I got a new starter today, was cheap to! ('89 F150 5.0 AOD-4X4)
The bolts on the starter where rounded off and I had to spend $29 on a Craftsman bolt/nut remover set. Worked really well though!

Well the old starter (original Ford) wasn't pushin the gear over hard enough to get it to mesh with the flywheel/flexplate and would then grind. The flywheel/flexplate has some of the edges ground off but is still workable.
I installed the new starter. It starts the motor fine BUT after the motor is going and the starters gear gets retracted the side of the gear rubs on the side of the flywheel/flexplate and makes a horible grinding-metal rubbing kind of noise.
I removed it and took it back to the store to compair it to another starter but they didn't have anymore in stock. Compairing the new starter gear and the original starter gear, the gear on the new starter looks a little wider and it seems to be positioned farther out (closer to the flywheel/flexplate) and I am thinking that its not right.

I can find and burs on the flywheel/flexplat and it sounds like its rubbing the entire wheel as the motor runs. So the wheel dosn't seem to be warped or anything. The gear on the old starter didn't rub in this way and isn't warn on the side of the gear.

Anyone got a clue?

 

where did you buy the starter and what brand is it?

 

I got it from a Parts Plus store. Don't know the brand off hand. It was on sale I guess. Normal price is like $94 and I got it for $50.

 

Sounds like Parts Plus is the problem. I have a 88 F-250 4x 7.2L. Recently I replaced my starter w a AC Delco rebuild. Works great and only $60.00 after a $15.00 core exchange. Years ago I bought an off brand starter at a Track Auto because I wanted to pay less. It meshed fine but I burned out three of the things in six weeks. Lesson learned, name brands might cost more but it usually pays off in the long run.

 

Ford non-permanent-magnet starters pre-1993 were all the same across the I6 and Windsor V8. They are different between manual and automatic transmissions, however. It sounds like you may have gotten a manual transmission starter, or that the one you bought was rebuilt with the wrong Bendix.

 

I took it back and got another one. Looked like the gear stuck out about 1/16" to far but this replacement one didn't seem to make any difference. I also compaired it to the manual trany starter, way different and I don't see how anyone could get it in there if they got the wrong unit.

I checked out the flexplate/flywheel (what term is correct? Or both?) and this time I did notice burs. I guess I need to find a way to rotate the wheel and grind the burs off I guess. No real room underneath to get a good tool in there so I guess this is going to a long process I think. I will start that this weekend I think.

I was thinking that if it still shouldn't be doing this with burs then I will return it and get a different brand like maybe a NAPA one.

 

i dont think you want to be grinding the flywheel down because thats one of those things that needs to be balanced. how about moving the starter out a little?

 

I don't see how ya can do that. But with all the metal missing on the side of the wheel from the old starter grinding on it takeing off the burs would be nothing.

 

We'll...........you could put some washers between the starter and the mounting but that is not a good idea. If you are like me then you only have two bolts holding the starter to the mounting so anything less than a totally flush bolt up will result in the starter shifting under load and breaking things. Unless you have the means to make some spacers the exact shape of the starter housing I would not recomend it. As far as getting the burs off your flywheel go I have to ask, How bad are they? If it's little shards don't worry, just find a starter that meshes well and it will wear in. If the leading edge of your flywheel teeth are actually bent then you have a real issue. You will need to replace the flywheel. Just grinding out the bent areas will weaken the teeth, reduce the contact surface of the starter gear, shorten the life of the starter, and quite possibly leave you stranded. If you feel you have to de-burr the flywheel I recomend you pull all your spark plugs otherwise you will be fighting compression the whole time. I still say try a different starter first. Good luck, Karl......

 

Well 3rd starters the charm I guess. They ordered a new one and it was indeed different! The gear sat almost a 1/4 inch farther back in the starter. The parts looked different to. He said it must have been a bad batch and I aggree. These guys are smart ones and I tend to trust em so I will keep going back.

Put the starter in and it works perfectly. No grinding at all. The first two I tried where both off.

 

Hey Joe, I'm glad you got a starter that works. Take care, Karl.........