grinding starter

[armyhorse86]

ok so i have an 86' bronco 2 with a 2.9 five speed. everything was working just fine until one day i go to start my truck and it makes a loud grinding noise, i've replaced the starter and it is still making the same noise. i went and pulled the starter out and i had seen that the bendex spring was barely grazing the flywheel. im not too sure but i believe the tranny is out of a 92' ranger. would the tranny be the problem???

 

[fordwheelinman]

did you inspect the teeth on your flywheel?

 

[armyhorse86]

the teeth looked fine, i did a little more research and it turns out i have a mazda 5 speed. soooo would a mazda 5 speed be compatible to an 86' bronco 2 flywheel and starter? or would it need a different starter

 

[bhawk]

I would recommend that you inspect the entire flywheel ring gear again. I had this problem and it was just one spot on the flywheel where the teeth were worn down by a starter with a poor starter drive. It is a slow process to turn the flywheel over inch by inch, but it must be done. Mark the flywheel where you start so you know when you have finished the inspection. If the entire flywheel ring gear is excellent with no evidence of rounded off teeth, then your problem is starter.
You say you installed a new starter. Did it have a new solenoid and new starter drive? Both have to work well to avoid a problem. Were the starter bolts tight? That could cause a failure to engage.

 

[armyhorse86]

nothing at all

well ive inspected everything, and i mean EVERYTHING, the starter and flywheel all check out to be the right parts, the flywheel has nothing going on with the teeth, the starter still wont engage even after the i tested it, and still nothing at all. what is going on??? this is getting ridiculous