Starter Armature Question
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New User
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 22
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From: Cave Junction USofA
Starter Armature Question
Hey gang
Heres a question for ya. I think I have to repair my starter. The starter motor works fine (it seems). I suspect the armature has given up on me.
Details are: 64F-100, 223, 3 spd. Ford starter, the one with the 'Folo-Thru' drive.
This part is probably important: When I took the starter out, the drive was locked back in start/turn the flywheel position. I understand that it gets thrown back out of the way by the force of the flywheel turning, when the motor has started and is running on its own. This leads me to believe its the drive arm.
No, it its not the truck engine, no, its not the flywheel, no its not the battery, no its not the relay. I've already exhausted those possibilities. My local starter/alternator/generator guy has checked out the starter motor and says its good. Soon as I can get to the parts store, I'm gonna replace the cables conecting the battery to the relay, relay to starter, and ground wire. Hopefully thats gonna work for me, if not, its pretty much gotta be the drive arm.
When I bought the truck, it could be started by banging on the starter. The starter motor turned just fine, but it wouldn't bite, until banged upon. I took the starter out, and to the aforementioned starter guy, and he replaced a bent bushing and told me the starter motor looked pretty new inside and kinda shrugged his shoulders, saying "I dunno". After some prodding he pulled a couple of old Folo Thru drives out of his pile, which I handled a minute and said no thanks. Then he got on the phone, and found me a rebuilt drive. Its 32 bucks and an hours drive away.
When I turn the key, the starter tries to turn the motor for a brief moment, then I just hear the starter motor turning, and a clicking, as if the teeth aren't biting the flywheel teeth, but just skipping over them. When I turn the motor manually, the flywheel turns. I haven't tried jacking up the rear wheels and turning them to start the engine.....yet.
How can I test the arm, to find out if its bad? Is there a method? Do these drives go bad? Is 32 dollars too much? Its the only one for miles and miles, or I can pay out the nose to ship it to and from Seattle to be rebuilt.
And the most important question of all....am I doing the right thing by pursuing this drive arm repair/replacement chain of thought?
I'm really looking forward to your replies. Really.
J219
p.s. Tomorrow I start posting questions about the clutch job I'm gonna do next week.
Heres a question for ya. I think I have to repair my starter. The starter motor works fine (it seems). I suspect the armature has given up on me.
Details are: 64F-100, 223, 3 spd. Ford starter, the one with the 'Folo-Thru' drive.
This part is probably important: When I took the starter out, the drive was locked back in start/turn the flywheel position. I understand that it gets thrown back out of the way by the force of the flywheel turning, when the motor has started and is running on its own. This leads me to believe its the drive arm.
No, it its not the truck engine, no, its not the flywheel, no its not the battery, no its not the relay. I've already exhausted those possibilities. My local starter/alternator/generator guy has checked out the starter motor and says its good. Soon as I can get to the parts store, I'm gonna replace the cables conecting the battery to the relay, relay to starter, and ground wire. Hopefully thats gonna work for me, if not, its pretty much gotta be the drive arm.
When I bought the truck, it could be started by banging on the starter. The starter motor turned just fine, but it wouldn't bite, until banged upon. I took the starter out, and to the aforementioned starter guy, and he replaced a bent bushing and told me the starter motor looked pretty new inside and kinda shrugged his shoulders, saying "I dunno". After some prodding he pulled a couple of old Folo Thru drives out of his pile, which I handled a minute and said no thanks. Then he got on the phone, and found me a rebuilt drive. Its 32 bucks and an hours drive away.
When I turn the key, the starter tries to turn the motor for a brief moment, then I just hear the starter motor turning, and a clicking, as if the teeth aren't biting the flywheel teeth, but just skipping over them. When I turn the motor manually, the flywheel turns. I haven't tried jacking up the rear wheels and turning them to start the engine.....yet.
How can I test the arm, to find out if its bad? Is there a method? Do these drives go bad? Is 32 dollars too much? Its the only one for miles and miles, or I can pay out the nose to ship it to and from Seattle to be rebuilt.
And the most important question of all....am I doing the right thing by pursuing this drive arm repair/replacement chain of thought?
I'm really looking forward to your replies. Really.
J219
p.s. Tomorrow I start posting questions about the clutch job I'm gonna do next week.
Postmaster
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 3,613
Likes: 6
From: Coal country
Starter Armature Question
32 bucks for a rebuilt starter is GOOD. Spending too much time trying to get a bum one to work is BAD. Unless you are a purist for keeping everything 100% original for a show truck.
JMHO.
JMHO.
Postmaster
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 2,557
Likes: 2
From: Texas
Starter Armature Question
It sounds like you may be in possesion of a bent armurature.
Remove it from the case and suspend it from both ends on two blocks of wood. Now slowly rotate the armurature and watch to see if its out of round.
If this isn't your problem, I would replace it with the rebuild and see if it cures your problem.
Another possibility is you have a bent flywheel or loose flywheel bolts causing the flywheel to rotate out of round.
Let us know how it turns out.
Remove it from the case and suspend it from both ends on two blocks of wood. Now slowly rotate the armurature and watch to see if its out of round.
If this isn't your problem, I would replace it with the rebuild and see if it cures your problem.
Another possibility is you have a bent flywheel or loose flywheel bolts causing the flywheel to rotate out of round.
Let us know how it turns out.
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New User
Joined: May 2002
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From: Cave Junction USofA
Starter Armature Question
Hi Krosati, thanks for the good advice, I sure will give it a try.
>Another possibility is you have a bent flywheel or loose
>flywheel bolts causing the flywheel to rotate out of round.
I'm doing a clutch replacement this week, or maybe next if I'm not too busy. I'm gonna hold off on the starter business until I get the flywheel to a machine shop to be surfaced. It didn't occur to me that the flywheel could be loose or out of round enough to not start. I had only checked the teeth for wear.
I bought the truck for dirt cheap, cause my friends little brother had burnt the clutch trying to back it up a mountain. Heh. Hence, clutch replacement.
>Let us know how it turns out.
You bet I will. I suspect you'll be hearing much more from me in the coming months. I've put a couple of pics in my gallery, if anybody wishes to check it out. A little rusty, but....
J219
>Another possibility is you have a bent flywheel or loose
>flywheel bolts causing the flywheel to rotate out of round.
I'm doing a clutch replacement this week, or maybe next if I'm not too busy. I'm gonna hold off on the starter business until I get the flywheel to a machine shop to be surfaced. It didn't occur to me that the flywheel could be loose or out of round enough to not start. I had only checked the teeth for wear.
I bought the truck for dirt cheap, cause my friends little brother had burnt the clutch trying to back it up a mountain. Heh. Hence, clutch replacement.
>Let us know how it turns out.
You bet I will. I suspect you'll be hearing much more from me in the coming months. I've put a couple of pics in my gallery, if anybody wishes to check it out. A little rusty, but....
J219
