side oiler starter noise

[Rory428]

I have a Lakewood scattershield on my 428, and it was close enough to use "as is", although I have had to dial in every other scattershield I have owned, both Lakewoods and McLeods. The FE flywheel is very large diameter compared to most engines, 184 teeth on the ring gear, while a SB Ford is normally either 157 or 164 teeth. Because of this, there is very little clearance between the flywheels teeth, and the inside of the scattershield. On my present 428, when I removed the scattershield, I noticed there was an area on the upper right section inside the scattershield where the ring gear had scraped against the inside of the scattershield. I never heard any noise, as I race the car, and it has no mufflers. The starter always turned the engine over just fine, & it sounds like yours does too, so maybe take a look inside your scattershield. If it has been scraping on the ring gear, a couple of minutes with a grinder should give enough clearance.