ok, i just bought a 2000 f150 4x4 ex cab with the 5.4. once in a while when starting, there is a grinding and the starter won;t engage the flywheel. the truck has only had 17000 miles put on it in the past 4 years, and has sat quite a bit. could the starter gear be gummed up and not engaging all the way, or should the starter be replaced? or could poor contact on the cables cause this? or is this a flywheel issue?

thanks in advance!

 

Try taking all of the cables off and taking a wire brush to the connectors, make them all nice and shiny, free of corrosion, and see if that does anything. If not, id say replace the starter. Only $50 bucks if its not lol.

 

After scrubbing the wires, it is sometimes helpful to add automotive grade conducter gel on the terminals...

 

that might help. i would also be tempted to slide the starter off, and spray PB blaster around the nose bushing and sliding gear that engages the flywheel.... give you a good chance to look at the ring gear also, see tooth condition.

 

thanks guys, i'll pull it tonight and see what i find.

 

well, i attempted to pull the wires, but ended up twisting off one of the leads on the selenoid. so here i sat with 3 kids and a truck that didn't run. i pulled the starter, and we walked 1 1/2 miles each way to the local autozone. i got a rebuild starter and installed it. all seems well so far. the teeth on the gear in the old starter were a bit rounded an worn, and the flywheel seems good. teeth look good and square, not worn and rounded. i'll let you know if this doesn;t fix the problem.

thanks again!

 

well, still having a grinding issue once in a while. now what?

 

Get your battery tested.. if its not that, id say your cables are bad.

 

agreed. make sure your cables are tight.

 

cables all look good, must have been replaced at one time. battery tests good and is about a year and a half old.

 

I had the exact same problem and your not going to like it. Pull the inspection cover off of the trans at the bottom of the bellhousing and turn the motor at the crank pulley. Somewhere on your flexplate you will have a section where the teeth are gone about an inch- inch and a half. If you know what you are doing it is not too exspensive for a new flexplate but your going to have to pull the trans to do it

 

Racerx is right. Do it before you have to purchase another new starter!

 

Sounds to me like you have a "few" bad teeth on your flywheel in 1 spot to me.

 

Didint see your post before I posted but I agree with you, it is a pain in the *** but it will make it much easier if you have a transmisson jack and a friend helping you.

 

I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM ON A 2000 F150 114000 MILES, 3 STARTERS LATER 2 I DID MYSELF THE LAST I HAD A MECHANIC REPLACE ALONG WITH A FLYWHEEL INSPECTION THAT WAS IN GREAT SHAPE AND NEW TERMINALS AND IT STILL DOES IT... WHAT GIVES