My starter would freewheel every now and then on my 4-cyl, so I pulled the starter to replace it. This is what I found:



The previous owner left a surprise for me in the form of two broken studs, still in the bell housing.

Which means there was only one bolt actually holding the starter in place.

Which means it'll flex under torque and take out some ring gear teeth.

Toll: One broken tooth, a dozen more severely worn, and the rest don't look so hot either.

I did manage to remove the broken bolts (after LOTS of PB blaster over three days, vise-grips, lots of heat, nothing worked). So the plan became, drill them out, run a tap through to clean up the threads and reassemble.

The bottom bolt, I was able to drill from behind. Since that was the case, I didn't need a left hand bit to back it out. Got a little way in and I was able to turn the stud out with the vise-grips. That took about 10 minutes.

Incidentally, it's a 21/64 bit for the final hole, if you're ever wondering.

There wasn't enough clearance to hit the top bolt from the back so I had to do it from the front, and that took a LOT of time - progressed through 1/8, 1/4, 5/16, all left handed bits. Finally managed to get through it. Still couldn't back out the remaining fragments, my guess is galvanic corrosion had it in there TIGHT. This, I found out when I tapped the holes. First two, really easy. Top one: No way, bits of bolt had anchored themselves into the threads for eternity.

So, plan C for the top bolt: 3/8 drill straight through, mount the starter with a long 10x1.5 stud and backing nut. Finally, victory, though diminished.

Final score: two bolts restored to factory spec, one with an alternative that isn't ideal to me but it will hold solid. Far better than what I found, at any rate. Someday I'll helicoil it so it's done right.

Bottom line is the starter itself is fine, so the old one is back in. The flywheel is the problem at this point, so I'll obviously need to plan replacing it sometime (along with a clutch job whenever it comes along). I have no plans to pull that thing apart right now. For the time being, if/when that bad spot lines up with the starter, I'll just need to bump start it. I can live with that for a little while - just kinda bites that I need to.

wow talk about going from something not so big to a huge pain in the a**...

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97 2.3 Ranger XLT
K&N cold air intake,Forte 18"
Leer topper, Sony deck, MTX 7500 in Thunder form box
Flow master 40 series (thinking about going duals)
Tinted windows. Number 1 co-pilot my 5 year old hunting buddy. Butch the Black Lab!!

Good fix!!

The little crap like is put on earth just to piss us off!!!

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1992 Ford Ranger STX
-2" lift
-31" Treadwright Crawlers (yes I run retreads!)

when you tried to start it did it make a loud grinding noise almost?

ive had exp. with broken bolts that wont come out.

I feel your pain and im sorry for it!

It does, and will until I replace the flywheel. Severity of the grinding sound depends on the quality of teeth it's engaging at any given start.

good luck Craig, I would have waited till trans was out to tackle the broken bolts, then I would have used one of these tools
stud removal tool

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MY BUILD THREAD
1999 MAZDA 2500SE, 2.5L 4-clanger, 5 speed, Green n slow. Rangers as daily drivers since 1988.
ASE Certified Mechanic, Builder of Show Destroying Protouring and Classic cars..

That would have been helpful a week ago. I didn't know such a thing existed.

on that note, sorry I missed your original post

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MY BUILD THREAD
1999 MAZDA 2500SE, 2.5L 4-clanger, 5 speed, Green n slow. Rangers as daily drivers since 1988.
ASE Certified Mechanic, Builder of Show Destroying Protouring and Classic cars..

I posted it after the work was done, so it didn't matter.

No big deal, it's fixed now.

Loretta had the exact same problem. Mine is automatic so I had to replace the entire flex plate. Took Forever to get the transmission off. New parts all went back on easily enough and transmission was easy to put back on. Biggest job I've ever done on a vehicle.

I cleaned and painted the old Flexplate chrome, i turned it into a wall clock and is now my personal trophy.

Make sure that when you replace the ring gear, that you install a new starter (or at least the starter pinion). Also clean the whole area out really thouroughly when you have it open. It will suck if you have to fix this more than once.

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"Oh no, not again!" - Douglas Adams

I have a 1990 Keystone Ranger 2wd with a 2.9L, V6. She's a beater and I named her Loretta. In the past 2 years I have replaced the battery, starter, starter solenoid, radiator, alternator, and the driveplate. Little things that I have replaced include all the mirrors, spark plugs, in dash radio, headlights, air filter and brakes. Would like to start modding her and adding some performance parts