ok im stumped my 86 250 is making noises out of the bellhousing. It shounds like the torque converter bolts are loose and hitting the flex plate but they are tight. I made shore the exposed plate wasnt bent or hitting. The noise started when i put the new starter on. I checked to see if the tranny was tight to the engine. Im stumped.

 

Did you inspect it carefully for cracks? I have had one crack, apparently from metal fatigue.

(A friend jammed his in reverse at about five mph forward and broke it.)

 

is it the correct starter for THAT year and THAT motor?

 

Yes, the wrong starter will not disengage fully, and the teeth hit on the ring gear of the flywheel/flexplate. If that is the correct starter, try shimming it out for more clearance. Do that by placing a thin washer behind one of the bolts holding the starter to the bellhousing. You should see signs of contact on the starter gear or ring gear if thast's causing the noise. In my 84, the noise was a loud knock in that same area. That turned out to be a couple of bent piston rods allowing the pistons to hit the crank. Hope your problem is not so severe!!! JSM84

 

Flywheel could be cracked, or check the starter. Sometimes the spring on starter drive will break, not letting it disengage all the way when its suppose to.

 

When i picked up the started we set both of them on the counter nose to flange to check if they had the same depth. Ill try shimming it. Its not a heavy sound its a really light tinny sound. Maybe the flex plate did break and is hitting inside. I didnt notice any marks on the nuts.

 

I had a problem like this in my old 72 gmc 1 ton van, turned out the flex plate
had three long cracks in it. But it was a loud noise and attracted attention.

Ron

 

My suspicion of the noise in my 84 was a cracked flexplate, too, since I had that problem in two other Ford cars. Unfortunately, the only way to check that out is to pull the motor or the tranny. I opted to pull the tranny, since I also had a motor with that tinny ticking sound that turned out to be a backed-out bolt from the torque converter backing plate/flexplate. You can check those bolts by truning the motor by hand and checking those bolts holding the tc, which I assume has already been done. A few hints to diagnose the noise may help out. I took a 4 ft length of 1/2" garden hose, or a rubber hose will do, and used it as a stethoscope like a doctor uses. Place one end to your ear, and the other to various parts of the motor while it's running. BE CAREFUL OF THE FAN AND MOVING PARTS!!! A ticking is normally in the valves, so listen to each valve cover. Listen to each exhaust manifold, or each tube if you have headers. Any engine noise can be isolated in this manner, as it will be VERY loud thru the hose. I found the "racket" or knocking to be worst on the bottom of the motor at the front of the tranny bellhousing. This suggested a crankshaft problem like a spun bearing or a probelm with the ring gear/flex plate. After pulling the tranny and finding NO signs of wear or contact or metal filings, I concluded the noise had to be in the enigne. Before pulling the engine, I removed the oil filter and cut it in half. No metal filings inside it, but the filter was a solid mass of sludge and the oil looked like chocolate milk. BAd Sign!! I then removed the oil pan, find several chunks of metal in the bottom, more milky oil and sludge. And a couple of shiny spots on the crankshaft lobes where the pistons were hitting. After pulling the engine and disassembly, only then did I find the cause - two piston connecting rods were bent. Point being, don't remove the tranny and engine if you don't have to, try to isolate the cause of the noise and work from there. AN internal engine problem like my failed oil pump and water intrusion will show up in the oil or filter. BTW, the engine ran fine, good idle, just had that sound like a diesel motor.