When it does this have you checked the voltage ? My old 87 firebird would not fire if it was down to 10 volts if the starter was rebuilt or from AutoZone. Neither will either of my 454s. One of the 454s had a missing starter bolt and was twisting the housing but that's fixed now. Unless the bell housing or flywheel/ring gear is loose I can't think of anything else. Cheer up tho, these trucks seem to like being obtuse.
Rich

 

yea my buddy says he is convinced possible the fly wheel is bent or warped after we checkd all that other stuff

 

You can check for a warped flywheel/ring gear fairly easily if there's somewhere to see it with the starter attached to turn it. just turn it until you think its at a high spot and rig up a piece of chalk or something to barely touch it and turn it over. If the mark is similiar around it it is ok, if it disappears its bad. I have used a machinist's magnetic stand and indicator to do this (on a 302/c4) but not everyone can.
Where you bought the starter do they have different part numbers for manual and automatic trans ? Are these staters rebuilt ?
The reason I asked is the ford 302s for early mustangs have all been lumped under the same part number and if you happen to get one for a manual trans to install on an automatic trans then it has to be shimmed away fron the ring gear.
Rich

 

ok thanks that will be very helpful i have a 5 speed manual in mine so tommorrow i will check the flywheel

 

I'd pull the starter out, get a measuring tape and a good sized flat screwdriver and pry the flywheel so that it turns the engine over, and say every turn you get out of it, measure it off. That's one way you could see if its warped. Somehow I doubt you have a warped or a bent flywheel, but I guess it's possible. What engine do you have by the way?

I also wanted to thank you for being patient with all of us. Most people in your situation would be getting very upset and start getting mad at the people who are helping them. So thanks!

 

If you had a warped or bent flywheel your truck would have been vibrating pretty badly last time it ran.

You really need to run through the starter electrical system with a multi-meter to chase this down. How did you confirm the solenoid was good?

 

as i of today i put 2 new soleinoids on it...it has a 4.0 ....i checked flywheel...its not bent...im gonna try 3rd starter this afternoon...my mechanic said its very possible i have a flat spot on the armature in the starter enven though it is new so im gonna try that...i never get mad lmao....i appreicate everyones help!

 

I am assuming it has done this for a while so whatever it causing this is a wear and tear issue and not something casued by a part being replaced or damaged. Please confirm this is correct.

1 - When you replaced all of your cables, am I correct in assuming that you replaced your ground cables as well?

2 - When you replaced cables, did you clean up the contact areas where the cables are connected? did you do this on the round cables as well?

3 - Are you getting 12 Volts to the solenoid from the battery?

4 - Have you checked voltaages on the solenoid with the ignition switch off, on, and in the start position? What were these voltages?

5 - Have you checked the voltage at the starter with the igntion off, on, and in the start position?

6 - Have you tried running a separate ground cable from the starter to see if this corrects the problem?

7 - Have you bench tested the starter(s)?

8 - Have you checked all of the wires at the starter to enusre they have a good clean connection? Are any of these slip-on connectors or are they all bolt-on connectors? I had a very similar problem with my boat two years ago. The slip-on connector was corroded on the inside and you could not see the problem. the bad connection would heat up the connector causing it to expand and come loose. Replaced the connector and the problem was fixed but it took me three months to figure out what my problem was.

I'll wait for answers to all of this before sugesting a next move.

 

found the problem....the starter had a flat spot on the armature...it had to sop soning right on that spot for it to act up...got another new starter and works good!

 

Thats great to hear Jackson! Glad to hear you're back on the road!

 

Great news, have fun on the road! (Be Safe lol)