E150 Van Starter Problem

[KB THE SIDING GUY]

I've been in the starter and alternator business for 25+ years. Never had anything like this.

1987 E150 300 six. Had a bad starter and replaced. Lasted a week, replaced again. Starter works good at first and last about a week. To make long story short, I've went through 6 starters in 1 1/2 months.

1. Checked starter ring. (OK)
2. Made sure it's right starter. (OK)
3. Broke 2 ears on 2 of the starters.
4. Tears up starter drives.
5. Bottom bolt on transmission is strippped, but tight. Put nut on back of the bolt. No play in bolt. Somewhat threads in.
6. Plate between transmission and engine keeps bending where machined mounting of housing meets plate. I would think this plate would not bend if bolts are tight to the plate and transmission.
7. Once plate bends it moves starter away from starter ring which I feel is tearing up the starter drives.

Since I know how to rebuild the starters, it's not costing me allot of money, but it's becoming a pain changing this starter all the time. Has anybody experienced this problem???

I have thought to maybe enlarge the hole on the bottom of the starter to be able to move it in deeper to the starter ring, but I don't think this will solve the real problem.

Any suggestions would be great. Thanks KB the siding guy.

 

[bowtiehatr]

is the bell housing cracked? is the flywheel warped?

not real familiar with the i6's.

 

[Brian_B]

I would also think it is a flexplate/flywheel problem (don't know if auto or standard). Have you visually inspected it to look for cracks/warpage?

I have seen those damage starters in the past.

 

[blacksnapon]

is the bell housing cracked? is the flywheel warped?

not real familiar with the i6's.

Yeah, I agree. For the ears to break on the starter and the plate to bend, there has to be excessive movement at the bell housing (might be a cause of the stripped bolt). If its manual trans, I have replaced dozens of flywheel rings with slight wear on the teeth making starters not last long. Automatic flywheels can break next to the bolts (crankshaft) causing excessive starter wear.

 

[surewhynot]

I had a 351w that did the same thing. It turned out the thrust surface on the main bearings was so far wiped that the flywheel would move in and out causing problems.

 

[econo61]

did they have any work done after the first starter replacement? trans rebuild, motor out, anything like that?

check and make sure the drain plug in the torque converter is lined up thru a hole in the flexplate. if it isnt it will push one section of the flywheel into the starter and break the ears off. [been there, done that!]

also make sure someone hasnt replaced the plate between the bellhousing and motor with the wrong one. try just the head off the starter in the hole and make sure it fits correctly.

 

[KB THE SIDING GUY]

Check for cracked bell housing. Don't see anything.

 

[KB THE SIDING GUY]

Checked for warpage and it's not. I have not pulled the transmission yet to see if it's cracked by the crank shaft bolts.

 

[KB THE SIDING GUY]

Just bought six months ago. Don't know much history except it was a delivery van for a parts store. I'm sure it's been through anything and everything.

I think at this point I will have to pull the transmission and replace the flywheel. It is an automatic.

Looks like a general concensus that it's the flywheel. Thanks for the help.

 

[mrfixit]

sounds to me like it needs a shim or two.

I had an 88 that I had similar problems with, and had to shim the starter out about 64/1000ths