Just bought 95 Explorer. Questions and starter/flexplate issues

[jimmyfloyd]

Ok, I have posted a couple times on here about a 95 Explorer Sport 2 dr 4x4 that i was working on for a friend. Well, He's had another issues, and is tired of fixing it, so he was going to junk it, but offered it to me first for the price the junkyard would pay him for it. So I bought it.

So that leads me to my first problem, which is the issue he was having. The truck won't start and the starter just grinds and doesn't engage. He was told the Flexplate had chipped teeth and would need to be replaced, and after reading, I believe this is the case, and it is now in the location with the chipped teeth. So my question is, how can I rotate the flywheel enough to get the starter to catch? Or may there be another issue?

I know this is probably the beginning of the cracked flexplate issue, but I just need to be able to get it 3 miles from his house to mine so I can replace the flywheel there rather than having it towed to my place.

Also, What is involved in removing the starter, incase I need to do that. I will probably do it anyways once I get it to my house so I can go get it tested, just to be sure.

I will also have a bunch of other things that I will be asking about with this truck once I get this first issue solved. (replacing driver's door handle, replace passenger and rear gate lock, replace seats, Upgrades to front bumper, trailer hitches, basic tune up, etc)

And also, this is my first ford vehicle. I am a GM guy by heart, but as any car lover, i could not let this one go to waste when it still has a lot of life left in it. Plus, it's already got 5 hours of my time in it replacing the fuel pump.

So hopefully you guys will be able to assist me with getting this up and running.

 

[jremington59]

The first thing you want to do is turn the crank and make sure the engine isn't set up. This will also turn the flywheel and put it in a different position...

You can do this by putting a large wrench on the bolt on the front of the crank and turning it. If you guys have been grinding the starter a lot you have probably eaten it up and you'll need to get a new one.

I'm not trying to be a dick, but if you don't know how to remove a starter jumping in to changing the flywheel might be a little hasty...

 

[marragtop]

As remington stated, rotate the flywheel by turning the engine over with the crankshaft pulley. If it's a stick shift, you can try push starting it. Also, How did the guy determine that the flywheel was bad? Did someone pull the starter and verify that? Once you have it moved, you need to pull the starter and visually verify the bad spot on the flywheel. If you do need a flywheel you will need to pull the trans which is 10x more difficult than pulling a starter.

 

[jimmyfloyd]

I guess I should have a little more specific, I know how to remove a starter, but was just wondering if there were any tricks to it, and what size wrenches I am going to need to do this. Also, what size is the crankshaft bolt?

Like I said, this is the first ford I have worked on, so I am not sure the best way to access the bolts and such, or if there might be an easier way to do things. I am also working in my friend's driveway, and have to bring all the tools I need with me since he has none. He's not mechanically inclined, and he had another guy look at it I believe and was going to charge him a bunch to fix it, so he decided to sell it. I am just going by what he told me.

So hopefully I can get some advice from you guys on the best and easiest way to get this running enough for me to get it back to my house (and saving the $100 tow charge) Unfortunately I only have a small car right now, and my father's trailer I usually use currently has my suburban on, which isn't going anyplace soon, so driving it is my best option.

 

[jimmyfloyd]

Ok, Turned the motor about 90 degrees and still getting the same noise from the starter. So it's getting towed to the house this week.

While i was under there, I looked to see how the starter was attached and where it needed to come out of, and my question is, what is the easiest way to get to the top bolt? The truck is a 4x4, and appears the front drive shaft is in an inconvenient spot.

Thanks.