Hello. I have an 86 F250,351c,manual4speed, that has a weird starter problem. It started a while back with some rough sounds from the starter motor and continuosly dying batteries. The rough starts got worse and worse untill eventually the starter motor would not even turn. So I changed the solenoid/relay(fender mount) and starter motor and battery. First time I fire it up...suck,bang,blow she stands right up. No rough start at all. But, every time after that I started it it got the same rough starter motor sounds again.This time they stopped with the starter motor just spinning without engaging the ringgear. I check the starter motor and the bolts have come loose. I tighten them up good check the battery and its drained. Charge it up, turn the key...suck,bang,blow,she stands right up smooth as butter. So I turn it off, fier it back up and she starts sounding rough again. do it agin and again untill she just spins the starter motor without engaging anymore...WTF!!!! I am going crazy. Is it possible to seize the ring gear? Should the ring gear spin by hand when I have the starter motor out? Does the starter motor work by moving forward to engage the ring gear or do they mesh constantly?Any Ideas would be ggreat!!! Thanks!

 

You may need to get straight which engine you have. If you told the autoparts store you have a 86 with a 351c, they should have not been able to look it up. If they gave you a 351c starter, it may be the wrong one. If you have the original engine, you should have a 351w. If someone has been swapping engines out, make sure you do not have a 351m.

 

What's the diff between the 351 w and 351m??

 

Ok...Why would they not be able to look up a 351 clevland? And why would you think I had the windsor and not the clevland?(funny thing is I live in Windsor) And what the hell is a 351m? And How would you recomend finding out what engine I have?

 

351c was never offered in pickups and they are from the late 60's to early 70's

 

351M was introduced in I believe 1979. A 351W as Franklin2 said was the stock engine in 1986. The 351W looks much like a 302. A 351M looks much bigger. There was also a 400M that looks like the 351M. So the best is to start checking engine coding. The people over on the engine forum should be able to help you with that. I know I can't.

 

Ford 289, 302 351W all have valve covers with 6 bolts, and the thermostat housing is in the intake.

The 351C, 351M, and 400 all have 8 bolts on the valve cover, and the thermostat housing is separate from the intake.

 

ok...I bench tested the starter and everthing seemed to be operating normally. It pushed forward and rotated very fast. I also checked to see that the shaft only spun in one direction aswell and it was fine.
I am really confused by all the engine info. I was pretty sure I had a cleveleand. A while back I posted the vin on here and it was a clevlend. I dont know what to do or find out what engine this is. I will start by counting the bolts on the valve covers. Hope someone had somemore ideas for me. I will post the vin aswell.
Ok here is the vin 2FTHF25H4GCB29728

 

My book says that code "H" in your VIN# is a 351W with 4bbl carb. And like franklin2 said, unless someone swapped it in, a Cleveland would never have been in an 86 F-250.

 

Ok... callled the part store and doubled checked that I had proper starter based on the engine code H. They only list the one and its the one I got. I am going to put the starter back in the truck and try this again. I am also going to buy another battery just to make sure I got the right power. I am also going to take a few pics of the engine and post to see what some of ypou think I got. This starter is crazy. Oh ya... Does the starter have to have a certain amount of power to it to properly function? what I mean is ... I can hear the starter spinning but just not engaging.? Does it need alot of power to make the engagement or should it just slip in and turn? hHHHHEEEELLLPPPP!!!!!!

 

The starter does not need a lot of power to spin during bench because there is no load on it. You need to load test the battery, but suspect it in itself is not the trouble. You may have a bad cable or ground. If battery not getting properly charged, this could be your trouble also.

Edit: How is your ring gear? Are their worn or missing teeth?

Rhe ring gear is on the engine and starter drive gear is on the starter.

 

I put the starter back in this afternoon and made sure I ligned it up and tighten it very well. Checked my battery for charge it was about 50%. i charged all the way to 100% and started the truck. She started first turn but sounded rough. I drove her all afternoon doing what i had to do and no prblems. Now... What you said about the bad cable and my battry not getting charged is exactly whats been happening latley. If I would leave the truck off for a few days the battery would be really low. This is what started all this starter trouble. I may have a slow bleed. In that case i will wier a switch to the battery and just kill power every time I turn it off. If you have any other ideas on that let me know. As far as the other cables that might be bad I will replace all wires betweet the battery , relay/solenoid,switch and starter motor.(What a nightmare!) I am going to get a new battery as well and see if that solves the problem too.
Keep the suggestions coming guys. I nned the help. Thanks!

I have heard the gear that the starter gear meshes with is called the ring gear or flywheel. I have a manual transmission and was told it was the flywheel. I am confused about it?! As far as the big gear that the starter gear meshes with... it looks ok. Doesnt hqave any noticibale damage. There are some small shavings in the housing tho. That doesnt surprise me after some of the sounds this thing has been making on start -up!

 

You do have a flywheel, since you have a manual tranny. The ring gear is the gear that is mounted on the outside of the flywheel, and is what the starter gear engages to turn the engine. If the ring gear on the flywheel was tore up, you could take it all apart and replace the ring gear without replacing the whole flywheel.

If you had a auto tranny, then you would have a "flexplate", not a flywheel, though you will hear people call it a flywheel sometimes. It's a lot thinner than your flywheel, and if the gear went bad on it, you would have to buy a whole new flexplate, the gear is not replaceable like your flywheel ring gear is.

 

It would take a heck of a switch if you're thinking of putting it on one of the battery main cables. You'd have to pick one rated for at least the cold cranking amps of the battery. Before you start replacing all the cables do some investigating and find which if any are bad. Clean the connections and check voltage drop while you crank it.

When you bench tested the starter, did the starter gear always move quickly out to the end of its travel? If not you may need a starter bendix. A rebuilt starter should have a new bendix.

You said, "Suck,bang,blow she stands right up" a couple of times. Is this describing a normal start cycle? Bangs aren't something I ever want to hear under the hood. Are you backfiring while it's cranking? That could put a tremendous strain on the starter. Check that your firing order is correct and the timing isn't advanced too much (try about 10° BTDC initially).

Good luck with it.

 

Have you checked your ignition timing? Retard the timing and see if it starts easier.