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  1. #1

    Default Starter / Solenoid / flywheel questions

    Bringing my Mustang back to life after a few years of not driving it. It has a 28 oz older 302 mated to a V8 WC T5. Used to have an SROD prior to that. Yesterday I had run down my battery playing with idle settings and having it die on me several times. The last time I tried to start it the engine fired but the starter did not disengage and after a few seconds made a hell of a screeching sound until I shut it down. Pulled the starter and it looks perfect (no bendix gear damage) but the flywheel teeth do have some wear but appear to be 90% or more intact. I suspect the starter may be worn out (bad bushings etc. internally) and I'll put in a new one soon. The solenoid has been sticky in the past especially when the battery charge was down somewhat. I'll replace it as well and check all connections. Has anyone else had issues with their starter / solenoid similar to this? Any other suggestions on eliminating future problems? Thanks

  2. #2
    FEP Super Member erratic50's Avatar
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    Got mine hot, it welded itself together and never quit cranking even with the key out. Pulled the battery cable and replaced the solenoid on the fender. Things were fine from there.

  3. #3

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    I had an issue when I was working on the carb, a lot of starting in a short time. Anyway, went to parts store got a new motorcraft solenoid and the thing would not let the starter disengage. Charged battery up overnight and put original solenoid back on and worked perfect. Just one of those things.

  4. #4
    FEP Super Member erratic50's Avatar
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    i should clarify..... there was nothing wrong with my starter when the constant crank problem happened. It wasn't the started that had to be serviced. The starter relay located on the fender had arced and welded itself together and stuck in the ON position. The starter wouldn't disengage once the motor started. When I shut the key off the starter continued cranking. I ended up setting the park brake, throwing it in neutral (its a 5-speed car) and getting out and disconnecting a very hot battery cable. Then I disconnected the wire going to the starter, connected the battery back up to the car, roll started it, and drove to the auto parts store to buy a new relay/solenoid.

    No rhyme or reason to when mine acted up on my 86GT. It just happened one morning firing it up back in the 90's when my car had around 160K miles.

    The next time the very same things happened is when I had been cranking it often while troubleshooting a no-start issue in 2010. (The distributor seals had failed and were giving the ignition stator an oil bath.... good luck finding that one, BTW)

    My car is pushing 1/2 million miles. I had to replace the brushes in the starter once at 200K miles and again at just over 400K miles. I saw cracks in the head on the starter during a clutch job at around 450K miles and within a few thousand miles it had gotten to the point that the starter didn't always engage. When I got under it to "check" it, the starter motor came off in my had and a good portion of the head remained in place. So it was finally time for a new starter. LOL.

  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by erratic50 View Post
    i should clarify..... there was nothing wrong with my starter when the constant crank problem happened. It wasn't the started that had to be serviced. The starter relay located on the fender had arced and welded itself together and stuck in the ON position. The starter wouldn't disengage once the motor started. When I shut the key off the starter continued cranking. I ended up setting the park brake, throwing it in neutral (its a 5-speed car) and getting out and disconnecting a very hot battery cable. Then I disconnected the wire going to the starter, connected the battery back up to the car, roll started it, and drove to the auto parts store to buy a new relay/solenoid.


    No rhyme or reason to when mine acted up on my 86GT. It just happened one morning firing it up back in the 90's when my car had around 160K miles.

    The next time the very same things happened is when I had been cranking it often while troubleshooting a no-start issue in 2010. (The distributor seals had failed and were giving the ignition stator an oil bath.... good luck finding that one, BTW)

    My car is pushing 1/2 million miles. I had to replace the brushes in the starter once at 200K miles and again at just over 400K miles. I saw cracks in the head on the starter during a clutch job at around 450K miles and within a few thousand miles it had gotten to the point that the starter didn't always engage. When I got under it to "check" it, the starter motor came off in my had and a good portion of the head remained in place. So it was finally time for a new starter. LOL.
    Great story! Thanks for letting me know this can be a "normal" occurrence. I should point out my ignition switch mechanism seems stiff so that I have to rotate it back from the spring loaded start position sometimes which may be a problem as well. I'll blast it with some silicon lube spray & see if that helps.
    Thanks all for the replies!

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