This one has me stumped!

S

svmsr1044

Senior Member
The car:'47 Ford coupe, driven frequently, 8BA engine, good oil pressure, runs cool, usually starts quite easily. Now the problem: Every so often, perhaps every thousand miles or so, I can't start the engine because it's locked up and the starter can't turn it over. The only way I can free up the engine is to put the trans in 3rd gear and, with help, manually rock the car back and forth until the engine breaks free. At that point, it can be started as usual and I can drive it away without a problem until the next time it decides to happen again. At this point, I know it's not the starter, or a hydrolock, and it's not temperature related. This one has me stumped! Has anyone ever experienced this? Any thoughts, ideas, or theories? Thank you, Steve
 
svmsr1044 said:
The car:'47 Ford coupe, driven frequently, 8BA engine, good oil pressure, runs cool, usually starts quite easily. Now the problem: Every so often, perhaps every thousand miles or so, I can't start the engine because it's locked up and the starter can't turn it over. The only way I can free up the engine is to put the trans in 3rd gear and, with help, manually rock the car back and forth until the engine breaks free. At that point, it can be started as usual and I can drive it away without a problem until the next time it decides to happen again. At this point, I know it's not the starter, or a hydrolock, and it's not temperature related. This one has me stumped! Has anyone ever experienced this? Any thoughts, ideas, or theories? Thank you, Steve
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When this happens, are you sure it's not the start Bendix bound up on the flywheel?
 
You say it's not the starter, but do you know for sure. In my limited experience, it sounds like the starter. Rocking the car back and forth frees up the starter so it will start again. had this happen to me a number of times in a flathead car.


If you can, next time it happens, pull the starter w/o rocking and see if the engine will turn over by putting a socket on the crankshaft nut.
 
You could have one 'bad' tooth on the ringgear that jams into the bendix gear. Engines generally stop in certain positions, sometimes yours stops just in that position of the crook tooth, and when you engage starter it'll lock up. When you rock the car and disengage this jam up, you've also moved the ringgear away from that one trouble spot.
 
At some point you may not be able to rock it, it should break free from topside by giving it a poke with a baseball bat. Just an individual quirk and something to tell your grandkids about.
 
Might I suggest it's time to get out and get under that automobile.

Jack the car up and support it safely on stands. Pull the starter. Closely inspect the starter bendix, teeth, bearings, anything that might not look 100%.

Closely inspect the teeth on the ring gear. Put a mark on the last one you looked at. Turn the engine and inspect the next little bit and put another mark on the last tooth. Repeat until you see the first mark coming back around.

Hopefully after doing all that you should see something not quite right and might be in a position to fix it.

Got a spare starter? If so swap that on and see if the behaviour changes.

As the problem is intermittent, there might be an argument to suggest it is the ring gear rather than the starter. Only a close inspection of the parts involved will show what's up.

Mart.
 
Agree with 19forty , make sure you have the starter L bracket . It mounts to the back of the starter and the oil pan rail
 
mine locked up on our 38 coupe, couldn't rock it loose; had to loosen starter bolts; moved starter, came loose, happens often on a flathead
 
MY 50 Ford did the same thing its the Bendix getting jammed agents the flywheel take the starter out and clean the Bendix and check for any loose bolts then reinstall the starter
 
had similar problem turned out to be a bad earth raised its head not long after i bought it just wouldn't start [rocked the car or tapped the starter and away we went] cleaned the earth and all good ever since
 
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