The starter on my 1977 F-250 w/460 V8 has caused a problem. It started a few months back. When I would start the truck it would make a terrible grinding noise but it would still start. Eventually it would no longer crank the engine. Now I have taken the starter off and tested it. It does not fully engage and it needs to be replaced. The bushing on the end of the starter was half way out and allowed the gear to wobble around and also stopped it from fully engaging the fly wheel.

Now my question is about the fly wheel/flex plate. I checked it out all the way around by turning the engine with a wrench. About 80% of the teeth are there completely, about 15% are 1/4 gone, and about 5% are 1/2 gone. If I install a new starter will it work? The last thing I want to do is replace the fly wheel. I simply do not have the time. I need this truck though.

 

I would throw another starter on there, buts thats just me. Others would say to replace flywheel or ring gear. the way I see it you only have a 5% chance everytime you start your truck that it might be on the bad part of the flywheel. vs pulling the tranny i could live with that.

 

But even on the bad part the teeth are still there, they have just been half ground away. Would it still crank?

 

I would just replace the starter and see what happens. As long as it still starts all the time and doesnt grind I wouldnt worry about the flexplate. It may be something to think about if you ever have the motor or tranny out, though.

Hi Ho, swing by the Northwest Chapter and say Hi when you get a chance.

 

Well hopefully I will not have the engine or transmission out any time soon. The starter is two years old and under warranty. I'll get a replacement tomorrow and see what happens.

Where is the Northwest chapter, by the way?

 

Have you checked for being a starter for a manual as opposed to an automatic ?
They are different

So far I have read Flywheel/ring gear/flexplate.

Please tell us which one it is ?

 

The starter engages the flywheel in 4 general locations. This is due to the pumping action of the pistons on an 8 cylinder engine.

 

Sorry Mil1ion. It is an automatic. Did the 460 engine even come with a stick shift?

 

A word from someone who has "Been there - Done that". You will need to swap out the flex plate or have a new ring gear welded in the chewed up one's place. I went through 4 starters with a very similar problem. When I first got the truck, the starter was noisy and made the grinding sound and when I looked, one of the mounting tangs was broken. Bought a new starter and it seemed to work for about two days then it just started grinding with no-start. When I looked, the same damn thing had happened. Well, I figured that something was causing the mount tang to stress when the gears slipped so I replaced the starter once more and realized that the threads on the bell housing were stripped so I tried to rig longer bolts with a locknut on the end to keep bolt from loosening. Problem solved... for about two days when I realized that whenever the starter gear lined up with the worn or chewed spots on the flexplate, it would not start and make the most horrible racket. After carrying around a 3/4" ratchet drive with me and having to crawl under the front end and manually turn the crank if lined up wrong to get it to start for a few weeks it tore up that starter as well so I finally had to drop the tranny, replace the flexplate with a $20.00 part from the junkyard, go find yet another starter and reassemble. It took 2 months and 4 starter motors to get the problem to go away. Oh yeah, on mine the teeth were only chewed up in two spots each about an inch long but if that's where the starter lined up, I was stuck.

My advice is to not try and cut corners and just bite the bullet and replace the flexplate - it is not that hard if you have a floor jack. My tranny is an old FMX with the cast iron body so it was a pain to do by myself but if I had a helper, I could have done it in a couple of hours. Good luck.

 

Its in the bottom of my signature

 

I agree, replace the flex plate on the crankshaft and replace with a new starter.
Your problems with starting will be gone.

 

I got a new starter. It was under warranty. It seems to be working fine. It has definetly gotten a workout. First the truck wouldn't start, lots of cranking there, then it ran out of gas on the test drive, lots more cranking. It isn't grinding at all. I'll just hope it stays that way.

A strange thing happened the first time I started it. Appearently a cable from the alternator broke loose and caused some major arcing. I could see it from inside the truck. I reattatched the cable with a new connector and it seems to be working fine but that was strange.

Now I just need to figure out why the blinkers no longer work. They worked before. The flasher unit is good but there is no power getting to it. The 4 way flashers work fine. I'm guessing it's the switch?

 

Check for power at the fuse panel for your turn signals and check the fuse.

 

I have been troubleshooting all morning. The fuses are fine, there is power, there is power at the switch, but there is no power at the flasher unit. I am looking for a wiring diagram.

EDIT: I found a wiring diagram. Now I'm confused. According to the wiring diagram, found HERE, there should be a "direct." fuse for the blinkers. It's not even there in my truck. See THIS picture.

 

I have determined that the switch is the problem. I found the fuse for the blinkers. It doesn't match up with the diagram or the labels on the fuse box. It's the second one over from where the arrow was pointing in the picture. The fuse was blown. I replaced it and now with the steering wheel off and the switch out I can get the blinkers working if I wiggle it and hold it in just the right position. I can't take the switch apart as it is riveted together and I don't see how I would replace it. I'd have to cut the wires and solder them back together. There is a fat connector plug on the other end of the steeing colum and the wires are riveted to the switch. What now?