Starter removal on a 55- HELP

Tom in TN

Tom in TN

Senior Member
Kinda hate to make another thread, but I need to attract the attention of someone who has done what I am in the middle of, and who found the 'magic angle' to getting the starter out of the car.

OK- in the process of removing the starter. all 3 bolts are out.
Trying to move the starter out and taking it above the crossmember. No Good, it runs into the motor mount and A frame.
Try to angle it downward and can't get it below the crossmember because the Starter drive jams up inside the bellhousing.

What am I missing?

If you have done this before, HOW did you manage to get the starter out?
 
I have done it before (more than once on different '55 and '56 fords).
It's kindof a bear, but you do not need to do anything with the motor mount.
I seem to recall pushing the starter motor upwards as you pull the starter out. The top of the starter will be up against the brake line routed along the frame crossmember, but it is enough to disengage the starter from the ring gear and remove it.
Remember to remove the starter cable first. Also, the starter drive is obviously engaged with the ring gear at first, but if you push the front of the starter motor a little toward the engine block it will disengage enough to pull starter and bendix out far enough to clear the bellhousing.
 
They will come out, by the time it does you may forget how, but seem to recall pushing it up then dropping down.
 
had same problem with our '60 292. there's one spot where the starter will come out. pull out, tip back up and drop drive first. after fighting mine over and over I relieved the inside of the bell housing, with a grinder, towards the pass. side inside a bit to give clearance for the drive to clear. now a piece of cake.
 
OK y’all…this ain’t working. The darn starter is still in there.

Here’s what I have tried:
I took the brake line loose- not much help.
Removed the motor mount nuts; removed the steady rest bolt; Hooked my cherry picker to an intake bolt at the right front of the engine- hoping to lift/tilt the motor slightly and get some clearance.
Started lifting it and see the whole car start lifting AND THE MOTOR HASN’T MOVED ONE BIT.

So, I’m still stuck right where I was.
Still desperate for a workable, solid solution.
This thing has got to come out…somehow.
 
Just off top of head, I assume motor mounts are in correct (starter will not come out if MM are reversed) position? I don't know what shop manual says, but never had a problem getting a starter out, other than top bolt hard to get too. Cos
 
cos said:
Just off top of head, I assume motor mounts are in correct (starter will not come out if MM are reversed) position? I don't know what shop manual says, but never had a problem getting a starter out, other than top bolt hard to get too. Cos
Click to expand...

I will sure check...thanks
 
Tom in TN said:
OK y’all…this ain’t working. The darn starter is still in there.
Click to expand...

All of this should have been unnecessary. You forgot to PUSH the front end of the starter motor toward the engine block to dislodge the starter drive from the ring-gear while pulling the starter motor upward and outward.
It's a little complex to worm the thing out, but it should come out if it is finessed right. The worst thing about the ordeal is that starter motor is heavy once it is loose. I have often slid out from under the car on my back with the motor on my belly to protect it from damage.
 
Dave, that is exactly what I have done. The starter drive is completely loose from the flywheel and I am pushing the front end of the starter upward AND toward the block, but the front end of the starter hits the motor mount or the control arm, before the drive end clears the hole, so I cannot swing that end downward.
It sounds so easy on paper, but so far, it ain't producing the desired results.
 
Will the starter motor run? It sounds like it the bendix is extended motor was cranked without starting, leaving drive gear in mesh with flywheel. If starter will run, put bolts back in, crank motor until it starts, shut off motor and then try to remove starter. Don't remember the procedure to retract bendix if starter won't run. Might be someone else can chime in for that if needed.
Ben.
 
Thanks Ben, and not being a smart alek but if the starter would/could run and start the motor, I wouldn't be trying to pull it out for replacement.
I can slide the starter drive gear in and out, along the shaft, so nothing is bound up, but that big spring on the end makes it too darn long.
 
CrownVic55 said:
Will the starter motor run? It sounds like it the bendix is extended motor was cranked without starting, leaving drive gear in mesh with flywheel. If starter will run, put bolts back in, crank motor until it starts, shut off motor and then try to remove starter. Don't remember the procedure to retract bendix if starter won't run. Might be someone else can chime in for that if needed.
Ben.
Click to expand...

This is the procedure I remember! If the starter won't start the engine, pull or push start the car. If it has overdrive pull out the "Overdrive" knob to lock the trans in direct drive (or the trans will freewheel). If it's an automatic it has a rear pump that turns with the driveshaft, so tow or push the car in neutral up to about 25 MPH and shift into low. The engine will turn over and start. That will disengage the starter Bendix from the ring gear. Drive home and unbolt the starter.
If the engine won't start, just getting the engine to spin over about 300-400 RPM should get the Bendix to retract.
 
Not sure it should make a difference about the spring position on the bendix (starter drive). That spring and giant washer are held onto the end of the starter shaft by a pin thru the shaft. That end position doesn't change no matter where the rest of the spring is retracted. You still need to get that end away from the ring-gear and that end is always in the same position. It is the drive gear that moves back and forth at the other end.
That's why I say, PUSH INWARD at the opposite end of the starter motor. That disengages the drive gear from the flywheel. Keep the motor pushed inward and pull out. Once your starter motor hits the frame crossmember, you can lower the motor at the opposite end and angle it downward and pull the whole thing out of the bellhousing.
 
Would it be possible to remove the two bolts in the end plate and disassemble the starter while attached to the engine and then maybe you could remove the armature/bendix from the engine?
 
Is the dropping of the starter interfered by the tie rod in any way? It seems to me that the wheels had to be turned to get that extra clearance.

And while I am here, please allow me to enter my KULTULZ B!TCH of THE DAY ...

The term BENDIX is a GM naming one of their PARTS DIVISIONS. The correct term is STARTER DRIVE ...
 
I'm aware that the term Bendix is GM terminology, although I've never owned any GM product. I have also used the term "starter drive" in this thread, but not everywhere. My mistake, but many other people who frequent the forums here also use the term "Bendix".
It wasn't till I came to this forum years ago that I'd ever let the term "Bendix" pass my lips, but so many others referred to the starter drive here as a "Bendix" I finally gave in.
In the same view as I despise using the term "migrants" and "asylum-seekers" instead of using the true term illegal aliens, I now VOW to never use the term "Bendix" ever again Kultulz, and you have opened me up to another banishment by the moderator, you devil.
 
I now VOW to never use the term "Bendix" ever again Kultulz, and you have opened me up to another banishment by the moderator, you devil.
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I wasn't singling you out Dave, but it digs in every time somebody uses that term on a FORD.

And as for another ARTICLE 15, I am right behind you ... I was BRANDED also.
 
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