I have a 1973 Ford Mustang Mach I. I have a C-4 transmission installed. I have the correct flywheel and starter installed. In fact, I've found that the started is the same regardless of the transmission installed (assuming automatic transmission). When I put in a new starter (remanufactured) and flywheel, the car will start, but is very noisy, like there is some scraping. Eventually, after a dozen or so starts, the teeth of the starter and flywheel won't exactly engage, anymore. The starter gear will move forward and just miss seating in the teeth of the flywheel, and the starter will spin grinding down whatever tooth happens to be there on the flywheel. Will changing brands of starter help prevent this? Is there that much of a difference? I've been using starters from Autozone.

Is there a starter with bigger teeth that will increase the likelyhood of making positive contact?

I’ve already tried flywheel shims, and this hasn’t helped.

Thanks,
--Robert

 

Well, if you have the correct spacer between the tranny and the block, you should be ok. With that said, take the starter out and run it on a bench and see what the travel is for the gear from the mounting surface.. Then check the flex plate distance from the mounting surface and they should be the same from a given point.

 

If by spacer do you mean that big metal plate that fits between the trans and the block? Well, no, that isn't correct. The spacer is from an FMX. As such, only the holes that attach the trans to the block actually line up. The holes for the other stuff do not (like the hole you use to attach the dip-stick tube to the block, etc.). I've had to cut off the the purturbance in the plate where the starter fits. To compensate, I've used shims between the starter and the transmission to get achieve that same spacing (otherwise, the starter would be directely connected to the transmission).

All this work has yieled no permanent results. I've resorted to putting more shims between starter and trans and taking all the shims out. Nothing reliably works. What I mean to say is that everything seems to work initially, then eventually stops working.

To this point, picture one describes, I believe, the distance you are referring to. Picture number two describes the distance I'm most concerned with. I say this because once the starter fails to engage the flywheel, I can look and see the starter gear stuck on the flywheel in pretty much the position depicted in picture number two: edge-of-tooth-to-edge-of-tooth. I have to manually spin the flywheel a smidge to get the starter gear to retract back into the starter. This will work a few times. Maybe even for a little while, but eventually, enough flywheel teeth (and starter teeth) get ground that the car won't start at all.

That's why I was hoping for a starter with slightly longer teeth in it's gear. That would practially eliminate the problem (in my very "shade tree mechanics" estimation).

Thanks,
--Robert

 

Well, if you compinsated for the starter using a shim thats the correct thinkness as the tranny spacer, that should be fine. It's starting to sound more like you having a problem with the starter being screwed up.

 

Well, what I've tried is using the shim on the upper bolt and not using the shim on the lower. This has the effect of slightly angling the starter gear inwards towards the flywheel. Not much, but it seems to be enough for now. Its still noisy, so I know it is still loosing material. But, maybe it will last a bit longer than a dozen or so starts this time.

[&o]

Thanks for the help.
--Robert