need help with my starter

[sodaking663rd]

hope one of you can help me. a while back my starter was making a clicking noise when starting the car...i didn't pay attention to it because it would still start the car. now i'm at the point where the car will start about every fifth time i try to start it...the other four or so times i just hear a steady gear grinding noise but it is not turning the crank.
i have a couple of questions...is it likely the starter is the problem? how hard is it to replace the starter if that is the problem? are there instructions for installation anyone has around and where exactly is the starter located?

any and all help would be greatly appreciated. thanks all!

 

[frmus3]

on a V8 flywheel it will stop at three spots everytime, meaning when you start you car it slams agaisnt one of three spots. if you look at it you can see the three spots that are worn more than the rest. one of your spots could be missing teeth and thats why it only starts every couple times. it could also be your starter or starter cylinoid, which is the little black half circlular thing that your positive battery cable connects to on the drivers side fender wall. it controls your starters acuating motions. try that first its the easiest. then try the starter, which is connested by two bolts and a bolt for wiring harness. the bottom bolt is easy the top you can get by coming in the front or what i found easiest is to wrap your right hand around right side of exhaust from the back and feel for it (use a wrench) then drop headers out and unbolt wiring harness and hook it up to a 12 volt battery and see if the gear comes out and goes back in efficently. if your flywheel is damaged, good luck drop the transmission and replace it. while your doen there replace clutch cause it will be a project. i am planning on starting my clutch/flywheel replacement tommorrow and have the car running angain by the end of the week!(I hope). (BTW starter is below first four cylinders connected to bell housing. headers may be wrapped around it.)

 

[sodaking663rd]

are you saying i need to take off the header to remove the starter? thanks for your response!

 

[87'GTstang]

frmus3 is on the right track. The "grinding" sound you hear sounds exactly like gear interference and it makes it because two gear's sets of teeth is trying to mesh with each other and in reality they are trying to basically step over each other because of insufficient depth of the teeth or lack thereof. It can be a couple possibilites so make sure to check the ring gear on the flywheel, the gear on the starter, and definitely make sure your starter is at least attatched fully (seen many that have about the same symptom and it turns out to be 1 of the 2 bolts are missing that attatches the starter).

I don't know much for stock exhaust systems on 5.0s (sorry ) but most setups I have seen don't have the headers "wrapped" around the starter. The top bolt is hard to get off but it can be done and is not as hard as you might think. I wouldn't totally rule out the solenoid but I would say it's likely not that. I say this because if you are hearing a grinding sound, then you know the solenoid is doing its job by pushing the drive gear of the starter outward to mesh with the ring gear. Start by checking the bolts, then remove the starter and check any poor wear patterns on the gear, then test it the battery way if it looks good. Use a jumper cable from a battery, positive on positive and ground to the housing of the starter and then use a screwdriver and just touch the positive terminal with the 3rd terminal - this being the relay. If it pops out with no problem and spins away then it's good. If you still don't see it, then it has to be the ring gear. In this case you have two options, either flip the ring gear or install a new one if any teeth on either the starter or flywheel are stripped. Good luck on the hunt!

 

[88stangmangt]

a few teeth are prob sheered off the starter gear. it is on the pass side and isnt that hard to get too.....the easiest way to tell if it is bad is crank it and then feel it if it is warm or hot.....if so it is going bad if it stinks it is toast.............starters burn up easy if they are held open....for ex. if the car wont start and you keep cranking it........the gear wheel moves up and spins the flywheel and it isnt supose to stay on the fly wheel for more than a few seconds or it will fry.........

 

[green]

the top bolt is pretty easy to get at with a 2 foot extension and a ratchet. you will have to lay down in front of the car and put the extension down by the motor mount, then turn off.