starter problems with Lakewood bellhousing

[CobraV8]

I have a blow proof Lakewood steel bellhousing in my car. I recently replaced the flywheel ring gear because the old starter had stripped so many teeth off the ring gear the engine wouldn't start anymore.

The old starter had a badly worn out shaft and the starter gear was worn as well. I assumed this caused the problems with the ring gear.

I installed a new "factory mini starter", that's the starter that was used in the 92-95 Mustang.

The problem I have now is that the new starter only turns the engine about two revolutions, then the starter gear seems to slip out of the flywheel ring gear and spins freely. If you now turn the ignition off and then on (without turning the engine over by hand), it will engage for another two revolutions, then spin freely.

The ring gear is brand new, and I checked the position of the starter gear to the ring gear with the old starters empty housing. Seems o.k.

I removed the starter, dissasembled it, put it back together and tested the function. The starter gear is thrown all the way out every time, and it won't move back until no more current is applied. I tested it almost 40 times.

Anyone had this problem before? Could this be caused by a wrong starter angle relative to the ring gear, due to bad alignment of the threads for the starter bolts in the bellhousing?

Any ideas?

-Simon

[Excaliber]

Ring gear might be 'warped', thus out of round on the flywheel. This can happen when a new ring gear is installed incorrectly. Often they are put on while heated, when they cool they warp.

[Jim Vander Wal]

Simon,

I had another brand of blowproof bell housing.

Screwed around with it for the first season and a half then replaced it with a stock Ford aluminum housing. All of the starter problems went away. As did about 30#.

There's lots of info available on trueing the aftermarket bellhousings and indicating the piece to the crankshaft. I would think that following the alignment proceedures will help correct your problems. It just wasn't worth it to me.

Now many will comment on the hazards of the flywheel and clutch ass'y and the safety of the blowproff housing. Not going to disagree but at the same time there's a lot of new science and material developments that reduce the failure rate of the spinning assemblies.

Jim SPF 1855

[Tommy]

I had some problems with the starter on my 351W block and Lakewood scatter shield that were solved by shimming the starter to sit farther away from the fly wheel. Most starters come with shim kits, or they can be bought at the local parts store. Have you investigated whether or not your starter might need shims?

[LMH]

I know that Powermaster makes starters with different offsets, 3/8" and 3/4" if my memory is correct. I'm not sure of Ford brand starters though but you might check on that. Maybe the offset isn't correct for your application.
Larry

[Excaliber]

Jim, you do make a good point on the need for a scatter shield. Back in the day the flywheel\clutch assemblies were MUCH more likely to blow than they are today. Technology has largely solved the problem. I wouldn't have a problem running a standard bell housing if my car was being run in a modest manner.

But many of us are turning pretty high rpms and racing the cars with serious horse power. If thats the case then it's still a good idea to run a scatter shield.

[badrich]

I would agree that materials in today's clutches, flywheels and fasteners are superior to "back in the day," but have you ever seen what it looks like when one comes apart at 5,000 RPM+? And who here hasn't revved above that? A little more money and hassle for real insurance against some bad things. Well worth it in my opinion. Rich

[CobraV8]

I didn't heat the ring gear for installation, and it seems to sit pretty straight on the flywheel.

I'll give the shimming a try, but the starter gear seems to engage the ring gear teeth in just the right position.

Jim, can this information about indexing the bellhousing be found on the internet? When I bought the transmission it came with the steel bellhousing. I'm not sure the person who installed it did it correctly.

[Jim Vander Wal]

Simon,

I'm not sure where to go for the info but would guess that checking the Lakewood or McLeod sites will get the info. It's the same basic procedure for everyone. You check the runout of the big transmission locating hole to the crankshaft and adjust the position with offset dowels. That's the simplistic answer.

Now about power and rpms. I'm putting down 450hp/tqe to the wheels, run 11.8s, do track days and will see 7,000 rpm and drive at 6,000 for more than a peak. During the discussion with my engine builder the topic of scattershields came up. The builder didn't feel that it was necessary. Now I know that anything can happen and agree that an ounce of prevention is... but I'm still so pissed off at the POS shield that I bought that I'm not going the screw around with it.

For those that have managed to get a good shield or had the patience to tweak one into place, more power to ya.

Living on the edge,

Jim SPF 1855

[Wayne Maybury]

You said that the first ring gear was missing teeth and the gear on the starter was all chewed up. Unless you are really unlucky, this should not happen. Typically a ring gear and a starter will last for a very long time.

Now the new starter will not remain engaged with for more than a couple of seconds. This sounds to me that there is some sort of a basic alignment problem. I seem to remember that Ford has several differnt flywheels. I also have a Lakewood bellhousing and I did quite a bit of research before buying my flywheel and clutch / pressure plate assembly. I have looked through my receipts but I cannot find the one for the flywheel. Is it possible that the flywheel is not the correct diameter for that bellhousing/starter combination?

Wayne

[CobraV8]

Problem solved - turned out the brand new starter caused it. The coupling between the starter gear and starter shaft is defective, after about two revolutions the starter gear would "disconnect" and just stop turning the flywheel while the starter motor was still running.

It's workling perfectly now with the old starter outfitted with a new starter gear.