starter issues

[85blueox]

The starter on my 85 F350 diesel has decided to give up the ghost.  
I have removed dozens of starters but this one is not happy.
It has 2 little wimpy 1/2" bolts for that huge starter that look like they want to strip off.
I assume more bolts are hiding behind but I cant see any.

Then is it better to buy a new or rebuild?  It was made by Mitsubishi and not sure if it is even the original.

any help would be good,  

Thanks.

[Gary Lewis]

There are only two bolts.  One at the bottom and one at the top.

And the best starter is a newer permanent magnet gear-reduction unit, called PMGR for short.  Ford went to them in the 90's on all the engines.  You can see a discussion of them on our page at Documentation/Electrical/PMGR Starter Wiring.

[85blueox]

OK,
thanks Gary.

[85blueox]

I guess I should check the solenoid, It clicks once whe starting and the batteries are both good.  How do do you check the solenoid?  Usually on my newer trucks I just replace it.

[Gary Lewis]

Put a voltmeter's positive lead on the starter relay's (solenoid) rear stud, the one that goes down to the starter, and the ground on the battery's ground lug.  Turn the key to Start and read the voltage.  If it is battery voltage then the relay works and either the cable or the starter is bad.

[85blueox]

Where is a good place to buy those type of starters?  The article on motortrend says Rock auto but none of the starters says they are that type.

[Gary Lewis]

The supplier's don't say that theirs is a PMGR starter.  You just need to find one for a truck that came from Ford with one.  Mid-90's.

[85blueox]

Mid 90s?  like post 1993? Having a hard time finding one, not sure if they fit or not.  

[ArdWrknTrk]

AFAIK the diesel engines have always used a PMGR starter because of the high compression in those engines.


I do believe the 6.9 & 7.3 take the same starter

[85blueox]

So if it is an original Ford starter from mid 90s it will be a PMGR, what about these aftermarket ones I see on amazon or rock auto?  Any idea on those?

[85blueox]

What is the difference between an OSGR starter and a PMGR?

[351FUN]

Just mounting, it's in the name.  The offset starters help with fitment issues sometimes.  If everything is stock and you didn't already have one I wouldn't change to one.

I've been using the powermaster mastertorque starters for a while now, much smaller and more powerful than the stock ones and infinitely variable offset too.  The stock starter isn't usable with the headers on my engine so I switched to this one and have been using them on other vehicles as needed.

The good news is a starter is just a motor, easy to diagnose and easy to build so aftermarket companies have far overtaken what ford did 40 years ago.  Conversely, it's just a starter and it doesn't affect much so improvements don't really matter much either.

[myrl883]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

AFAIK the diesel engines have always used a PMGR starter because of the high compression in those engines.

Except '83-'84 6.9 engines. They originally had a Delco Remy starter that ate flywheel ring gears left and right. Only use the Mitsubishi starters on IDI engines.