flex plate

[jetboat]

help! any body know were a 1/4'' spacer can be purchased?its going on a 460 bbf.trans, shops have no clue!that seams blanken weird.other than make one,help.need it before plowmans.

[Brazos River Rat]

What Steve needs is a spacer to go between the crank and the flex plate .
He had a reverse mounted starter , the bell houseing is metal with a aluminum mounting adapter for the starter. very old style .The starter will not engage the flywheel deep enough. It keeps eating the teeth off the starter .

[Brazos River Rat]

Here are a couple of pics

[Dominator Scott]

Here are a couple of pics
Ouch!!! That sure left a mark. :220v:

[Bobbo541]

Try Lenco Racing Trans. 1-800-854-2944 they are in Lemon Grove, Ca.

[Devilman]

What Steve needs is a spacer to go between the crank and the flex plate .
He had a reverse mounted starter , the bell houseing is metal with a aluminum mounting adapter for the starter. very old style .The starter will not engage the flywheel deep enough. It keeps eating the teeth off the starter .
You mean that thin metal plate deal, goes between the block & the bellhousing?

[IMPATIENT 1]

steve, get some 1/4 plate steel and use your flywheel as a template.lay the flywheel onto the plate and trace out the flywheel bolts and crank hole,center punch them and drill out the holes while flywheel is clamped to the plate, ya know what i mean? should have brought it up to me bud, my uncle has a lathe and i can make pretty spacers with it.

[Brazos River Rat]

You mean that thin metal plate deal, goes between the block & the bellhousing?
He has the plate there , this is a shim to go between crank and flexplate .

[jetboat]

steve, get some 1/4 plate steel and use your flywheel as a template.lay the flywheel onto the plate and trace out the flywheel bolts and crank hole,center punch them and drill out the holes while flywheel is clamped to the plate, ya know what i mean? should have brought it up to me bud, my uncle has a lathe and i can make pretty spacers with it.
tom,congrats on the nwe boat,if i knew you made these things,in the future ill just ask you.it seams i have the only boat with parts only made for 4/5 years,very rare stuff!isnt that sxxx houdy!kenney,didnt yours come with a top mount starter?

[Devilman]

tom,congrats on the nwe boat,if i knew you made these things,in the future ill just ask you.it seams i have the only boat with parts only made for 4/5 years,very rare stuff!isnt that sxxx houdy!kenney,didnt yours come with a top mount starter?
Nah, mine is a regular bottom mount starter. Its all Hardin Marine stuff, if I remember correctly. Looks nothing like that deal you have.

[GM Killer]

contact Hughes Performance in arizona. they can help you

[flat broke]

why don't you just mill down the cheeseball starter adapter and the face of the starer to bring them closer to the flexplate. I've never seen any of the top mount starters use a spacer between the flywheel and the crank (though that bellhousing is also something I've never seen before). Clamping something between the crank and the flexplate just seems a little "off" to me. For that matter, couldn't you run a flywheel mounted backwards? The ring gear is usually on the front edge, so by flipping the deal around I'd bet you get your .250". I know some of the Chevy top mount deals were done that way.
Chris

[jetboat]

why don't you just mill down the cheeseball starter adapter and the face of the starer to bring them closer to the flexplate. I've never seen any of the top mount starters use a spacer between the flywheel and the crank (though that bellhousing is also something I've never seen before). Clamping something between the crank and the flexplate just seems a little "off" to me. For that matter, couldn't you run a flywheel mounted backwards? The ring gear is usually on the front edge, so by flipping the deal around I'd bet you get your .250". I know some of the Chevy top mount deals were done that way.
Chris
they only made this type from what iam told 3/4 years for berkely jet.they were mostly made for jacusie pumps.yuor thoughts are well addressed with reversing the flywheel,however thers a lip on the bloody thing,and milling the starter addapter was a thought,but 3 engine builders said to use the spacer.remember,this is a ford.thanks for your thoughts.

[OkieDave]

Is the starter not engaging deep enough or is it not completely dis-engaging? are the teeth getting just the ends eaten off? you may just need to use the stock ford steel shim that usually goes between the trans bell housing and the block. I had a problem once with the starter not dis-engaging enough to pull the pinion gear all the way out and it was eating about an 8th inch off the front end of the pinion gear. it wasn't a reverse rotation, rear mount starter tho.

[flat broke]

Is the starter not engaging deep enough or is it not completely dis-engaging? are the teeth getting just the ends eaten off? you may just need to use the stock ford steel shim that usually goes between the trans bell housing and the block. I had a problem once with the starter not dis-engaging enough to pull the pinion gear all the way out and it was eating about an 8th inch off the front end of the pinion gear. it wasn't a reverse rotation, rear mount starter tho.
We had a similar problem when we ran without that steel plate on our 460 that was in our old Eliminator bubledeck. Tore up startes and flexplates pretty much every trip. Slapped the plate back in there (had taken it out on some bad advice) and had no problems with the boat after that.
BTW, your buddy might want to also just look for a new bellhousing. You might be able to find a used one on the cheap that would certainly fix the problem.
Chris

[jetboat]

We had a similar problem when we ran without that steel plate on our 460 that was in our old Eliminator bubledeck. Tore up startes and flexplates pretty much every trip. Slapped the plate back in there (had taken it out on some bad advice) and had no problems with the boat after that.
BTW, your buddy might want to also just look for a new bellhousing. You might be able to find a used one on the cheap that would certainly fix the problem.
Chris
so you put a spacer behind the flex plate!also,there is no way other than a new bellhousing to mount this starter.

[Bobbo541]

thats a Ford for ya.

[flat broke]

so you put a spacer behind the flex plate!also,there is no way other than a new bellhousing to mount this starter.
NO, not a spacer behind the flexplate. The factory Ford steel plate that goes between the bellhousing and the block. It happens to sit between the flexplate and the block, but it DOES NOT space the flexplate off the crank.
And as for the fact that you'd need another top mount starter bellhousing to mount the starter, that's why I recommend you look around for a used top mount ford bellhousing. Call Jim Brock at Cyclone speed and marine in Pacoima CA and see if he has a used one sitting around. Some bellhousings were made with a top mount and bottom mount option, so it's not like you're looking for one unique style of bellhousing that were mfg'd in small numbers.
Chris

[jetboat]

thanks for the info,ill call on monday to msee what he may recomrend or have.thanks for your help in this matter,always fcount on other jet boaters to know were,,how,and who.