Following on from my recent non starting Westy post I stripped out the starter to test it and discovered that four of the teeth on the starter had
been ground away in to oblivion!! What caused this is still a mystery (any thoughts greatly received), I hoped the teeth on the fly wheel ring would
be ok but after fitting a new starter I was greeted not with the sound of the car bursting in to life but the starter spinning in to fresh air.
Obviously the fly wheel teeth have been taken out as well which is a bit of a p******er. Obviously the engine has got to come out but what I wanted to
know was weather or not its best to leave the box in situ ( wide body, type 9 box), there looks to be ample room once all the ancillarys are removed.
Lastly does any one know a supplier of fly wheel starter ring for a 205 blocked Pinto (other than E Bay and Burtons).
Really fed up as the summer has arrived at last, even thought about seling it as it is.
Thanks, Sean.
Where do you live ? some one may have a spare near you
Jacko
It sounds like your starter was not disengaging once the engine starts.
Or,
You have the wrong starter / flywheel combination and the starter is constantly meshed.
It may sound like a bit of numpty question, but, have you checked that the engine still turns over (by hand). I knew of a local Ford dealer where one
day they recovered a chaps Transit with a non start fault. Diagnosed a faulty battery, which they fitted. Then they diagnosed a faulty starter, which
they fitted. Then they diagnosed it as having a broken cam belt which they went to fit.
Only then did they realise it was a non starter because the engine had siezed.
My first question would be WHY have the starter AND ring gear worn/disintergrated. So does the engine turn first of all????????
Wrong starter
Probably to few or to many teeth for the ring gear
Result knackered both
Plenty of flywheels with starters for sale
Fitting a ring gear to a flywheel needs a lot of heat for the gear and freezing the flywheel.
personally i would take box and engine out together, its much easier to reconnect the two on the floor of the garage than it is in the car.
as already stated, ring gear and new starters are readily available, if you take the flywheel off i would recommend new flywheel bolts, if your pinto
is running anywhere between 170-200bhp, ARP bolts are worth the extra pennies.
chin up, i haven't driven my car either this year and todays weather really got me down! 
I've changed plenty of ring-gears on flywheels and never had to freeze the flywheel. In fact, the temperatures involved and the mass of the
flywheel would mean very little to be gained from even trying.
Drill the old ring gear and crack it with a cold chisel to remove it.
Clean up the flywheel surface and check for damage. Measure and check for ovality.
Have the flywheel on a surface so the ring gear can't travel too far (unless the flywheel has a shoulder to but-up to).
Heat up the new ring gear to a dull cherry red. Be sure to have plenty of big grips/pliers/gauntlets handy as you only get one chance to get it
right!
So, in other words, just buy a second hand flywheel with good teeth....
i got a lightened flywheel and recently serviced starter, if you can wait 3 weeks ?
A dull cherry red is way too hot . I've never had any problems fitting ring gears without getting them that hot . If in doubt get it fitted by a decent machine shop with an electric ring gear heater vthat works by passing a current through it.
Cheers chaps, engine still turns over by hand so at least it looks as though thats ok!!!
Thanks Sean.
quote:
Originally posted by jacko
Where do you live ? some one may have a spare near you
Jacko