Time for a new starter - recommendations?

[Yellow Truck]

It is a 445 running about 10 to 1 compression in a '69 F100 4WD. I'm running Sanderson Shorty Headers, so I don't think I have an fitment problem. Was running a stock Starter for the past 18 years, and who knows before that because this is the starter that came on the old 360.

Tried to start it yesterday and I forgot to open the fuel cut off, so cranked it for 5 seconds, stopped, tried again and the starter stayed engaged. Pulled the ground off the battery to stop it. A friend and old Ford hand said he had seen that occasionally when the battery was low (mine was at around 12.3 v, but it would normally start at that level), so I charged it and when I put the ground back on it started trying to crank but it made a loud bang.

I'll pull it today, but it is time for a new starter.

[GerryP]

The ONLY way the starter will have juice to spin is through the solenoid.  The solenoid stuck or you have a wiring or switch issue in the ignition switch.  Sure, you probably need a starter.  And the Ford starter is a good, solid piece.  But you also need to find out why the starter is getting juice.

[Yellow Truck]

Gerry,

I agree. I'm holding the starter relay in my hand and it shows a dead short across the main terminals. So my next stop is probably a new relay.

[cjshaker]

Why change the starter if it works? A new one will probably be inferior to the one you have on it now.

[70tp]

A low battery will definitely cause a ford solenoid to stick in start mode.   It arcs the contacts inside and micro welds it to gather.   You can whack it with something and it’ll go back to normal,,,,,,,for a while

[Tunnelwedge]

If you do upgrade the starter I've had excellent success with the Powermaster.
On a hot day at the gas pump and the engine hot after burning a tank full cranking the 4 1/4" arm is the real workout for the starter.
The stock parts store replacement one will not do. I tried.

[fryedaddy]

i had the whole snout blow off my starter about 7 years ago.it backfired while i was working on it.i bought a lifetime starter off napa for 40 some dollars and it still works fine after 7 years.

[Urgefor]

If rebuilding the one you have is of interest, I've had good dealings with Alternator & Starter Parts Wholesale down in Florida.  I have used parts supplied by them for both alternator and starter rebuilds with no complaints so far.  That is also where I purchased the upgrade parts to up the output of my alternator to 240 amps when I moved from the G1 to the G3 on my Galaxie.

[FirstEliminator]

I used the Powermaster Powermax 9106 on a 445FE. About every 5th time I crank the gear doesn't fully engage and it grinds. It's kinda embarrassing in a recently finished car with shiny new paint. I have another of the same starter in a 483FE, it never grinds.

[6667fan]

I have had more than one solenoid weld itself together. I did not know that low voltage could promote that. I had chalked it up to junk parts. Is this phenomenon reserved for Fords only?

[Urgefor]

In general, when working with DC (direct current), when voltage decreases, amperage increases.  If the material used for the solenoid contacts isn't designed to handle the increased amperage, the end result will be contacts that become fused together.  Definitely not a Ford only issue.

[HarleyJack17]

Rob Mc starter has been good to me.

[Yellow Truck]

It had been a year since I started it and the I had forgotten a few things. First, it wouldn't start because forgot I had cut the fuel off and didn't notice that the fuel pump sound didn't change indicating the pressure never came up. Second, when it suddenly wouldn't stop cranking I didn't understand why low power would cause the relay to fail - thank you 70tp for explaining that. And last, I assumed the starter had failed because it made a really loud bang and stopped after I had charged the battery and touched the ground to the terminal.

I had forgotten that it will sometimes do that depending on where it is in the compression stroke when I try to crank it. The next crank has always turned the engine. The old Ford starter is working fine, and after I took out the relay and gave it a little smack it doesn't show a dead short anymore. Put a new one in anyway.

[Ford428CJ]

RobbMcperformance.com

Great guy and he makes an awesome product!!! Totally indexable for sure!