Patrick Smith

Alright, So I have a 1992 f-150 with a 5.8l and zf5s-42 in it. The ZF-5s was a swap in. I made a stupid mistake I'm trying to fix/figure out without having to buy an entire clutch, flywheel, and starter. I ordered through AutoZone (I know first mistake) the flywheel for what I assumed was for the ZF 5s. It was a 164 tooth flywheel and I got the clutch through summit racing to match. They bolted up no problem had it all installed. Then I ordered the manual starter for that year. To my surprise, the started looked the same as the auto. I thought this was odd as I'm used to manual starters recessed more compared to the auto. I shrugged this off though and installed it. Within a month the started died due to internal malfunction as after the starter stopped the ring gear didn't fully disengage from it. Upon further research, it seems the 5 speeds used a 157 tooth flywheel, not the 164. and the ring gear sits in more on the 157 allowing an auto starter to bolt up. So I started looking to make sure that a 164 tooth starter will work instead and what I'm finding is the bell housing starter bolts are just a hair different for the 2 flywheels.

I'm wondering if anyone else has had this problem and if so would a 164 tooth starter with adjustable mounting block fix this problem. Or Am I going to have to bite the bullet and get a completely different flywheel, clutch, and starter? (would prefer not to go this route due to my pocketbook and having to drop the transmission, but will if need be) Any Ideas or wisdom will be appreciated besides this the rest of the swap went smoothly besides any time I used Autozone parts they seemed wrong or didn't fit right. (I know better, but wanted the parts fast and cheaper than summit)