i have an 83 f150 4wd. the engine is a 302 but its a rebuilt engine and i dont know what year. i had to put a new starter in a couple months ago when i bought it and told them the engine is a '83 302. automatic transmission. it looks like that might be coming back and biting me in the ***.
for the last few days when i go to start my truck there is either: 1-starter turns over very slow like dead battery but will finally start. or 2-starter makes loud noise, like metal on metal but finalally starts. but today i wnet to start my truck and the starter motor just spun w/o engaging the flexplate. thats what it engages right? im guessing my problem is the teeth on the flexplate? broke off. not sure though. could this be b/c i got the wrong starter? before this week it would start fine.
if it is the flexplate how hard is it to replace and what do you have to do?
also how would i find out exactly what year my engine is?

 

Never heard of the 1st one? But it is definenly broken teath on the FLYWHEEL, not the flexplate, if the flexplate was broke you would hear a clunk clunk clunk like a loud lifter. Its got to be the flywheel is what im thinkin. Definently not the starter if this just happened, i dont know how to tell the age of the motor, but their should be "casting" numbers somewhere

Taylor

 

ok thanks. what else would cause broken teeth? i dont want to replace it and have to do it again because i never fixed the real problem.

 

Pull the starter off and find out. It's pretty easy to do and that's the only way you're going to know. Look at the teeth on the starter once it's out, and then turn the engine by hand one full rotation while you look through the starter hole and get a look at all the teeth on the flywheel. No sense in guessing.

If you have chewed up flywheel teeth, the most likely cause is prolonged use of cheap rebuilt parts-store starters that start beating on the flywheel teeth instead of actually engaging it when they get old.

 

yeah i got a reman starter from advance auto. do u know of any place to get quality, but still not to expensive starters?
and if i have to get a new flywheel, where should i get that? thanks.

 

Could be bad bendix on the starter....I'd probably replace the starter again......

Have you had the battery checked as well?

 

yeah. got a new battery a week ago. alternator checked out good to

 

I have a 1983 and I am running a 1971 351 in it and still using the 302 starter that came with the 1983 truck when I bough it new.

So the starter would have been the right one.

You have to take the flexplate off and go buy another flexplate. With an automatic you do have a flexplate and not a flywheel, if you had a flywheel you could replace the ring gear.

There is a part number on a tab at the rear of the engine left side just above where the pan bolts on.

 

ok thanks. to get to the flexplate i have to drop the transmission righT?

 

If you have an automatic transmission, then you don't have a flywheel, you have a flexplate. Standard transmissions use flywheels, autos-flexplates. Year model becomes important in determining which flywheel or flexplate you need as 302s are externally balanced and went from a 28oz. imbalance to a 50oz. I think around '83-'84. When you pull that starter there should be a casting code on the block right above where it was,(at least it is on a 351, and I think 302 as well.) Ford code goes like this: 1st position-decade;(D=1970-1979, E=1980-1989,ect...) 2nd comes year of decade, so an '83 should be E3. If your engine is original the 3rd position should be a T for truck. So it should probably read: E3TE-6015. It is possible to put a 50oz. imbalance (or nuetral balance,) crank into a block that was originally 28oz. imbalance, so if you change out the flywheel/flexplate you should get the imbalance and # of teeth verified before replacing it. If all those teeth look the same and in pretty good shape, your problem is most likely the starter itself, the solenoid switch, or even a bad cable or connection. I personally went through a few low buck starters in my '80 before getting a good one. When I took the last one back for credit, they tried to tell me there wasn't anything wrong with it as it spun and checked out fine on their tester, but they had a hard time arguing with me when I told them their tester doesn't put a load on them and the replacement was working fine when that one wouldn't even turn my truck over! If you have a warranty with the starter you bought, replace it first as it's about the easiest thing to do. Flywheel and flexplates..., if you have to ask, then you should'nt attempt replacement without a gearhead buddy to help you. Hope this helps- Doug

 

ok thanks. ill bring back the starter tommorow and try another one. would a bad connection somewhere casue the motor to not engage the flexplate? or is that gonna just cause the starter to break the teeth of the flexplate. cause ive had problems with the wiring between starter and solenoid.

 

Yes you would have to drop the transmission.

 

ok so ive reading up on how to remove the transmission and basically you drain it, remove torque converter, transfer case, and disconnect lines and put it on a rolling jack and move it back. is that basically it? i know its gonna be a pain but i have some firends who can help. alos how long should a job like this take?

 

Have you inspected the teeth on the flexplate? Just because the starter makes a spinning noise, does not mean the teeth are stripped. Like one of the other posters said, it could be the bendix. That's the gear assembly on the starter. It has a one-way clutch bearing in it that can go bad, and then it will not turn the engine.

Get a flashlight and inspect the teeth. You can turn the engine by hand and look the whole thing over. You may not need to pull the tranny.

 

ok i pulled the starter this morning and flexplate looks good. so thats a good sign. im gonna return the starter and get a new one but i wanted to look at the casting number.
i found a couple numbers. the first one is to the right of the ignition coil and is C8ZE-9425-A which ive found out is a 68 mustang part. i dont know what the 9425 is though. The other numbers i found were right above the starter like doug said but its hard to read but looks like 24 E7TE CA and what looks like a sideways 8. and below that looks like a 91719. the E7TE i think is maybe 87 truck part.