me one of those, and when the local NAPA quoted me "$71, exchange" I had to say, slowly, "starter DRIVE" before the fellow really began to listen. $10 for the improved "5 roller" design".)

The starter was dead-simple to remove, though I did have to put it up on jackstands (on my old Datsun LD28 diesel Six I replaced the starter from up top, without even straining my back!).

Three bolts (from the trans side, on the Aerostar, though they were from the engine side on a '87 BII I did a month ago), one 3/8" head bolt for the wire, one 19mm nut for the AT kickdown cable bracket. Dead simple.

Now, cleaning and relubing the starter when replacing the drive, that was a bit messier, but I still think Ford's got a good design in that starter. I just wish it didn't have this tendency to gum up the engage helix and not move the drive into the flex plate after a while. This is the third one I've replaced on three different rigs over the last two years.

Mine started acting up last winter, but worked fine all summer. First heavy rain (well, that's fairly often in Portland, Ore.) and it started doing the "wheeee, wheeee" thing again. $10 and 90 minutes later, no problem.

Regards,
Al S.

 

sorry I couldn't help before your troubles, Ford puts locktite of some form on the drive line bolts if you heat a little with a torch they will come out. have changed starters on both my aerostars, both are 4.0 all wheel drives, 92 & 95 they are no fun to work on.

 

Mikeman, I've been watching your post about the starter to see how it turned out. I tried to remove the front driveshaft bolts one day and encountered the same thing- and they have never been worked on. I think wick56jr has a good point about heating them beforehand. A bolt that small must have some type of high strength locking compound to require that much torque to remove.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 26-Nov-01 AT 03:28 PM (EST)]I thought about the lockiing compound but didn't want to use heat because I was afraid of ruining the pinion seal. Has anybody used heat on the bolts without damaging the pinion seal? I will eventually need to drop the front axle so I would like to get those bolts out in one piece.

 

Even Permatex/Loctite RED can be released by heating the part up to 450 deg F. See:

http://www.permatex.com/images/catalog/pdf/27100.pdf

And I usually see Ford use BLUE, which has a lower bond strength than RED.

The working temp for RED is up to 300 deg F. Above that, the bond gradually weakens. I'd think that 450 deg is probably within the safe range for a pinion seal, but that's only a guess. And you probably wouldn't have to actually heat the yoke that hot to gain some ease of disassembly.

But this is all conjecture: you'd got the problem right in front of you; I'm just imagining it.

Regards,
Al S.

 

I just heated mine with a propane torch on the flange where threads went through and never had any problems with the seal.

 

Have to agree with Mikeman, replacing a starter on an AWD 4.0 is not for the fainthearted. Whoever wrote the manual obviously never attempted it. Also, the starter is rather expensive due to the design. A rebuild kit consisting of 4 brushes, new bendix, 3 bronze bushings and clips is available from Checker/Kragen/Advance-Parts America for around $25.00. Rebuilt units are over $100. The kit comes with excellent rebuild directions and illustrations. Even with high miles, my bushings were still within specs. I replaced brushes, bendix and cleaned up the commuter surface and it works like new. The only hints I can offer over the rebuild directions, is once you get the brushes into the end plate and onto the armature, place the assembly with endplate on the workbench and the armature pointing up. Use a deepwell socket or wooden dowel to hold the armature/endplate as you lower the outer casing into place. Otherwise, the strong magnets will "suck" the armature right out of the brushes, causing you to start all over again. Also, if you have trouble getting the brushes to retract far enought to get onto the armature, check your brush orientation. They are just slightly wider on one side than the other and may have to be turned the other way.

The following is a suggested method of replacement:

1.) Disconnect neg battery terminal, chock rear tire and place front on jack stands, the higher the better. You will work almost by feel removing and replacing the battery cable to solenoid and the solenoid clip-on lead, so the more room the better. A creeper is handy. Lots of rags too, as it is a grease and grime-to-your-elbows kind of job.

2.)Removal of the starter is complicated by the front driveshaft and exhaust system. One or the other must be moved to gain sufficient space to remove the starter. My experience was similar to Mikeman's, in that the driveshaft flange bolts are small(9mm) and very tight. The exhaust nut was solidly "frozen" in place and rather than risk damage, I left it alone after a few exploratory twists. Heating the flange bolts briefly with propane made them easy to remove. I was unable to actually remove the shaft, and was only able to force it up and to one side. There was not enough room to allow the shaft to slip off the splined yoke, so don't remove the rubber boot, you won't gain any further advantage.

3.)Remove the red plastic terminal cover by pulling straight back. Using a 13mm socket,disconnect the battery cable and then pull off the solenoid lead. (It looks as if you could first drop the starter and then remove the leads but there is not sufficient length to do this)

3.) Two 13mm bolts hold the starter in place. Remove the upper one first as it harder to reach. A long (12-14") 3/8" extension with flex-coupler works well. After the upper bolt is out, support starter and remover lower bolt.

4.) Slide starter out of the mounting and maneuver it around to a vertical position. It will just squeak by the crossmember, exhaust and displaced driveshaft.

5.) Installation is pretty much reverse, except you cannot see the solenoid terminals and work by feel. Skinny arms and long fingers are a plus. Loc-tite the driveshaft bolts before replacing.

6.) Scrub up and celebrate with a cold one!