Headers/Starter problem
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Joined: May 2004
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From: Etna/Pataskala, Ohio
Headers/Starter problem
I posted this in 73-79 since there was a topic already there but since there may be issues particular to the newer trucks, figured I should post it here.
My son had PaceSetters put on his 06 F150 5.4. The shop didn't replace the heat shield (they also bolted them wrong but that's another story) because there's not even enough room to fit a sheet of paper let alone a shield. They also didn't bother to tell him that could be a problem. Fast forward 10k miles & now the starter overheats. Truck starts fine cold but once the starter's hot & turned off, won't start again til it cools off for about an hour. My son's in the Army & just left for Germany so Mom gets to take care of the truck. lol Removing the headers isn't an option because my son likes them (besides, he didn't get the stock manifold back from the shop). There's not enough room to wrap the starter as is so we were looking into replacing it wiuth a smaller, performance starter, then wrapping it. That's where we ran into a problem. We tried a couple of performance shops & they had no idea what to recommend. It would be great if the stock starter could be wrapped but, besides not having enough room, since it's been overheating, I imagine replacing it is a better idea. Suggestions?
Thanks!
My son had PaceSetters put on his 06 F150 5.4. The shop didn't replace the heat shield (they also bolted them wrong but that's another story) because there's not even enough room to fit a sheet of paper let alone a shield. They also didn't bother to tell him that could be a problem. Fast forward 10k miles & now the starter overheats. Truck starts fine cold but once the starter's hot & turned off, won't start again til it cools off for about an hour. My son's in the Army & just left for Germany so Mom gets to take care of the truck. lol Removing the headers isn't an option because my son likes them (besides, he didn't get the stock manifold back from the shop). There's not enough room to wrap the starter as is so we were looking into replacing it wiuth a smaller, performance starter, then wrapping it. That's where we ran into a problem. We tried a couple of performance shops & they had no idea what to recommend. It would be great if the stock starter could be wrapped but, besides not having enough room, since it's been overheating, I imagine replacing it is a better idea. Suggestions?
Thanks!
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Joined: Jan 2007
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Vicki Gaudreau,
Your son must have installed the long tube headers, as I have the JBA's installed on my 2004 w/ 5.4 and they basically replace the existing stock cast manifolds.
My initial though would be to find a way to get some sort of heat shield to protect the starter. I doubt that there is a high performance starter that is made for the 5.4 so you will be stuck with the problem of using a stock starter. I doubt that a high performance starter would help much, as these units are typically small, high torque units which by their very nature of being smaller, provide the additional clearance needed.
My second thought was to replace the long tube headers with a set of shorty headers, which should fix the problem as well. There is plenty of clearance to access the starter, etc... on mine, so I would suspect that this would also be the same for you.
Hope this helps,
Doug
Your son must have installed the long tube headers, as I have the JBA's installed on my 2004 w/ 5.4 and they basically replace the existing stock cast manifolds.
My initial though would be to find a way to get some sort of heat shield to protect the starter. I doubt that there is a high performance starter that is made for the 5.4 so you will be stuck with the problem of using a stock starter. I doubt that a high performance starter would help much, as these units are typically small, high torque units which by their very nature of being smaller, provide the additional clearance needed.
My second thought was to replace the long tube headers with a set of shorty headers, which should fix the problem as well. There is plenty of clearance to access the starter, etc... on mine, so I would suspect that this would also be the same for you.
Hope this helps,
Doug
