AOD to T5 swap starter grinding

[Bossed]

Guys, we did the AOD to T5 swap on my son's Mustang. Once we got everything bolted up and wires connected I tried to start it. Everything seems to work as it should except the starter. It sounds like it's not engaging fully with the flywheel. It will start the car, and once it starts there is no issues or noises. The starter is the one that was on the car. The flywheel is a new Ford Racing 157 tooth, the index plate is new from LMR. I've searched the internet and this subject is one that has a lot of mixed opinions. Some say the starters are the same, some swear they're different. Anyone want to weigh in on this problem ? I'm all ears.

Bossed

 

[General karthief]

I took the starter from a 92 5.0 aod parts car I have and stuck it on the my 89 gt 5 speed, I wanted to try the new style starter and it worked fine as far as fit and start up with no grinding issues, I did have to replace it only because of a slow crank issue, same style starter still no issues.

 

[a91what]

Starters are all the same I believe, I am also using an sn95 starter.

 

[Bossed]

I took the starter from a 92 5.0 aod parts car I have and stuck it on the my 89 gt 5 speed, I wanted to try the new style starter and it worked fine as far as fit and start up with no grinding issues, I did have to replace it only because of a slow crank issue, same style starter still no issues.

Thanks GK, it seems like almost no one has an issue doing the same thing you did. But I have come across a couple of cases where people were having the same problem I am. Unfortunately they didn't follow up with the fix.

 

[General karthief]

The issue may be the 'universal ' nature of some remanufactured starters, I heard there is a slight difference in the depth of early one wire starters, what is the problem, teeth not engaging far enough or not at all

 

[Bossed]

The issue may be the 'universal ' nature of some remanufactured starters, I heard there is a slight difference in the depth of early one wire starters, what is the problem, teeth not engaging far enough or not at all

I tried another starter just to eliminate that the original starter wasn't the culprit. Still doing the same thing. It's engaging the flywheel and the car will start but it sounds like hell doing it. Once it starts, it sounds completely normal, nothing rubbing ,no vibration. I'm going to pull the transmission and see if something looks amiss, right now I don't know what the problem is.

 

[General karthief]

Are you using the one wire starter?
Are the teeth getting chewed up?

 

[Bossed]

Are you using the one wire starter?
Are the teeth getting chewed up?

No, it's the mini starter with two wires. It's a 92 model.

 

[Bossed]

I've turned the motor by hand to inspect the teeth on the flywheel. They look fine.

 

[90sickfox]

If it's not wired correctly the starter will grind at the end of spinning. Almost like holding the key too long. To test this disconnect the small wire ( solenoid ) and tap it on the battery to crank the car.

If using the old fender mounted solenoid... the big starter wire goes on the same side as battery wire. The little wire goes to the other terminal. The ignition wire stays on the small post.

 

[General karthief]

I agree with 90sickfox on that one, mine has a jumper down on the starter and it will spin for a second or two after the engine starts but does not stay engaged or grind.

 

[Bossed]

It's not doing that. No wiring has been changed.

 

[General karthief]

The problem may be the index plate, I've never used a new one.

 

[90sickfox]

The used to sell shims for starters... but you'd have to pull the starter and look at the teeth and the teeth on the flywheel to see what's happening. They could've sent you the wrong flywheel.

Then there's the tedious task of marking one of the teeth and counting them. Usually, I mark every 10th so I can keep track.

 

[Mustang5L5]

I swapped my car from AOD to 5-spd. Used original starter and no issues at all

 

[96pushrod]

Does the bellhousing have the dowels in it? Or you could check runout and see if it’s tweaked at all. Could cause a misalignment.

I’ve used brand new ford starter plates and not had any issues. It wasn’t on a swap, but shouldn’t be much of a difference.

 

[Bossed]

UPDATE It was the index plate. Pulled the transmission back out, found an original Ford plate I forgot I had. Compared to the OEM plate, the hole for the starter was about .055 closer to the flywheel. I installed the transmission with the Ford plate, problem solved.

 

[96pushrod]

UPDATE It was the index plate. Pulled the transmission back out, found an original Ford plate I forgot I had. Compared to the OEM plate, the hole for the starter was about .055 closer to the flywheel. I installed the transmission with the Ford plate, problem solved.

Interesting. I used a new plate on my last one but it was an actual ford performance one.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Interesting. Where was the other index plate from?

 

[Bossed]

Interesting. Where was the other index plate from?

It came from LMR. I bought the transmission and all the parts and pieces from a guy who had acquired everything to do the swap and then decided to go a different route.