bskylark72

hey i am new to forum, new to mustang, just aquired an 85 5.0 5 speed and have a question. my starter is grinding on ring gearbut not turning motor , there is a steel plate between bellhousing and block. ive seen this on automatics but not on standard shift. did someone screw up by putting this plate on, also there is shims on starter putting starter further away from ring gear.any help will be appreciated, tired of bump starting this thing.

holyshift

Make sure it is the right starter for that car, and the plate being there should be fine.But if there are shims along with the plate that pry aint helping so take them out and make sure the bolts are good and tight, if none of that works, get a new starter

redpony88

any tranny is gonna have that plate there, it's there so you dont get crap in the bellhousing, i wouldnt like a rock flying in there and messing up my clutch and flywheel .
pull those shims, that doesnt sound right. but are all the teeth on your flywheel good? and also are they good on the starter?

mjr46

it's a spacer plate and is suppose to be there even on the 5 spd cars.........if it is grinding in one spot grab a 15/16 socket and rachet and rotate motor over past bad spot and try to start.. more than likely you need a new flywheel