Sailor_USN

Hi y'all! Last Friday I had my starter go out while I was buying a few things at my local grocery store. The truck had a bit of a hesitation starting the morning of Friday, Feb 12 when I was heading to work but I didn't pay much attention to it since it was very minor. When it was time to go home for the day, the truck started right away and I forgot about the bit of a struggle I had in the morning. I decided to stop at a store on my way home and when I was ready to leave my truck just wouldn't start. The lights, stereo, my dashcam, cellphone charger all worked perfectly and I was hearing a "clicking" sound by the passenger side every time I turned the key. It was then when I remembered about the whole situation earlier that day. After jumping the battery (in hopes it would somehow start up) to no avail I finally accepted the fact I had starter issues. I know some people jumpstart their starters but I do not know how and didn't want to try and mess anything else up besides, I was in the parking lot of a grocery store and I just wanted to get home. I also used the proper technique of whacking it with my lug wrench as a friend of mine tried to start it but we got nowhere. By this time it was getting close to 8pm and I finally called a tow company to take the truck to my work's overflow parking. The grocery store I went to has an underground parking garage and it was really fun to see my truck being towed out of there with the highest clearance being less than 8ft with various ramps and turns.



truck being towed out of garage
the tow truck company only charged me $54 to tow it about 8 miles. I thought it was a good deal considering they got there somewhat fast and it was a very easy process but then again I received a "USAA discount". I left the truck there that Friday evening since I had plans Saturday and Sunday to spend some time with the family in Mexico. I was glad I had Monday off for President's Day and I worked on the truck that day.
The tools I used were:
1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" ratchet
3/8" universal joint
3/8" 6" extension
3/8" to 1/2" adapter
1/2" 5" extension
10mm and 13mm sockets

Most of those parts assemble into this amazing-looking tool required to reach the bolts on the starter and it looks something like this when you are removing the bolts


I decided to make life easier for me by removing the wheel and raising the truck since it's stock height made it a bit cramped to work under it. I wanted to remove the fender lining but it wasn't necessary at the end. I disconnected the battery as well


the first few bolts that connect the positive/ground cables from the battery were pretty easy to remove along with the "bottom" bolt. The "middle" and "top" bolts, however, are tough since you have to run your extensions thru a gap between your fender liner and the chassis


after some deserved cursing and about an hour trying to get my tools and hand to remove the bolts I finally managed to remove the defective starter.


This is what it looks like from underneath the truck when you are working on the bolts that hold the starter in place. I was screwing the "middle" bolt for the new starter.


When I went back to the parts store to get my $22 deposit back for the core I saw someone's rooster had gone rogue haha I was feeling good because I was back driving my truck. It started right away with no issues.


and of course, I needed to enjoy the rest of my day off after all was finished.

I do have a random question about this whole replacement. I am assuming the first owner had replaced the starter at some point because the one I removed did not have a bolt in the "top" position. I only found this after trying to find it for about 20mins. The new starter I bought did not come with replacement bolts to install it, you are supposed to re-use the bolts the old starter had. I intend to go to a parts store and see if they have the bolt for the top mount of the starter, will anything mess up if I don't install a bolt right away? The truck was working fine without it until now when it gave out but I don't feel comfortable having it like that. I will be out traveling this week for a bit and when I come back I will try and find one to put on there. All the other bolts were nice and tight and I am sure it's secured in there but I want to avoid any future issues with it. Thank you all for reading my first ever real thread on here

Mod (Ret.)

Nice write up! Thanks for taking the time along with pics to describe the procedure. As to that missing bolt, I'm guessing it was missing for awhile (from the previous owner), and the truck did not give you any grief until now.
However, like yourself, I'd replace it at your earliest. My thinking is that if it was not needed, it would not have been used in the first place.

R00sterC0g6urn

LOL I just changed my starter last weekend and I had the exact same experience...I realized I was missing the top bolt after about 15 minutes of feeling around for it to no avail. I figured if I have been driving around all this time with only two bolts, then it wouldn't hurt to put only two bolts back.

nrivera04

I got a story that might explain. If I had to guess I'd say it was a mechanic left it out cause he/she didn't want to put it back in.

I did a hitch at a transmission shop for a while when I was in my late teens and one of the installers would always leave the top bolt out because he had huge hands and it was a pain for him to get to. Both on 4.6 and 5.4. His dad was the shop owner, so naturally he was able to get away with it. I'd always put it back in if I was the installer.

So my assumption would be that yes, it's possible the starter was previously changed or your vehicle may have had the transmission out at one point. I'm not saying it was right, but the vehicles never came back with issues related to the starter.

Sailor_USN

Thank you all for replying. I guess it's not that uncommon to have that top bolt missing then. I didn't have to remove it but if it had been there I know it would have been a struggle since that area is pretty cramped. Now that I am back from travel, I will still look for a replacement bolt either at a yard or somewhere. Even though it has been a good 3 years without it; I'll still put the bolt back on hopefully this weekend. I am a bit picky when I know certain things aren't the way they are supposed to be haha

Mod (Ret.)

I agree. If Ford engineers felt the bolt was not required, I'd be safe to assume that they would not have put it there in the first place. It would save them time and money (if multiplied by the amount of trucks they produce on an assembly line per day). While a single bolt may not seem significant to us, it is to the hundreds of thousand trucks that are built. It adds up. I often will try to out think an engineer, or ask "why did they do that?", but in the end, I usually accept their thinking.

And thanks for serving!