Ford 350

[jaminjim]

My son has a power stroke 7.3 diesel (2002) He just replaced the starter and now the new one seems to stay engaged for a split second after the engine starts. He said he removed it and stuck it to the battery to see if it (the gear) snapped back quickly. It did so he reinstalled it and has the same issue.

Any ideas?

 

[guido4475]

Did he replace the solenoid on top of the starter? It's my guess.My 03 7.3 is set up with a solenoid on top of the starter.

 

[chefdennis]

the 1st thing that came to my mind was a weak return spring on the bendix, the little gear that drives the flywheel/ring gear. Then as i read Guido's post, yeap a solenoid could be sticking, even the fender mounted type....

 

[guido4475]

the 1st thing that came to my mind was a weak return spring on the bendix, the little gear that drives the flywheel/ring gear. Then as i read Guido's post, yeap a solenoid could be sticking, even the fender mounted type....

I had a 1996 Ford p/u that had a 300 straight six in it that did that.It had a solenoid on the fender well as well as on top of the starter.I replaced everything, just to make sure it was covered.

In a separate subject, anyone know if a 2003 Ford E-350 has a separate solenoid in addition to the one on top of the starter?

This has happened 2 times so far, the van runs fine, no problems, and then I go to start it, and it is as if someone took the batterys out of the van, completely dead.All connections are clean, free of corrosion.If I grab hold of the positive cables going down towards the frame and tug, usually it will come to life.I spent 2 hours at home after Christmas under it and could not find anything loose, corroded, or anything wrong.I am considering replacing every cable on the van.This also only has happened after I have been driving on snow covered highways for a period of time.

 

[timexlgx]

Could be starter is "going in to deep" thus staying longer in contact with flywheel gear, thus you "hear" it beeing in contact a bit longer. Try shiming it temporary, washers between starter and housing.

 

[timexlgx]

Negative/ground cable is bad. It may seem OK. Check mesh type first.

 

[guido4475]

Negative/ground cable is bad. It may seem OK. Check mesh type first.

I guess when I get back home I will yank eveything out and go to Parker-Hannifin and have new cables made.The 2nd battery will be a pain in the heiney, being n the center of the van, underneath. Has to be at least 10' of cable there.

 

[jaminjim]

Thanks for the ideas. I'm sorry I didn't respond back sooner I was a tired little boy.

Yeah, he replaced the the solenoid at the same time. He replaced the alternator a few days earlier. While trying to "diagnose' that problem he cranked the engine a lot, causing the starter to take a dump. According to him the old one would not allow the small gear on the bendix to fully engage the ring gear. (wouldn't come out all the way) And now it's the opposite problem.


So he replaced that and his problems continue. My son said that the ring gear (flywheel) seemed to be fine. (his words not mine) If it makes any difference his has two mounting bolts not three.

A second solenoid? would that also be called a starter relay?(not that it really matters) I guess if it has one he could follow the hot wire up from the starter to locate it?

 

[jaminjim]

the 1st thing that came to my mind was a weak return spring on the bendix, the little gear that drives the flywheel/ring gear. Then as i read Guido's post, yeap a solenoid could be sticking, even the fender mounted type....

Is there any test we could run to see if that is the problem?

 

[guido4475]

I have not been on it in awile, but there is a website called Ford Forums.Very helpful and resourceful.Your question can be answered on there.

 

[jaminjim]

I'll have him check it out, thanks.

 

[Trailblazer]

Also have him check out this forum, very helpful:

Ford Powerstroke Diesel Forum

Jim

 

[greg334]

OH BOY look at all them answers.

I have to ask - is this a new starter or a rebuilt starter?

If is new - take it back and get another one.

If it is a rebuilt - take it back and get another one.

Chances are that the bendix unit is defective OR in the case of some rebuilt units, there is some binding on the return mechanism within the starter that was missed. Even the starter armature shaft may have a burr on it that is causing it to kind of not be a bit smooth in their action.

Unlike the rebuilds of yesterday where there were one or two people putting the thing together with some pride, most of the rebuilt units are rebuilt in mass quantities after they are sorted out. Inspections are not done in the fashion that you would think and the returns are very high on these units when you look at the numbers of rebuilds.

Just replace the unit with another one and see what happens.

If it does continue, the only other thing that I can think of is the bendix unit is wrong for the truck.

 

[piper1]

If it's a 2 bolt mount, did he put the shims back in (if any) under the starter? If the starter is not lined up properly with the ring gear the starter gear will have undue load on it that will cause it to drag when dis engaging. In a lot of cases there will be a couple of thin shims between the starter and the engine block where you bolt it up.

 

[guido4475]

I have never seen a Ford product using shims for their starters, because they mount to the transmission bellhousing, and not to the engine block, like many GM's, therefore requiring the use of shims.

 

[jaminjim]

I don't think there were any shims.

 

[jaminjim]

Okay, so here is the story, after removing the new (reman)starter and seeing nothing wrong he drove it to Advanced Auto Parts and told them to listen to the problem. They agreed that it was a bad starter and replaced it. There were some loose screws and a stripped mounting screw hole on the Solenoid. All is fixed and they are hooking him up with the needed supplies to do an oil change. I'll let you know if he gets them for free.