starter not engaging after motor swap

[bluestreak_96gt]

put a 01 vic engine in, thinking it was pi when purchased. unfortunately it is nonpi but kept it anyways, now the car started and ran fine for having a serious knocking sound, i went ahead put the 01 vic engine in swapping alot of stuff, timing cover, pi intake, ac compressor, and flywheel, and small things here there. i plugged all my sensors back in, and put everything where it was when i started. except for this grounding strap that was located on the driver side block, which is a red strap. i have no flippin idea where the other end goes to. the red strap mounted to the block also had a black wire mounted w/ it. this strap couldn't keep my shatstang from starting could it? i put a new starter in it because it wasn't engaging (hitting flywheel or turning over the motor, but the new one is doing the same thing. i am at a loss right now, could the flywheel be culprit here? if i take the trans out, how will i know if the flywheel and crank is at correct alignment? all the bolts lined up just fine when i put the flywheel on, but i didn't stop to think the flywheel was to be at a certain point or alignment. but hopefully u guys have an explanation that will save me from pulling out the trans. plz help i about to just junk it, that's how tired of this lemon i am. and sorry about the novel.

 

[blubullett]

Nice avatar! I like I like! Sorry I dont have any good ideas about your troubles. It does sound like a starter or flywheel problem. If the starter turns over then I would say flywheel, but I don't think that you have to align it. Maybe you could shim the starter so it lines up correctly? Good luck and thanks for the avatar!

 

[bluestreak_96gt]

so nobody has an idea? Hmm.... I thought you guys were supposed to be good too. lol.. Well if anyone has a idea, just let me know.

 

[squeak93]

Hook the strap up its a huge part of your charging/ground system. The only thing could be that you have the wrong # of starter teeth to flywheel teeth. But if it worked on your last motor (old starter that is) and you have not changed the flywheel then its odd. Sounds like above that you need to shim it to make it line up properly. Too bad starters on these cars are a pita.

I am not sure your 01 vic motor is a npi. How did you confirm. I thought they started in 01 with pi motors. Just b/c it had a npi intake doesn't mean its a npi motor. Some cars (not stangs) still had npi intakes on pi motors. Just food for thought.

 

[bluestreak_96gt]

i can tell its nonpi, by lookin at the ports on the heads. got the starter to engage, but frickn thing won't fire. i am getting spark when i pulled out plug 5, and motor is turning over. but it sounds horrid. i'm getting fuel as well, you can hear the pump, and i pushed the nipple on the fuel rail too. also do u know where the ground strap may go? do you have an explanation why it sounds horrible, and not starting? fuses aren't blown, everything but the g strap has been hooked back up.

 

[JNap]

My ground strap was sandwiched between the drivers side motor mount and the frame if I remember right.

 

[bluestreak_96gt]

but the grounding strap wouldn't keep the engine from startin would it? and the engine i got turned out to be 00 vic, i knew they gave me the wrong engine. so now i have to wait a week or so to get the PI engine i wanted. which sucks because i have to go through and swap everything again. Hey SQUEAK! what did you have to swap on to PI MOTOR pretty much everything again? timing cover, ac comp., flywheel, throttle body? GOD IM dreading this... but if i can get this 00 vic to start i am just goin to say piss on the pi. i just want a running vehicle, performance is not important anymore. just tired and broke, lol... or broke and tired....

 

[squeak93]

1 week for a pi motor, pull the npi pos and get the pi. You have to swap exactly everything you already did. Install the ground strap as it can caused your electrical system to not work right and potentially cause your engine to not fire. Bad ground can cause all sorts of issues. Put the on, check your firing order, don't use autozone's web site for guidance there, its wrong. (caused me to chace ghost for 4 days b/c it was wrong and we didn't realize it.).

Put the pi motor in, your car will be a whole new animal. Take that one out, get the 01 PI motor and start over. Sorry but esp if they gave you a motor you didn't ask for then you should only be out an oil change (save your coolant in a clean container and you can reuse it). No reason you can't swap over this weekend, or at least have this one out and loaded up to get the right motor.