Subject says it all. 190 F150 5.0 4x4 5 speed. I've never replaced one before, but I'm good with tools, so, breezer or bear?

 

My opinion is that it is pretty easy, unless you have headers. There's 2 bolts that attach the starter to the trans, then a strap on the front that hangs it from the block. Take those off and let it hang from the cable, then take off the cable. You don't really have to disconnect the battery since the cable coming down is not hot until you turn the key (unlike GMs where the battery is connected directly).

 

ok. I haven't gone out and looked at it yet. I'm just getting some info so I know if I'm doing it when I get home from work tonight. Glancing at a few posts it looks easy. I'll unbolt it and take it to be tested and clean connections.

 

Umm, if his '90 5.0 is like my '92 5.0, VERY VERY WRONG about the wiring not being hot. Mine IS a 2WD M5OD, though, and I have no idea how much difference there is in the bell housing on the 2WD and 4WD. Only thing that would worry me is the front drive shaft being in the way. It Does come up on the right side, doesn't it?

I don't think Ford changed the starters that much between '90 and '92, but I could be wrong. My '92 starter has TWO red wires going down there. One is a 4/0AWG cable STRAIGHT FROM THE BATTERY, the other about a 10AWG coming from the fender mounted starter relay. I have shorty headers on mine, and changing the starter was a breeze. The only problem that I had was that Ford used grade 5 12 point bolts for the starter mounting bolts that promptly rounded off. Getting the OE bolts out was a bit of fun, but I went back with Grade 8 6 point bolts.

Safest bet, disconnect the battery. Ever seen one explode? VERY IMPRESSIVE lightning white flash and VERY big BOOM. Got to see it happen in an Advance Auto Parts store about 2 months ago. Just from static discharge when the guy walked across a vinyl tile floor, and reached down to pick it up. BANG, and plastic bits from the case were scattered all over the store. Fortunately for the guy, they had a big mop sink nearby, and he was wearing glasses. I grabbed him and stuck his head and arms in the sink and flushed him down good with water. He was a VERY lucky man, and only had bruises on his knucles and needed a new uniform. Batterys are constantly bleeding off hydrogen, and just a cigarette can ignite it if there's any pressurised release from the battery because of poorly venting caps while you're near it. I smoke, but I stay the heck away from the battery with it since I've seen the boomer at Advance Auto. By the way, this was a "DEAD" used battery.

ANY time you're messing around with a starter, save yourself some spitzensparken, and drop the ground (-) lead on the battery first, and at minimum. Taking the negative lead off first guarantees you won't burn a hole in the fender if your tools hit the sheet metal taking off the positive lead. (Who cares if you short ground to ground, right?) Safer to take BOTH off. It isn't going to hurt anything, and may actually help to have the EEC re-learn the fuel curves. Disconnecting it will guarantee you don't short out the battery. An exploding battery would be the least of your problems if you don't get the acid in your eyes. More than likely, it'll eat every piece of solid state electronics on the vehicle if you short it out and don't explode it. You're talking some VERY serious amperage with NOTHING protecting it. I know we all like to take shortcuts sometimes, guys, but please, let's work safe. I like to see folks come back and tell us their success stories, not read about 'em in the newspaper headlines or obits. There are too many reasons to disconnect it, and only one I can think of NOT to disconnect it.

Now to add detail to your task: All new/rebuilt starters now come with a stud and nut on the solenoid to replace the stab on connector that Ford was fond of using for everything. This is the coil lead to the solenoid. Look at that connection, and if the plastic is melted or the insulation on the wire is, more than likely, that's your culprit, not the starter. IF you're lucky, you can clean up the connection, and put it back on, but the female connector on the wire will most likely have the tempering burned out of it, and you're gonna find yourself back under there a lot sooner than you want to be. But I dunno if you can just get a replacement solenoid to go on the starter. I'm not talking about the little fender mounted relay, I'm referring to the big hulking solenoid on the top of the starter. That's got huge contacts in it to handle the starter motor current, and one of those is wired directly to the battery. I pulled mine about 6 weeks ago, and replaced the whole starter. It wasn't dead, but was getting very weak. I checked the brushes in it, and yep, worn out. Bearings were very stiff from carbon/clutch dust, so I didn't bother trying to find just a solenoid. The new one came with a stud/nut on it in place of the spade, and a butt splice already attached to the other end of the wire that had a ring lug on the nut/stud. Better arrangment, because my old VW also has the spade connector, and that's ALWAYS an issue on that car. If someone will check, I think there will probably be a service advisory on this connection as it is actually a fire risk. If I can find the paperwork that came with my new starter, I'll scan and post, but I think I already threw it away. There's a good write-up on it about why that connection was changed.

 

breeze.

do everything that old paint said to do.

taking it out, getting a new one, cutting wire and putting it back in truck should take less than 1.5 hours.

disconnect the battery cable, the wire to starter is hot.

 

I've done four on mine, just kept getting junk ones from Autozone, so far I have three years out of this one. Worst memory of this switch, was I got stuck doing it outside in 0 degree weather, wasn't to happy about that.

 

i have had good luck with the lifetime bosch starters.

 

got er done. Thanks.

 

Cool bananas. Did it fix your starting problems?

 

I thought it did. New starter spinning nicely. I suspected my old one had a "bad spot" because intermittantly it would just click when I turn the key, sometimes rotating slightly. Other times do just fine.

Today the new one is also cranking super slow as if the battery is dead. I was doing some deer season scouting and was almost stuck. It finally kicked over and started. Volt meter drops to 8 whenever this condition happens. I guess I'll re-examine the grounding and connections.

 

I got bitten by the semi-dead starter, or flaky battery syndrome, too. You may be able to save yourself a few bucks, like about $70 of 'em. If it still has the original factory battery clamp, it will be a good idea to check that. There are two 4/0 wires coming out of that one clamp, one to the relay, one straight to the starter. On my truck, the cable going to the starter failed inside the clamp with no indication of heat, corrosion, nor any other sign it was failed. A $2 clamp probably would have stopped me from putting the new starter on which was actually a pre-emptive strike on a coming problem, but certainly would have saved me the cost of a new battery.

 

How does one check if the starter is mostly worn out and will fail say in a few months?

Then replace it preemptively before getting stranded in the middle of nowhere.

What's the lifetime of one, anyway?

 

IMO it is not possible to determine the lifespan of a component such as a starter. There are simply too many variables from one case to the next that impact on the longevity or early demise of a starter motor. My F150 is now 15 years old and shows 260,000kms on the odometer - it still has the factory starter on it. My Buick, at 14 years and 190,000kms just threw it's 1st starter motor. Lemme tell ya, the rebuilt one that I installed is no where near the quality of the original part. It wouldn't surprise me if I replace it again within a year.

Cheers!

Mike

 

Three years ago the starter went in my F350 crewcab, and I replaced it with a "lifetime warranty" AutoZombie unit. A week later, it puffed smoke instead of starting the truck, so I exchanged it for another unit, which lasted a little more than a month, then died without any smoke. After a lot of arguing with them, I returned it and got my money back, and grabbed a junkyard, factory original starter off a van, and it's been there ever since.

This is not a unique story... and why as time passes I get my parts from junkyards if I can rather than buy a rebuilt. Same thing happened with the wiper motor on my 99 Crown Victoria. It died, wipers stuck up, rebuilt worked for a few months (lifetime warranty), exchanged it, the exchange didn't work at all, so I argued and got my money back, and found a similar CV in the junkyard and took the motor. That too has been there since.

I don't even buy bulbs and fuses at stores anymore. Junkyard all the way.

 

I have a bit of experience rebuilding Ford, GM, and old Chrysler starters. My Ford has the factory starter with new brushes, overrunning clutch, and checked bearings. It runs like a scalded dog, as it should. Total cost: about $16. Lifetime warranty? What a pain to remove over and over...