Diputado

Have a couple questions here about solving a heat soak problem. I'm running a moderately-built 289 in my '65 (with headers, of course!) and have been having a real nusiance with starter heat soak. Run it for a few miles, shut it down, and you have to wait 20-30 minutes before it'll crank again....usually with the hood up so it'll cool quicker. And we not talking about real hot, about 180-190 degrees engine temp. Not much of a problem if you stop somewhere for a bite to eat...but at a gas station it's definitely a hassle! So, my questions are: 1) Would one of those high-torque "mini starters" help? and 2) would changing to "shorty" headers help? I've read that either one helps the problem, but personally have no experience with either. I've also read that shorty headers aren't much better than the factory manifolds.

Any comments????

noroof66

Are you sure it is the starter? I dont think it would be the starter causing this issue.
I would look at fuel.

Iskwezm

if its cranking, its not a starter issue, if its not cranking then its not a fuel issue.

A long time ago(when i was a teen), i had starter issues.I was sold a buch of stuff that didnt fix the issue(turbo wrap for starter,cables etc).
I replaced the starter with a CHEAP rebuilt unit from Kragen(back in the day) and its worked fine for almost 20 years.Now its having issues, but i have sad bad starters not crank or crank intermittently

Gun Jam

I had the same issue... I was running a napa mini starter on my t5 tans.

I would not call it heat soak...more like just POS starter that doesnt have enough torque to turn over a warm engine.

I replaced it a year or so ago with a ford racing mini starter. Its awesome. It doesnt care if the engine is hot, cold, flooded, high altitude, sea level, or weak battery. It will %*$ing crank anything over. No heat issues at all ever... even when its a 115 out.

Im 95% sure this is the one i got

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/fms-m-11000-b51

-Gun

67mustang302

It's not an uncommon problem in classics, stock ****ty starter with headers...starter gets hot and the rotor rubs and it loses torque trying to turn itself over.

FWIW I run a Powermaster starter and mid length headers, for ground clearance. The more power the starter has, the longer it lasts turning any given engine over.

Diputado

Hey y'all, thanks for all the comments and suggestions. The problem is definitely related to heat, as the fuel system is working just fine, and like I siad..when the starter is cold it cranks away! In fact, I've also experienced a couple odd occurrences when starting the engine. What has happened twice over the past 5 months is that when the engine starts, the starter doesn't stop cranking...even with the ignition off and the key out. You have to jump out and and disconnect a battery cable to stop it. Reconnect the cable and everything seems back to normal. Any idea what THIS might be?


Oh, yeah...one of you mentioned "mid-length" headers. How are these different from the so-called "shorty" headers...or are they the same? Who makes them?

67mustang302

Mid length and shorty are mostly the same, I run JBA's. You might want to check your start solenoid too.

69thunder

You could try a starter blanket as well as the cheapest option.

Diputado

Don't think it's a solenoid issue. Back when it first happened, that what I thought, and replaced the solenoid AND the ignition switch (which was worn out anyway). But, it has now also happened with the brand new parts. Was told that I may have a grounding problem in the starter circuit, but all wires seem well-connected. One other odd electrical issue with this car is that the wipers work fairly "normal" if the engine is not running, but will operate at only half-speed while running. Plus...have never gotten the tachometer (an Autometer tach) to work right,either...it will only register 1/2 the actual rpm no matter how you connect it.

clowe1965

If it is the stock ignition system then there is supposed to be a resistor in the ignition circuit. This will screw with your tach readings because 12V is not being seen at the coil. I ran a new ignition wire and bought a HEI distributor, better ignition system and solved the tach problem.

I ran into the constant starter problem the other day, trying to bump the engine with a jumper wire for setting the timing since my crank bolt is inaccessible. Thank goodness for that disconnect I installed. I am having problems with the starter too, it is acting like it has an inconsistent ground, but its grounded enough to smoke a jumper wire in a few seconds. I'll probably go with that motor listed above, as I'm pretty sure this is the original starter. My solenoid is almost new, and you can hear it opening and closing so the problem is def the starter.

Try tracing the wiring for the wiper motor, you might have a bad ground or the speed switch has a short in it that is triggered by the engine running. Does it have that issue with the ignition on, or only when the engine is actually running?