Ford Starter Problems, Ford Ranger 2.8 1984

Starter problems that I have finally found
That have caused me problems.
I was replacing Starters at least once a year
and sometimes more if I got a bad one.

This last starter lasted 6 months, I have read about
what may be causing my problems such as shims and tried
that. Did not help

I finally decided to start at the switch and trace back to starter.
1. I check voltage to Starter Solenoid, it was 11 volts.
I kept volt meter hooked up and unhooked Starter Cranking
Main Power lead and checked for voltage as I moved the
Key switch to see if it had bad spots in start position.
Non found.
With Key in Start postion I moved the Auto gear shift lever
In Park and Neutral and jiggled it looking for bad spots
of no conductivity, It was ok as I watched volt meter.

My problem here was a bad Electrical Ignition Switch, not enough
voltage to hold the Starter solenoid in the closed position. I changed
the Electric Ignition Switch that the key operates and now have 12.4
volts to Starter Solenoid same as battery.

2. Still Starter problems dragging starter

I take off cover to Flex PLate or ring gear and use a 3/4 deep well
socket on the pulley up front on crank shaft and turned the crank
in increments making each space I view with a mirror to see the teeth
and then I hold a pencil on side of Plate opening just touching ring gear
checking for any wobble as I turned crank with 3/4 socket wrench,
no wobble was seen and gear looked good.

3. I take Starter to a local Starter rebuild shop and ask them to rebuild
Starter, and to be sure to undercut the armature, after a few days
I get my starter back, something told me to check it. I opened it up
expecting to see it all cleaned up inside and looking good as the fresh
paint looked on the outside.
I took it to them for a good rebuild thinking they would do a better job
then the ones I get a parts stores that have been to another country.
Well is was not to be, I was just sick when I opened up the Starter, all
they did was to put 2 new bushings in and paint the outside, What crap.

I got electrical spray cleaner and cleaned up the wires and metal plates
on the inside housing the Field, I lightly sanded the platesthem with 100
grit emery cloth, dirt and oil does shield a magnetic field some. It was
covered with old oil and dirt.
The rotor was just as bad cleaned it up and had to lightly sand the
rotor of thick old crud.

And the Armature was not undercut as I asked it to be, this should be a
normal thing to check in Starter rebuild. The mica in between will not wear
down as fast as the copper and keep bushes from making good contact,
Also the mica will build up on brushes and act some like a insulator.
Here is link about undercut
http://www.g503.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=80231&start=0
New Starters are undercut.

I took 32 tooth hack blade and put tape to make handle, I grind down
one end to the teeth to get close cut, I then put blade on grinding wheel
to grind down the sides so to fit in between the Copper strips on
commutator, did not want to scratch or put any deep cuts in the copper
strips the brushes ride on.
After I undercut the commutator, I lightly sanded it with 100 grit emery
cloth wrapped half way around so as to keep it as round as I can, no
high or low places in commutator where the brushes ride.

Next I used the 100 grit emery cloth to clean the brushes of the dirt and
mica collected on them, this dirt can make Resistance to current flow.
I clean the Stator again because of the dust of undercuting.

I cleaned up the bendix and put High temp grease where Bendix sits
and put the Starter back to Together.
Installed it with out shims like Ford original did.

No dragging now, supper fast spin of motor best I have had in
time of ownership.
My truck does not leak oil so this dirt was on the starter and it was not
undercut or rebuilt correctly when I first get it from auto parts store.

I did make one change in the Electrical Stating circuit, I put a relay near
The Starter Solenoid and hooked up wire from the key switch to the
relay and hooked the feed to the New Relay to Starter Solenoid Coil
Switch lead, as when starter is cranking there is a voltage drop on the
wire from the new key switch, I wanted full battery voltage to the Starter
soleniod and its a much shorter wire for voltage drop.

Also before I had run a special ground to Starter as I had read these
engines are not the best grounds.

Also I had earlier put in a newer type of Starter Solenoid sideways
mounted, Its a much better solenoid and fits the same bolt pattern

Oh I also installed a heat shield before thinking that was my problem
I did install it again as the exhaust pipe and exhaust manifold puts heat
on Starter, its just a wrap around.

I have notice to that when the starter would not want to crank my engine
the engine happen to be stopped in compression cycle, if I just turn the
crank a little and get past that point engine wold start. Thats because
Starter was getting weaker,

I am not a pro, and this is just what I did, its not complete and is posted
of my problems with Starter.

Great post = thank you for letting us know what you did.

I had several starter problems myself that are now sorted out and all I can add is:
The replacement flywheels available are all from China and I had at least one that was too small in diameter (by just a few thousandths) and that caused the starter gears to fail; but I did get by with a starter gear from an Escort that has one more tooth.

A side note about Ford starters: I have had several Fords and their factory starters are the best; trouble free and last many many years even when I had them in deliver vehicles driven in San Francisco (LOTS of starts every day) Also look at the design and mechanism of these starters and you will see why shims won't help.
The same good design with the 'old' solenoid. (I put in a 'premium' new solenoid and it failed in a short time; went to a junk yard old style and it's still working for over a year)

The 'rebuild' situation is disgusting! I had a bad one from Autozone and they refused a refund. That jerk outfit that charged you for a rebuild should be sued - I hope you at least went to Yelp and gave them a bad review.

That last Starter came from Autozone to. I did not realize Starters still can be purchased at a Ford Dealership. I have not posted to yelp yet, I debate going to the rebuild shop as they probably will get defensive and find a way to blame me. I just do not want that drama.
My Truck is Auto so it uses a flex plate and they can become warped. I like the newer side ways mounted solenoid seems a stronger solenoid, the one that suppose to use has had some reviews, the last one I got when I tried to start my truck after I installed it, it just kept cranking even key off, remove battery terminal to get it to quit, I seen on advance website others had same problems. I agree the rebuild and even new parts fail or do not work. I visited a CarQuest and they told me they supply garages, I am going to try them for awhile as needed see if there parts are any better then the Autoz and Advance. I do not see how a garage can make any money with such bad replacement parts. Thanks for sharing I learn from your post to.

agree 100%. the factory starters are good for 100,000+ , the rebuilt
ones go about a year. i look for taurus starters with original paint and
put the ranger end on them.

shims are used in chevy starters.

Hate to bring back an old thread, but thought maybe with all of your starter issues you may have a better idea as to why all of the starters I've gone through after a few days will start grinding extremely bad in my 84 Bronco 2. I initially thought ok I just need to shim the starter. Nope, that definitely don't help. After a few days the starter has actually slid away from the flywheel or something as its not engaging the flywheel enough to turn the engine over which is currently my problem. I can take the starter out put it back in and crank the bolts back down and that will fix it for a couple days again but I need a permanent fix. Any suggestions?